Distinct Associations of Deprivation and Threat With Alterations in Brain Structure in Early Childhood

Copyright © 2023 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved..

OBJECTIVE: The dimensional model of adversity and psychopathology hypothesizes deprivation and threat impact distinct neurobiological pathways, such as brain structure. This hypothesis has not been examined longitudinally or in young children. This study tested longitudinal associations between threat and deprivation measured in preschool and brain structure in childhood. It was hypothesized that threat would be associated with amygdala and hippocampal subcortical volume and deprivation would be associated with cortical thickness in association cortex.

METHOD: The study included T1-weighted scans from 72 children (5-10 years old, 54.2% female participants). Threat was measured by the presence of domestic violence, sexual abuse, physical abuse, or neighborhood violence. Deprivation was measured by the presence of neglect. Associations of deprivation or threat with brain structure were examined controlling for other dimension (deprivation or threat) and nuisance covariates using whole-brain vertex-wise analyses. Subcortical volume was extracted, and the same associations were examined using multiple regression.

RESULTS: Threat was associated with widespread decreases in cortical surface area across the prefrontal cortex and other regions. Threat was not associated with amygdala or hippocampal volume. Deprivation was associated with increased thickness in occipital cortex, insula, and cingulate.

CONCLUSION: Results suggest distinct associations of deprivation and threat on brain structure in early childhood. Threat is associated with widespread differences in surface area, and deprivation is associated with differences in cortical thickness. These observations are consistent with work in adolescence and adulthood and reflect how dimensions of adversity differentially impact neural structure.

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2023

Erschienen:

2023

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:62

Enthalten in:

Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry - 62(2023), 8 vom: 01. Aug., Seite 885-894.e3

Sprache:

Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:

Machlin, Laura [VerfasserIn]
Egger, Helen L [VerfasserIn]
Stein, Cheryl R [VerfasserIn]
Navarro, Esmeralda [VerfasserIn]
Carpenter, Kimberly L H [VerfasserIn]
Goel, Srishti [VerfasserIn]
Patel, Kinjal K [VerfasserIn]
Copeland, William E [VerfasserIn]
Sheridan, Margaret A [VerfasserIn]

Links:

Volltext

Themen:

Brain structure
Cortical thickness
Deprivation
Development
Journal Article
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Threat

Anmerkungen:

Date Completed 31.07.2023

Date Revised 29.03.2024

published: Print-Electronic

Citation Status MEDLINE

doi:

10.1016/j.jaac.2023.02.006

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

NLM352847085