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Biological and Experimental PsychologySchool of Biological and Chemical Sciences

Michael Pluess, PhDPathways to Resilience IV, Cape Town, South Africa, June 15 2017

Resilience and

Environmental

SensitivityA Neurobiological Perspective

Cape Town, 15.06.2017

Slide 2

Resilience and Environmental Sensitivity

Overview

Resilience

• Diathesis-Stress

• Gene-Environment Interaction

Environmental Sensitivity

• Differential Susceptibility

• Vantage Sensitivity

Mechanisms of Environmental Sensitivity

• Neurosensitivity Hypothesis

Phenotype of Environmental Sensitivity

• Sensory Processing Sensitivity

New: Resilience of Syrian Refugee Children

Cape Town, 15.06.2017

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Diathesis-Stress/Dual Risk Model

Resilient

Vulnerable

Le

vel

of

Fu

ncti

on

ing

high

low

Time

Individual A

Individual B

Negative

InfluenceProtective Factors

Risk Factors

Cape Town, 15.06.2017

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Canli, T., & Lesch, K. P. (2007). Long story short: the serotonin transporter in emotion regulation

and social cognition. Nature Neuroscience

Serotonin Transporter Polymorphism

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Serotonin Transporter Polymorphism

L/L S/L S/S

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Empirical Evidence

Serotonin Transporter (5-HTTLPR)

Caspi, A., Sugden, K., Moffitt, T. E., Taylor, A., Craig, I. W., Harrington, H., et al. (2003). Influence of life

stress on depression: moderation by a polymorphism in the 5-HTT gene. Science, 301(5631), 386-389.

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Environmental Sensitivity is a fundamental trait found in most species, including humans:

• Ability to register and process external stimuli

Do all people have the same degree of Environmental Sensitivity?

• Differences in Environmental Sensitivity are widely observable and are reflected in many psychological concepts

E.g.: Temperament, Personality, Stress Reactivity etc.

→ People differ fundamentally in how they perceive and process environmental features, with some being generally more and some generally less sensitive

Pluess, M. (2015). Individual Differences in Environmental Sensitivity. Child Development

Perspectives, 9(3), 138-143.

Cape Town, 15.06.2017

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Differential Susceptibility

Time

Lev

el

of

Fu

ncti

on

ing

high

low

Time

Negative

Influence

Positive

Influence

Individual A

Individual B

Individual A

Individual BLow

Sensitivity

High

Sensitivity

SensitivityFactors

Belsky, J. & Pluess, M. (2009). Beyond Diathesis-Stress: Differential Susceptibility to

Environmental Influences. Psychological Bulletin, 135(6), 885-908.

Cape Town, 15.06.2017

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Genetic Differential Susceptibility


Taylor, S. E. et al. (2006). Early family environment, current adversity, the serotonin transporter promoter

polymorphism, and depressive symptomatology. Biological Psychiatry, 60(7), 671-676.

(Figure 1, redrawn)

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Two Sides of Environmental Sensitivity

Time

Lev

el

of

Fu

ncti

on

ing

high

low

Time

Negative

Influence

Positive

Influence

Individual A

Individual B

Individual A

Individual B

Diathesis-Stress

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Vantage Sensitivity

Lev

el

of

Fu

ncti

on

ing

high

low

Time

Individual A

Individual B

Positive

Influence

Vantage Sensitivity Factors

Vantage Resistance Factors

Vantage Sensitivity

Vantage Resistance

Pluess, M., & Belsky, J. (2013). Vantage Sensitivity: Individual Differences in Response to Positive

Experiences. Psychological Bulletin, 139(4), 901-916. doi: 10.1037/a0030196

Cape Town, 15.06.2017

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Empirical Evidence


Morgan, B., Kumsta, R., Fearon, P., Moser, D., Skeen, S., Cooper, P., ... & Tomlinson, M. (2017). Serotonin

transporter gene (SLC6A4) polymorphism and susceptibility to a home-visiting maternal-infant attachment

intervention delivered by community health workers in South Africa: Reanalysis of a randomized

controlled trial. PLoS medicine, 14(2), e1002237.

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Genes Psychology

Physiology

high sensitivecentral nervous system

The „Neurosensitivity“ Hypothesis

• Some individuals have a more sensitive central nervous system on which experiences register more easily and more deeply (Aron, 1996; Belsky, 2005; Belsky & Pluess, 2009)

amygdala

Cape Town, 15.06.2017

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Amygdala Reactivity

• Amygdala is part of the limbic system with primary role in the processing and memory of emotional reactions

• Sensitivity genes are related to amygdala reactivity: 5-HTTLPR short allele

Hariri, A. R., E. M. Drabant, K. E. Munoz, B. S. Kolachana, V. S. Mattay, M. F. Egan, et al. A

susceptibility gene for affective disorders and the response of the human amygdala. Archives of

General Psychiatry 2005; 62(2), 146-152.

