# Neurobiological pathways underlying maladaptive behaviors in youth

> **NIH NIH R01** · MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $75,213

## Abstract

Decades of research have highlighted the damaging effects of disadvantaged neighborhood contexts
on later health outcomes, including youth antisocial behaviors (ASB) such as assault, theft, and
vandalism. Although few would now contest the behavioral sequelae of neighborhood disadvantage,
the mechanism(s) driving these effects are as yet unclear. Studies linking youth ASB to alterations in
the function, structure, and connectivity of affect- and cognitive control-related neural regions
represent a very promising possibility, since these same neural processes appear to be altered by
chronically stressful experiences including disadvantage. Although potentially quite consequential,
conclusions regarding the `biological embedding of disadvantage' as a pathway to ASB remain
uncertain, as we have yet to either identify the specific neural mechanisms through which
neighborhood disadvantage increases youth ASB or to illuminate how disadvantage alters these
particular neural pathways. The current R01 application aims to do just this. We will first identify the
neural regulatory control architecture (RCA) associated with both youth ASB and neighborhood
disadvantage. We will then leverage the genetically-informed nature of our one-of-a-kind at-risk,
longitudinal twin study to illuminate both the genetic and environmental origins of RCA and the ways
in which these influences are altered by neighborhood disadvantage, both concurrently and over time.
For our final set of analyses, we will explore specific proximal processes through which neighborhood
disadvantage might affect neural RCA (i.e., toxicant exposure and parenting). The proposed study is
thus ideally positioned to not only identify the specific neural pathways through which neighborhood
disadvantage affects youth outcomes, but also to meaningfully evaluate how neighborhood
disadvantage affects the developing brain. This genetically-informed developmental neuroscience
approach should fundamentally advance our understanding of both the neural pathways leading to the
emergence of youth ASB, and the mechanisms through which neighborhood disadvantage
undermines positive development.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10409625
- **Project number:** 3R01HD093334-05S1
- **Recipient organization:** MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** S. Alexandra Burt
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $75,213
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2017-08-18 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10409625

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10409625, Neurobiological pathways underlying maladaptive behaviors in youth (3R01HD093334-05S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10409625. Licensed CC0.

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