Seed-Based and Independent Component Based Analyses on Polyvictimization in Adolescents Associated with Functional Connectivity (2024)

Undergraduate: Zhuoyu Shi

Faculty Advisor: Aysenil Belger
Department: Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience

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Victimization exposures in adolescence have been demonstrated to have a causal relationship with adverse outcomes, such as mental health problems and neurobiological consequences. Exposures to more than one victimization category, including conventional crime, child maltreatment, peer and sibling victimization, sexual victimization, and witness and indirect victimization, are defined as polyvictimization. Adolescents who have been exposed to polyvictimization are at high risk for developing more severe consequences compared to other adolescents, and the adverse impacts are in the longer term. To uncover the neurodevelopmental trajectory of victimization and polyvictimization exposures in adolescence and their impact on mental health, we utilize ROI selections for seed-based analysis and independent component-based network analysis on resting-state functional MRI to identify potential within- and between regions and networks functional connectivity that is related to victimization and polyvictimization. We’ve found some components specific for classifying non-victimization group versus single or polyvictimization groups, which could be an indication of victimization exposure effect on neurodevelopmental trajectories.

Link to Abstract