Cape Town, 15.06.2017

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The Neurosensitivity Hypothesis

http://brainspan.co.uk/index.htm

Psychology

Physiology

Genes BehaviourSensitivity

Pluess, M., Stevens, S., & Belsky, J. (2013). Differential Susceptibility: Developmental and Evolutionary

Mechanisms of Gene-Environment Interactions. In M. Legerstee, D. W. Haley & M. H. Bornstein (Eds.), The

Infant Mind: Origins of the Social Brain. New York: Guilford.

5-HTTLPR

DRD2

BDNF

Environment

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Amygdala Volume

Pluess, M., De Brito, S. A., Jones, A., Plomin, R., McCrory, E., & Viding, E. (in preparation). Differential

Susceptibility to the Early Environment as a Function of Individual Differences in Brain Structure.

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• Common personality trait:

more aware of subtleties in his/her surroundings

processing experiences more deeply

is more easily overwhelmed when in a highly stimulating environment

• Facets of SPS:

Behavioural Inhibition

Sensory Sensitivity

Depth of Cognitive Processing

Emotional/Physiological Reactivity


Aron, E. N., Aron, A., & Jagiellowicz, J. (2012). Sensory processing sensitivity: a review in the light of the

evolution of biological responsivity. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 16(3), 262-282.

Sensory Processing Sensitivity

• Elaine Aron (1996)

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High Sensitive Personality Scale

Original scale with 27 items (Aron & Aron, 1997)

• Brief versions for adults and children (Pluess et al., submitted)

Pluess, M., Assary, E., Lionetti, F., Lester, K. J., Krapohl, E., Aron, E., & Aron, A. (submitted).

Environmental Sensitivity in Children: Development of the Highly Sensitive Child Scale and

Identification of Sensitivity Groups.

Cape Town, 15.06.2017

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HSC and Response to Intervention

Resilience Intervention

**

Pluess, M., & Boniwell, I. (2015). Sensory-Processing Sensitivity predicts treatment response to a

school-based depression prevention program: Evidence of Vantage Sensitivity. Personality and

Individual Differences, 82(0), 40-45.

Cape Town, 15.06.2017

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Conclusion

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→ Suggesting a more sensitive central nervous system as a mechanism of heightened environmental sensitivity

→ Substantial variability in response to environmental influences should be expected (norm rather than exception)!

→ As a function of genetic, physiological and psychological factors

→ People differ in their environmental sensitivity with some being more affected by negative and/or positive environmental influences

Conclusion

Michael Pluess, 19/03/2016

Biological Pathways of Risk and Resilience in Syrian Refugee Children Based in Lebanon (BIOPATH)

Cape Town, 15.06.2017

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BIOPATH Study

Millions of children are affected by war and displacement

• Some develop psychological problems

• Some show remarkable resilience

We investigate the biological underpinnings of individual differences in response to war and displacement

• Multiple settings

Family, school, community, neighbourhood, services

• Multilevel approach

Environmental, social, psychological, neuroendocrine, immune system, epigenetic and genetic factors

• Focus on both risk and protective factors as well as adaptive and maladaptive outcomes

• Longitudinal design

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BIOPATH Study

Main research questions:

• How do experiences affect children’s well-being?

• Why are some children more or less affected than others?

Environmental Risk& Protective Factors

Maladaptive (Risk)

Adaptive (Resilience)

War Exposure & Displacement

Genes

DNA Methylation

Psychological and Biological Outcomes

Baseline

Maladaptive (Risk)

Adaptive (Resilience)

12 Month Follow-Up

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Elie Karam Balamand University, Lebanon

Daniel Klein Stony Brooks University, USA

Richard Layard London School of Economics, UK

Ughetta Moscardino University of Padua, Italy

Annalaura Nocentini University of Florence, Italy

Robert Plomin King’s College London, UK

Galena Rhoades Denver University, USA

and many others...

Funding

Acknowledgment

Collaborators• Queen Mary University of London

Rob Keers

Francesca Lionetti

Fiona McEwen

Elham Assary

• Other institutions Larry Aber

New York University, USA

Elaine Aron Stony Brooks University, USA

Art Aron Stony Brooks University, USA

Patricia Bijtebier Leuven University, Belgium

Jay Belsky University of California Davis, USA

Anna Doebler University of Mannheim, Germany

Sachiko Donley University of California Irvine, USA

John Fayyad Balamand University, Lebanon

Luc Goossens Leuven University, Belgium

Judith Homberg Radboud University, Netherlands

Michael Pluess, Ph.D.Biological and Experimental Psychology, Queen Mary University of London, United Kingdom

Email: [email protected] Website: www.michaelpluess.com

Thank you for your attention!

michael pluess - resilience research · pdf filedo all people have the same degree of ... k....

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