PROJECT SUMMARY
The goal of this fellowship is to prepare applicant, Heidi Westerman, for an independent research career
focused on the biopsychosocial determinants of antisocial behavior (AB). The proposed fellowship consists of:
1) a research project that will further our understanding of the impact of socioeconomic disadvantage on brain
structure and function and AB, and 2) a training plan comprised of formal training, mentorship, manuscript
publications, and professional development activities. The applicant will be supported by a strong mentorship
team with primary sponsors at the University of Michigan and consultants at Harvard, Northwestern, and
University of Pittsburgh. Together, the mentorship team will provide expertise in socioeconomic adversity,
neuroimaging, stress, reward processing, longitudinal data analysis, and the development of AB. The training
plan will help the applicant: a) develop expertise in associations between socioeconomic disadvantage, neural
reward-processing, and AB, b) develop strong, advanced quantitative methodological skills, and c) disseminate
research findings and network with the developmental, clinical, and neuroscientific research communities.
AB, including the psychiatric diagnosis of Conduct Disorder, leads to severe consequences for perpetrators,
victims, and society. Socioeconomic disadvantage has been identified as a risk factor for engagement in AB.
Though neural research related to poverty has mostly focused on affective and cognitive control, recent studies
suggest that socioeconomic disadvantage may be associated with alterations in the reward-related
corticostriatal circuit. Moreover, recent neuroimaging research has uncovered reward-related neural correlates
of AB, offering a potential mechanism through which socioeconomic disadvantage may shape reward
processing and increase risk for AB-related disorders. The proposed project will examine: 1) whether AB is
associated with altered reactivity to reward anticipation and receipt in the corticostriatal system, as well as
decreased grey matter volume in the ventral striatum and the orbitofrontal cortex; 2) whether socioeconomic
disadvantage is associated with altered reward-related activity in the ventral striatum and decreased grey
matter volume in the ventral striatum and the orbitofrontal cortex; 3) whether reactivity to reward or differences
in grey matter volume provide a mechanism through which socioeconomic disadvantage increases risk for AB.
All aims will be investigated in the Study of Adolescent to Adult Neural Development (a sub-sample of the
larger Fragile Families and Child-Wellbeing Study), a large longitudinal neuroimaging study of mostly low-
income individuals who are currently entering young adulthood (R01-MH121079; R01 MH103761).
The proposed research addresses long-standing questions of the neural mechanisms linking adversity with
AB. Our findings will shed light on reward-related neural contributions to the development of AB and lay the
groundwork for investigating prevention and intervention for those at risk for detrimental outcomes.