Neurodevelopmental correlates of proneness to guilt and shame in adolescence and early adulthood.
Sarah Whittle, Kirra Liu, Coralie Bastin, Ben J Harrison, Christopher G Davey
Author Information
Sarah Whittle: Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health, Vic., 3053, Australia. Electronic address: swhittle@unimelb.edu.au.
Kirra Liu: Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health, Vic., 3053, Australia.
Coralie Bastin: Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health, Vic., 3053, Australia.
Ben J Harrison: Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health, Vic., 3053, Australia.
Christopher G Davey: Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health, Vic., 3053, Australia; Orygen, The National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Vic., 3053, Australia.
Investigating how brain development during adolescence and early adulthood underlies guilt- and shame-proneness may be important for understanding risk processes for mental disorders. The aim of this study was to investigate the neurodevelopmental correlates of interpersonal guilt- and shame-proneness in healthy adolescents and young adults using structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI). Sixty participants (age range: 15-25) completed sMRI and self-report measures of interpersonal guilt- and shame-proneness. Independent of interpersonal guilt, higher levels of shame-proneness were associated with thinner posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) thickness and smaller amygdala volume. Higher levels of shame-proneness were also associated with attenuated age-related reductions in thickness of lateral orbitofrontal cortex (lOFC). Our findings highlight the complexities in understanding brain-behavior relationships during the adolescent/young adult period. Results were consistent with growing evidence that accelerated cortical thinning during adolescence may be associated with superior socioemotional functioning. Further research is required to understand the implications of these findings for mental disorders characterized by higher levels of guilt and shame.
