Incarcerated youth with history of childhood trauma are characterized by altered neural activation during a Go/NoGo fMRI task
7 affiliations
- 1The Mind Research Network, 1101 Yale Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM, 87106-4188, USA
- 2Department of Psychology, Southern Oregon University, 1250 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR, 97520, USA
- 3Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, P.O. Box 5010, Atlanta, GA, 30302-5010, USA
- 4Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 777 Atlantic Drive NW, Atlanta, GA, 30332-0250, USA
- 5Tri-Institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, 55 Park Place NE, 18th Floor, Atlanta, GA, 30303, USA
- 6Department of Psychology, Neurosciences, and Computer Science, Georgia State University, P.O. Box 5060, Atlanta, GA, 30302-5060, USA
- 7Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131-0001, USA
Abstract
Background: Childhood trauma has been linked to abnormal neurobiological functioning during error-processing and response inhibition tasks. However, it remains unclear whether trauma subtypes (e.g., directly experienced vs. observed trauma) are associated with distinct neurobiological alterations. To test this question, the present study examined whether childhood trauma subtypes, assessed using the Trauma Checklist (TCL) 2.0, were differentially associated with abnormal neurobiological processing during a response inhibition task (the Go/NoGo task) among high-risk incarcerated juvenile males (n = 225).
Methods: Analyses included a general linear model (GLM) with a priori regions of interest (ROI) and a whole-brain data-driven independent component analysis (ICA). ICA functional measures included inter- and intra-network connectivity and power spectra. We tested the association of childhood trauma as indexed by TCL Factor 1 (experienced trauma) and TCL Factor 2 (community trauma) with these functional measures.
Results: GLM analyses indicated that TCL Factor 2 was associated with increased error-processing activation in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and insula, while TCL Factor 1 was associated with increased response inhibition activity in the secondary visual cortex. ICA analyses revealed more widespread effects during error-processing and response inhibition. TCL Factor 2 scores were associated with increased intra-network connectivity in the ACC, and increased high-frequency power spectra/decreased intra-network connectivity in cognitive control, auditory, visual, and cerebellar domains. TCL Factor 1 scores were associated with increased high-frequency power spectra and intra-network connectivity in subcortical regions.
Conclusion: Overall, our results suggest that childhood trauma among incarcerated juvenile males is associated with increased error-processing activity and abnormal intra-network dynamics across multiple networks including predominately paralimbic regions. Trauma subtypes displayed primarily divergent effects. These effects align with previous findings in community samples. Finally, our results provide additional support for childhood adversity-induced hypervigilance when processing errors that may be compensatory in nature, though do not rule out alternative explanations such as neural inefficiency, increased cognitive effort, or alternative processing strategies.
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BibTeX
@article{allen2026incarcerated,
title = {{Incarcerated youth with history of childhood trauma are characterized by altered neural activation during a Go/NoGo fMRI task}},
author = {Corey H. Allen and J. Michael Maurer and Jenna N. Shold and Bethany G. Edwards and David D. Stephenson and Eyal Aharoni and Nathaniel E. Anderson and Carla L. Harenski and Keith A. Harenski and Vince D. Calhoun and Kent A. Kiehl},
journal = {Neuroimage: Reports},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.ynirp.2026.100426},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ynirp.2026.100426},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Incarcerated youth with history of childhood trauma are characterized by altered neural activation during a Go/NoGo fMRI task
AU - Corey H. Allen
AU - J. Michael Maurer
AU - Jenna N. Shold
AU - Bethany G. Edwards
AU - David D. Stephenson
AU - Eyal Aharoni
AU - Nathaniel E. Anderson
AU - Carla L. Harenski
AU - Keith A. Harenski
AU - Vince D. Calhoun
AU - Kent A. Kiehl
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/27
JO - Neuroimage: Reports
DO - 10.1016/j.ynirp.2026.100426
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ynirp.2026.100426
AB - Background: Childhood trauma has been linked to abnormal neurobiological functioning during error-processing and response inhibition tasks. However, it remains unclear whether trauma subtypes (e.g., directly experienced vs. observed trauma) are associated with distinct neurobiological alterations. To test this question, the present study examined whether childhood trauma subtypes, assessed using the Trauma Checklist (TCL) 2.0, were differentially associated with abnormal neurobiological processing during a response inhibition task (the Go/NoGo task) among high-risk incarcerated juvenile males (n = 225). Methods: Analyses included a general linear model (GLM) with a priori regions of interest (ROI) and a whole-brain data-driven independent component analysis (ICA). ICA functional measures included inter- and intra-network connectivity and power spectra. We tested the association of childhood trauma as indexed by TCL Factor 1 (experienced trauma) and TCL Factor 2 (community trauma) with these functional measures. Results: GLM analyses indicated that TCL Factor 2 was associated with increased error-processing activation in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and insula, while TCL Factor 1 was associated with increased response inhibition activity in the secondary visual cortex. ICA analyses revealed more widespread effects during error-processing and response inhibition. TCL Factor 2 scores were associated with increased intra-network connectivity in the ACC, and increased high-frequency power spectra/decreased intra-network connectivity in cognitive control, auditory, visual, and cerebellar domains. TCL Factor 1 scores were associated with increased high-frequency power spectra and intra-network connectivity in subcortical regions. Conclusion: Overall, our results suggest that childhood trauma among incarcerated juvenile males is associated with increased error-processing activity and abnormal intra-network dynamics across multiple networks including predominately paralimbic regions. Trauma subtypes displayed primarily divergent effects. These effects align with previous findings in community samples. Finally, our results provide additional support for childhood adversity-induced hypervigilance when processing errors that may be compensatory in nature, though do not rule out alternative explanations such as neural inefficiency, increased cognitive effort, or alternative processing strategies.
SN - 2666-9560
ER -