Margaret A. Sheridan

Early life adversity (ELA) has been associated with increased cardiometabolic disease risk in adulthood. This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated whether cardiometabolic health outcomes differ based on adversity type (threat, deprivation, or cumulative exposure) and assessed the moderating role of sex and race. A comprehensive search of PsycINFO, PubMed, and Web of Science identified 90 studies (82 independent samples) reporting associations between ELA and cardiometabolic outcomes in adults. Inclusion criteria required peer-reviewed, empirical studies linking ELA to disease biomarkers (e.g., cholesterol, hypertension, and atherosclerosis) and health events (e.g., cardiovascular disease, stroke, and diabetes). Random-effects meta-analyses were conducted using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis version 4. Publication bias and study heterogeneity were evaluated using Egger's tests and trim-and-fill procedures. Results indicated that greater exposure to ELA, aggregated across all forms, was associated with increased total cardiometabolic health problems (d = .14), health events (d = .16), health biomarkers (d = .08), and five specific health outcomes, including cardiovascular disease (d = .18), diabetes (d = .12), cholesterol (d = .08), atherosclerosis (d = .06), and hypertension (d = .09). Metaregressions revealed that two categories, total cardiometabolic health problems and health events, were significantly moderated by ELA type, with cumulative adversity emerging as the strongest risk factor. Findings underscore the importance of cumulative ELA as a correlate of adult cardiometabolic health, while also highlighting emerging evidence for differential effects of cumulative adversity compared with threat and deprivation. Results highlight the potential value of comprehensive adversity assessment for identifying at-risk populations and for guiding mechanistic and preventive research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

People who experience alcohol‐induced blackouts (AIBs) are at increased risk of alcohol‐related injury and even death. Blackout susceptibility is heritable and blackouts are not experienced by all who engage in hazardous drinking. Blackout is defined by amnesia, but a person in the blackout state also maintains consciousness and motor control at high levels of intoxication, which is behaviorally similar to episodes of sleepwalking or related parasomnias. Spectral analysis of resting‐state electroencephalograms (EEG) can provide insight into individual differences in baseline neurophysiology which may predict blackout susceptibility in otherwise healthy individuals. The current study investigated potential neurophysiological phenotypes present in the resting‐state EEG spectra of individuals with a history of blackout, sleepwalking, or related parasomnias. In Experiment 1, adult females with a history of blackout had reduced resting‐state alpha peak power over the primary motor cortex compared to those with no such history, while aperiodic slope over the right sensorimotor cortex was negatively correlated with lifetime blackout score in males. In Experiment 2, increased frequency of parasomnia episodes was associated with reduced resting‐state alpha peak power across males and females. Together, these findings provide the first support for the existence of common neurophysiological phenotypes between specific parasomnias and alcohol‐induced blackout.

Rationale: Disorders of arousal (DoA) constitute a class of related, heritable conditions that includes sleepwalking, sleep terrors, and confusional arousals. These disorders are defined by behavioral features which are shared with a separate phenomenon, alcohol-related blackout (ARB). Both ARB and DoA are characterized by full or partial amnesia and disinhibited behavior with maintenance of nearly normal motor function. While these disorders share phenomenology, to our knowledge no previous studies have examined the relationship between them. This is an important gap in the literature as the existence of a relationship between DoA and ARB would indicate potential shared underlying pathophysiology and genetic risk, possibly opening new pathways for research. Objectives: The current study intended to probe the relationship between history of ARB and history of DoA among adults as a first step in determining whether they may be connected by shared neurophysiology, and whether there is a role of sex in that relationship. To control for alcohol intake, we examined whether DoA history interacted with alcohol use to predict ARB likelihood. Methods: A demographically diverse sample ( n = 358) of adult (ages 18–72) United States citizens completed an online survey assessing self-reported drinking behaviors, lifetime history of ARB, and lifetime history of DoA episodes via the Munich Parasomnia Screening. Results: Consistent with the literature, greater levels of past year alcohol misuse predicted higher likelihood of ARB in our sample. A novel finding is that history of DoA episodes also interacted with alcohol use to predict higher likelihood of ARB in females only. Conclusion: Female individuals with a history of DoA may be more susceptible to experiencing ARB than individuals without such a history, suggesting that the two states may share a neurophysiological foundation.

Recent calls emphasize the need to diversify samples in developmental psychobiology regarding race and ethnicity. However, there is limited guidance on effective methods to involve individuals from marginalized communities in research, or which issues these participants prioritize when considering involvement in studies with neurobiological data collection. Here, we explore these motivations for caregivers with children of color who participated in developmental psychobiology research and how their racial/ethnic identities influenced their experience. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 13 caregivers whose children participated in a study exploring adversity and brain development (61.5% self‐identify as Black; 100% self‐identifying as a woman). Using thematic analysis, we observed that caregivers participated to spend quality time with their child, gain insights to inform their parenting, diversify research, and satisfy their own scientific curiosity. While caregivers generally reported enjoying their participation, they additionally reported remaining mindful of how they present themselves among research staff to mitigate negative stereotypes and keep their families safe, consistent with known historical harm from the scientific community. Lastly, caregiver's feedback on how to increase representation and better disseminate study findings are reported. These results emphasize the importance of centering participants of color to improve representation and minimize harm in psychobiological study procedures.

