Dataset Information

Meta-analysis of associations between childhood adversity and hippocampus and amygdala volume in non-clinical and general population samples.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Studies of psychiatric populations have reported associations between childhood adversity and volumes of stress-related brain structures. This meta-analysis investigated these associations in non-clinical samples and therefore independent of the effects of severe mental health difficulties and their treatment.

Methods

The MEDLINE database was searched for magnetic resonance imaging studies measuring brain structure in adults with and without childhood adversity. Fifteen eligible papers (1781 participants) reporting hippocampal volumes and/or amygdala volumes were pooled using a random effects meta-analysis.

Results

Those with childhood adversity had lower hippocampus volumes (hedges g = - 0.15, p = 0.010). Controlling for gender, this difference became less evident (hedges g = - 0.12, p = 0.124). This association differed depending on whether studies included participants with some psychopathology, though this may be due to differences in the type of adversity these studies examined. There was no strong evidence of any differences in amygdala volume.

Discussion

Childhood adversity may have only a modest impact on stress-related brain structures in those without significant mental health difficulties.

SUBMITTER: Calem M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5331153 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Meta-analysis of associations between childhood adversity and hippocampus and amygdala volume in non-clinical and general population samples.

Calem Maria M Bromis Konstantinos K McGuire Philip P Morgan Craig C Kempton Matthew J MJ

NeuroImage. Clinical 20170222

<h4>Background</h4>Studies of psychiatric populations have reported associations between childhood adversity and volumes of stress-related brain structures. This meta-analysis investigated these associations in non-clinical samples and therefore independent of the effects of severe mental health difficulties and their treatment.<h4>Methods</h4>The MEDLINE database was searched for magnetic resonance imaging studies measuring brain structure in adults with and without childhood adversity. Fifteen ...[more]

PMID: 28275547

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Much research has focused on the deleterious neurobiological effects of childhood adversity that may underlie internalizing disorders. While most youth show emotional adaptation following adversity, the corresponding neural mechanisms remain poorly understood. METHODS:In this longitudinal community study, we examined the associations among childhood family adversity, adolescent internalizing symptoms, and their interaction on regional brain activation and amygdala/hippocampus functional connectivity during emotion processing in 132 adolescents. RESULTS:Consistent with prior work, childhood adversity predicted heightened amygdala reactivity to negative, but not positive, images in adolescence. However, amygdala reactivity was not related to internalizing symptoms. Furthermore, childhood adversity predicted increased fronto-amygdala connectivity to negative, but not positive, images, yet only in lower internalizing adolescents. Childhood adversity also predicted increased fronto-hippocampal connectivity to negative images, but was not moderated by internalizing. These findings were unrelated to adolescence adversity or externalizing symptoms, suggesting specificity to childhood adversity and adolescent internalizing. CONCLUSIONS:Together, these findings suggest that adaptation to childhood adversity is associated with augmentation of fronto-subcortical circuits specifically for negative emotional stimuli. Conversely, insufficient enhancement of fronto-amygdala connectivity, with increasing amygdala reactivity, may represent a neural signature of vulnerability for internalizing by late adolescence. These findings implicate early childhood as a critical period in determining the brain's adaptation to adversity, and suggest that even normative adverse experiences can have significant impact on neurodevelopment and functioning. These results offer potential neural mechanisms of adaptation and vulnerability which could be used in the prediction of risk for psychopathology following childhood adversity.

Dataset Information

Meta-analysis of associations between childhood adversity and hippocampus and amygdala volume in non-clinical and general population samples.

Background

Methods

Results

Discussion

Publications

Meta-analysis of associations between childhood adversity and hippocampus and amygdala volume in non-clinical and general population samples.

Similar Datasets

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