# Neural Mechanisms of Social Rejection elicited Aggression in Adolescence

> **NIH NIH F31** · TEMPLE UNIV OF THE COMMONWEALTH · 2021 · $30,036

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Each year, violence in this country exacts staggering personal and financial costs. This burden is
disproportionally born by adolescents, for whom violent behaviors linked to peer-based rejection are a leading
cause of death. This may be related to the fact that peer relationships become highly salient in adolescence.
Peer-based aggression is also a transdiagnostic symptom of several mental health disorders with high
adolescent onset rates, and predicts risk for bipolar disorder, anxiety, and depression. Because adolescence is
a sensitive period for neural plasticity, it is critical to identify neural mechanisms that bias youth towards
perpetrating aggression before habitual antisocial tendencies are instantiated. Traditional intervention
programs that target those at risk for perpetrating aggression have had only limited success. This may be
because aggressive behavior is likely influenced by a complex cascade of neural responses that unfold across
a social interaction. However, no study has examined these relations in adolescents, the group most impacted
by peer-based aggression. Progress towards this goal has been hindered by the limited availability of
ecologically-valid fMRI-based social interaction tasks that delineate temporal stages within a social interaction,
such as anticipation and receipt of peer feedback, and contemplating aggression. The proposed work
addresses these limitations by using a novel fMRI-based paradigm, the Virtual School and Aggression (VSA)
task, to identify brain regions engaged at each temporal stage of a social interaction that predict aggressive
behavior in adolescents (N=50; 11-15 years). I will also use time lapsed network interaction analyses, a novel
form of functional connectivity analyses, to examine how the threat and cognitive control networks in the brain
interact across distinct temporal stages as social rejection elicited aggression unfolds. Aims of this study are
consistent with the NIMH strategic plan [(Objective 1): defining the mechanisms of complex behaviors, in this
case, how social experiences and neural mechanisms influence peer-based aggressive behavior. The
proposed study will determine both when during a social interaction regional brain function promotes
aggressive behavior, and also how neural networks interact to promote social rejection elicited aggression.
Such findings will provide novel treatment targets for aggressive behavior in youth. The proposed training plan,
which consists of workshops, experiential learning, and mentorship, is designed to develop the applicant's
expertise in the neurobiology of aggression, advanced neuroimaging methods, and the development and
implementation of interventions for aggressive youth.] The proposed study will occur within Temple University's
clinical psychology program, which has a successful track record of conducting impactful NIMH-funded
research and training research scientists.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10313780
- **Project number:** 1F31MH125478-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** TEMPLE UNIV OF THE COMMONWEALTH
- **Principal Investigator:** Megan Quarmley
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $30,036
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-06-11 → 2023-06-10

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10313780

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10313780, Neural Mechanisms of Social Rejection elicited Aggression in Adolescence (1F31MH125478-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10313780. Licensed CC0.

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