Neuroscience and Juvenile Justice Education

Research in Developmental Science, including Developmental Psychology and Developmental Neuroscience, has become increasing relevant to the legal system. Development Science has played a key role in a number of US Supreme Court decisions (e.g., Roper v. Simmons; Graham v. Florida; Miller v. Alabama) in the past 25 years. Dr. White is an expert in the intersection of Developmental Science and legal issues.

Dr. White is available to provide 60-120 minute talks, via video-conference or in-person, or half-day to full-day seminars on the following and related topics:

The Neurobiology of Antisocial Behavior and Aggression

There are multiple developmental pathways to disorders like Conduct Disorder and Oppositional Defiant Disorder that are associated with antisocial and aggressive behaviors. Understanding the underlying causes of antisocial behavior associated with different sub-groups of youth is essential in matching treatments and interventions with youth risks/needs.

Relevant publications by Dr. White:

  1. White, S.F., Voss, J.L., Chiang, J.J., Wang, L., McLaughlin, K.A. & Miller, G.E. (2019). Exposure to violence and low family income are associated with heightened amygdala responsiveness to threat among adolescents. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 40, 100709. doi: 10.1016/j.dcn.2019.100709

  2. White, S.F., *Thornton, L.C., Leshin, J., Clanton, R., Sinclair, S., Coker-Appiah, D.S., Meffert, H., Hwang, S., Blair, R.J.R. (2018). Looming threats and animacy: Reduced responsiveness in Youth with Disrupted Behavior Disorders. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 46(4), 741-754. doi: 10.1007/s10802-017-0335-0

  3. White, S.F., Vantieghem, M.M., Brislin, S.J., Sypher, I. Sinclair, S., Pine, D.S, Hwang, S. & Blair, R.J.R. (2016). Neural correlates of the propensity for retaliatory behavior in youth with disruptive behavior disorders. American Journal of Psychiatry, 173(3), 282-90. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2015.15020250.

Adolescent Development and Increased Risk for Antisocial Behavior

There are a number of factors, including patterns of brain maturation, that increase risk for antisocial behavior in adolescence. Adolescence decision-making, especially in the types of contexts where illegal behavior is likely to occur, is fundamentally different than adult decision-making. Fully assessing youth culpability requires an understanding of the developing brain.

Relevant publications by Dr. White:

  1. White, S.F., Estrada Gonzalez, S.M., & Moriarty, E.M. (2022). Raging Hormones: Why Age-based Etiological Conceptualizations of the Development of Antisocial Behavior are Insufficient. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 16, 853697.

  2. White, S.F., Brislin, S.J., Meffert, H., Sinclair, S., Pine, D.S. & Blair, R.J.R. (2013). Callous-unemotional traits modulate neural responses associated with performance in a social exchange game: A preliminary investigation. Journal of Personality Disorders, 27(1), 99-112. doi: 10.1521/pedi.2013.27.1.99

  3. Hwang, S., White, S.F., Nolan, Z.T., Sinclair, S. & Blair, R.J.R. (2014). Neurodevelopmental changes in the responsiveness of systems involved in top down attention control and emotional responding. Neuropsychologia, 62, 277-285. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2014.08.003

Trauma and trauma-informed approaches

There has been a very positive shift in the juvenile justice system towards trauma-informed approaches. However, proper implementation of trauma-informed approaches in the juvenile justice setting requires an understanding of what the impact of trauma in the brain is and which developmental pathways are associated with trauma histories and which are not.

Relevant publications by Dr. White:

  1. White, S.F., Nusslock, R., & Miller, G.E., (2022). Low socio-economic status is associated with a greater neural response to, but poorer discrimination between, rewards and losses. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 34(10), 1939-1951.

  2. White, S.F., Voss, J.L., Chiang, J.J., Wang, L., McLaughlin, K.A. & Miller, G.E. (2019). Exposure to violence and low family income are associated with heightened amygdala responsiveness to threat among adolescents. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 40, 100709. doi: 10.1016/j.dcn.2019.100709

  3. White, S.F., Costanzo, M.E., Blair, R.J.R. & Roy, M.J. (2015). PTSD symptom severity is associated with increased recruitment of top-down attentional control in a trauma-exposed sample. Neuroimage:Clinical, 7, 19-27. doi: 10.1016/j.nicl.2014.11.012