Parallel Session Proceedings »
4.3.2 Irritability and the 2e Brain
This session reviews the recent National Institute of Mental Health funded study that identifies differences in how the brains of irritable youth react to frustration. Understanding the physiological processes that underlie irritability is critical to guiding the development of therapies for this impairing yet common problem.
Dr. Leibeluft’s study compared “irritable” and “non-irritable” children’s response to frustration via FMRI and found that regardless of medication, “irritable” children’s brains showed greater neural activation in the frontal-striatal region. The implications for gifted and 2e youth are profound, in that parents and helping professionals need to shift their understanding to include the physiology behind the frustration so as to better support children who are more prone to low frustration tolerance.
Our discussion will look to Dabrowski’s Overexcitabilities as a framework for understanding the intensity of irritability in the 2e brain and will explore the research in brain differences in gifted and 2e children, and how this new information can help explain the decreased ability to regulate emotions and sustain attention. Attendees will understand how the brain’s response to frustration can manifest in the classroom, and at home. We will discuss strategies addressing anxiety and emotion regulation in order to manage irritability and outbursts. Lastly, we will suggest collaborative ways for parents and educators to advocate on behalf of their irritable gifted and 2e children. (NIMH Study: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/news/science-news/2018/understanding-the-brain-mechanisms-of-irritability-in-youth.shtml)