Approach and avoidance represent two fundamental behavioral traits that develop early in life. Previous studies have examined the neural correlates of approach and avoidance traits in adults and adolescents. Here, using the data set of the Adolescent Brain Cognition Development project, we investigated the structural cerebral bases of behavioral activation system (BAS) and behavioral inhibition system (BIS) in children. We employed voxel-based morphometry to examine how gray matter volumes (GMV) related specifically to BAS and BIS traits in 11,542 children (5,491 girls, age 9 to 10 years) with 648 and 2,697 identified as monozygotic twins (MZ) and dizygotic twins/siblings (DZ), respectively. After accounting for the BIS score, higher BAS scores (residuals) were positively correlated with the GMV of the ventral striatum (VS), and the correlation was stronger in MZ than in DZ and unrelated children, with a heritability (h2) of 0.8463. Higher BAS scores were negatively correlated with the GMV of bilateral visual, lateral orbitofrontal, temporal, and inferior frontal cortex, as well as the precuneus. Higher BIS (after accounting for BAS) scores were negatively correlated with the GMVs of the ventral caudate and bilateral putamen/pallidum, hypothalamus, and right anterior insula, and the correlation was stronger in MZ than in DZ and unrelated children, with a heritability of 0.8848. A cluster in the VS showed positive and negative correlation with the BAS and BIS scores, respectively. These findings suggest shared and distinct cerebral volumetric bases of the BAS and BIS traits in children. Whereas both traits have a strong genetic basis, the BAS relative to BIS appears to be more amenable to environmental influences. These findings add to the literature of developmental neuroscience and may help identify genetic risk factors of externalizing and internalizing psychopathology.

中文翻译：

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儿童行为激活和抑制系统特征的灰质体积相关性：基于 ABCD 项目数据的探索性体素形态测量研究

接近和回避代表了生命早期发展的两个基本行为特征。以前的研究已经检查了成人和青少年接近和回避特征的神经相关性。在这里，我们使用青少年大脑认知发展项目的数据集，研究了儿童行为激活系统 (BAS) 和行为抑制系统 (BIS) 的结构性大脑基础。我们采用基于体素的形态测量法来检查灰质体积 (GMV) 如何与 11,542 名儿童（5,491 名女孩，9 至 10 岁）的 BAS 和 BIS 特征相关，其中 648 名和 2,697 名被确定为同卵双胞胎 (MZ) 和异卵双胞胎/兄弟姐妹（DZ），分别。考虑到 BIS 评分后，较高的 BAS 评分（残差）与腹侧纹状体（VS）的 GMV 呈正相关，MZ的相关性强于DZ和无关儿童，遗传力（h2）为0.8463。较高的 BAS 评分与双侧视觉、外侧眶额叶、颞叶和下额叶皮层以及楔前叶的 GMV 呈负相关。较高的 BIS（考虑 BAS 后）评分与腹侧尾状核和双侧壳核/苍白球、下丘脑和右前脑岛的 GMV 呈负相关，MZ 的相关性强于 DZ 和无关儿童，遗传力为0.8848。VS 中的一个簇分别与 BAS 和 BIS 分数呈正相关和负相关。这些发现表明儿童 BAS 和 BIS 特征的共享和不同的脑容量基础。虽然这两种性状都有很强的遗传基础，BAS 相对于 BIS 似乎更容易受环境影响。这些发现增加了发育神经科学的文献，并可能有助于确定外化和内化精神病理学的遗传风险因素。