Event-related potentials associated with cognitive control in adolescents exposed to complex childhood trauma

Background: Complex childhood trauma (CCT), characterized by repeated and prolonged exposure to adverse experiences, disrupts cognitive, emotional, and neural development. Adolescence, a critical developmental period, is particularly vulnerable to these effects, with CCT increasing the risk of psychopathologies, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Despite this, the neurophysiological underpinnings of trauma-related deficits in cognitive control remain insufficiently explored, particularly in the developing brains of children and adolescents. This study aimed to investigate the neurophysiological markers of cognitive control in adolescents with CCT using event-related potential (ERP) components to propose an electrophysiological phenotype associated with CCT, as a vulnerability for PTSD.Methods: Twenty adolescents with CCT and 40 age- and gender-matched healthy controls performed a cued GO/NOGO task. ERP components - contingent negative variation (CNV), NoGo-N2, and NoGo-P3 - were analysed alongside behavioural measures such as omission and commission errors and reaction time, using a preregistered protocol. Statistical analysis included Mann-Whitney tests and cluster-based permutation tests for ERP comparisons.Results: Adolescents with CCT showed significant impairments in both proactive (reduced CNV amplitudes) and reactive (diminished NoGo-N2 and NoGo-P3 amplitudes) control mechanisms. Behaviourally, the CCT group exhibited higher omission errors and shorter reaction times than controls. Exploratory analysis revealed reduced amplitudes in the visual negativity (VN) component, suggesting disruptions in predictive processing. Latent component analysis identified ERP markers with potential diagnostic utility, linking deficits to key neural circuits associated with cognitive control and predictive processing.Conclusion: Study findings highlight significant impairments in cognitive control mechanisms and disrupted predictive processing in adolescents with CCT, emphasizing the importance of addressing trauma-related neural deficits during adolescence. Given that CCT is a significant risk factor for PTSD, the study provides insights into shared neurobiological pathways, supporting the development of targeted interventions. ERP markers like CNV, NoGo-N2, NoGo-P3, and VN show promise for improving diagnostic precision and monitoring therapeutic outcomes in trauma-exposed youth. Antecedentes: El trauma infantil complejo (TIC), caracterizado por una exposici & oacute;n repetida y prolongada a experiencias adversas, interfiere en el desarrollo cognitivo, emocional y neuronal. La adolescencia, una etapa cr & iacute;tica del desarrollo, es especialmente vulnerable a estos efectos, ya que el TIC incrementa el riesgo de psicopatolog & iacute;as, incluyendo el trastorno de estr & eacute;s postraum & aacute;tico (TEPT). A pesar de esto, los fundamentos neurofisiol & oacute;gicos de los d & eacute;ficits en el control cognitivo relacionados al trauma siguen estando poco explorados, especialmente en cerebros en desarrollo de ni & ntilde;os y adolescentes. Este estudio tuvo como objetivo investigar los marcadores neurofisiol & oacute;gicos del control cognitivo en adolescentes con TIC utilizando componentes del potencial relacionados con evento (ERP, por sus siglas en ingl & eacute;s), con el fin de proponer un fenotipo electrofisiol & oacute;gico asociado al TIC como una vulnerabilidad para el TEPT.M & eacute;todos: Veinte adolescentes con TIC y 40 controles sanos emparejados por edad y g & eacute;nero realizaron una tarea con pistas previas de GO/NOGO. Se analizaron componentes ERP - variaci & oacute;n negativa contingente (CNV), NoGo-N2 y NoGo-P3 - junto con medidas conductuales como errores de omisi & oacute;n y comisi & oacute;n y tiempo de reacci & oacute;n, usando un protocolo pre-registrado. El an & aacute;lisis estad & iacute;stico incluy & oacute; pruebas de Mann-Whitney y pruebas de permutaci & oacute;n basadas en cl & uacute;steres para comparar los ERP.Resultados: Los adolescentes con TIC mostraron d & eacute;ficits significativos tanto en los mecanismos de control proactivos (amplitudes reducidas del CNV) como reactivos (amplitudes disminuidas de NoGo-N2 y NoGo-P3). A nivel conductual, el grupo con TIC present & oacute; m & aacute;s errores de omisi & oacute;n y tiempos de reacci & oacute;n m & aacute;s cortos que los controles. El an & aacute;lisis exploratorio revel & oacute; amplitudes reducidas en el componente de negatividad visual (VN), lo que sugiere alteraciones en el procesamiento predictivo. El an & aacute;lisis de componentes latentes identific & oacute; marcadores ERP con posible utilidad diagn & oacute;stica, vinculando los d & eacute;ficits a circuitos neuronales claves asociados con el control cognitivo y el procesamiento predictivo.Conclusi & oacute;n: Los resultados del estudio destacan d & eacute;ficits significativos en los mecanismos de control cognitivo y alteraciones en el procesamiento predictivo en adolescentes con TIC, enfatizando la importancia de abordar los d & eacute;ficits neuronales relacionados al trauma durante la adolescencia. Dado que el TIC representa un importante factor de riesgo para el TEPT, el estudio ofrece informaci & oacute;n sobre v & iacute;as neurobiol & oacute;gicas compartidas, lo que respalda el desarrollo de intervenciones dirigidas. Los marcadores ERP como CNV, NoGo-N2, NoGo-P3 y VN muestran potencial para mejorar la precisi & oacute;n diagn & oacute;stica y el seguimiento de resultados terap & eacute;uticos en j & oacute;venes expuestos a trauma.