People who report experiencing alcohol-related blackouts (ARBs) are at increased risk of alcohol-related injury and even death. Blackout susceptibility is heritable and blackouts are not experienced by all who engage in hazardous drinking. Blackout is defined by anterograde amnesia, but a person in the blackout state also maintains consciousness and motor control at high levels of intoxication, which is behaviorally similar to episodes seen in individuals with a history of sleepwalking or related parasomnias. Spectral analysis of resting-state electroencephalograms (EEG) can provide insight into individual differences in baseline neurophysiology which may predict blackout susceptibility in otherwise healthy individuals. The current study investigated potential neurophysiological phenotypes present in the resting-state EEG spectra of individuals with a history of blackout, sleepwalking, or related parasomnias. In Experiment 1, adult females with a history of alcohol-related blackout had reduced resting-state alpha peak power over the primary motor cortex compared to those with no such history, while aperiodic slope over the right primary motor cortex was negatively correlated with lifetime blackout score in males. In Experiment 2, increased frequency of parasomnia episodes was associated with reduced resting-state alpha peak power across males and females. Together, these findings provide the first support for the existence of common neurophysiological phenotypes between specific parasomnias and alcohol-related blackout. New & Noteworthy: Research on blackout often focuses on hippocampal suppression by alcohol because anterograde amnesia is a salient and definitional aspect of alcohol-related blackout. We focused here instead on the resilience of motor function to suppression by alcohol during the blackout state. We identified a sex-specific EEG marker associated with blackout history, and then found that the same marker was related to the frequency of episodes of certain non-REM parasomnias in both sexes. These findings suggest that these pathological states may share underlying dysfunction of motor inhibition, allowing for coordinated motor activity to persist during intoxication or sleep.

Research on the developmental consequences of early adversity has grown rapidly, yet measures of childhood adversity have not kept pace with evolving theoretical models. Existing measures often lack comprehensive assessment and psychometric evidence. This study addresses these gaps by developing the Deprivation and Threat—Adult Self-report (DT-AS) measure, a psychometrically sound scale assessing childhood threat and deprivation exposure, evaluated in young adults. Psychometric analysis was performed in waves on a total sample of N = 796 participants. Pilot data ( n ₁ = 210; n ₂ = 208) were analyzed using Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Item Response Theory (IRT) to refine item selection and optimize response formats. The final sample ( n ₃ = 378) confirmed a correlated factor structure of threat and deprivation with excellent psychometric properties. DT-AS consists of 33 items measuring threat and 30 measuring deprivation, offering a robust tool to examine associations between childhood adversity and psychopathology outcomes in adulthood.

The human cortex undergoes immense change in the first years of life, doubling in thickness within the first year and evidencing the greatest change within the first 5 y. While substantial research has identified the early postnatal period as a sensitive period in cortical development, research to date lacks the temporal resolution necessary to identify which aspects of cortical change predict later neural and cognitive function. This study leveraged a rich longitudinal dataset of cortical thickness in 50 children who were scanned up to 11 times between birth and 6 y. We used nonlinear multilevel modeling to explore patterns of cortical change across the brain during this period and distinguish whether different phases of change would predict performance and brain activation during a working memory task children completed at approximately 9 y. Cortical thickness across the brain showed a large increase from birth through 12 mo, a decrease from 12 to 18 mo, and a small increase from 18 mo to 6 y, mirroring patterns of early neural proliferation, pruning, and sustained growth. Performance and neural activation during the working memory task were associated with smaller peak (i.e., 12 mo) thickness and a marginally less steep 12 to 18-mo decline in thickness in the middle frontal gyrus (MFG) of the frontal lobe, in line with evidence demonstrating concurrent links between frontal lobe structure and working memory. These findings validate theories of cortical growth developed in preclinical models using human data and demonstrate that prefrontal cortex development in infancy uniquely predicts neurocognitive function 9 y later.

Preschool anxiety is highly prevalent and well known to predict risk for future psychopathology. The present study explores whether a diagnosis of an anxiety disorder in preschool interacts with (a) social skills and (b) cognitive ability to longitudinally predict psychopathology, two well-known protective factors, among a sample of 207 children measured at preschool (Mage = 4.34 years) and early childhood (Mage = 6.61 years). To assess social skills and cognitive ability, we utilized the Social Skills Rating Scale and the Differential Abilities Scale, respectively. To assess psychopathology, we utilized the parent report of the Preschool Age Psychiatric Assessment. Hierarchical linear regression models revealed significant interactions between both social skills and cognitive ability with preschool anxiety. We observed that social skills protected against emergent psychopathology for both children with and without anxiety, although this association was stronger for children with preschool anxiety. Contrastingly, cognitive ability served as a protective factor against future psychopathology primarily among children without preschool anxiety. Results from this study identify targets for future intervention and inform our understanding of how preschool anxiety, a common disorder among young children, shapes future psychopathology risk in childhood.