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Childhood adversity impacts on brain subcortical structures relevant to depression.

ABSTRACT: Childhood adversity plays an important role for development of major depressive disorder (MDD). There are differences in subcortical brain structures between patients with MDD and healthy controls, but the specific impact of childhood adversity on such structures in MDD remains unclear. Thus, aim of the present study was to investigate whether childhood adversity is associated with subcortical volumes and how it interacts with a diagnosis of MDD and sex. Within the ENIGMA-MDD network, nine university partner sites, which assessed childhood adversity and magnetic resonance imaging in patients with MDD and controls, took part in the current joint mega-analysis. In this largest effort world-wide to identify subcortical brain structure differences related to childhood adversity, 3036 participants were analyzed for subcortical brain volumes using FreeSurfer. A significant interaction was evident between childhood adversity, MDD diagnosis, sex, and region. Increased exposure to childhood adversity was associated with smaller caudate volumes in females independent of MDD. All subcategories of childhood adversity were negatively associated with caudate volumes in females - in particular emotional neglect and physical neglect (independently from age, ICV, imaging site and MDD diagnosis). There was no interaction effect between childhood adversity and MDD diagnosis on subcortical brain volumes. Childhood adversity is one of the contributors to brain structural abnormalities. It is associated with subcortical brain abnormalities that are relevant to psychiatric disorders such as depression.

SUBMITTER: Frodl T

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5564511 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Childhood adversity impacts on brain subcortical structures relevant to depression.

Frodl Thomas T Janowitz Deborah D Schmaal Lianne L Tozzi Leonardo L Dobrowolny Henrik H Stein Dan J DJ Veltman Dick J DJ Wittfeld Katharina K van Erp Theo G M TGM Jahanshad Neda N Block Andrea A Hegenscheid Katrin K Völzke Henry H Lagopoulos Jim J Hatton Sean N SN Hickie Ian B IB Frey Eva Maria EM Carballedo Angela A Brooks Samantha J SJ Vuletic Daniella D Uhlmann Anne A Veer Ilya M IM Walter Henrik H Schnell Knut K Grotegerd Dominik D Arolt Volker V Kugel Harald H Schramm Elisabeth E Konrad Carsten C Zurowski Bartosz B Baune Bernhard T BT van der Wee Nic J A NJA van Tol Marie-Jose MJ Penninx Brenda W J H BWJH Thompson Paul M PM Hibar Derrek P DP Dannlowski Udo U Grabe Hans J HJ

Journal of psychiatric research 20161119

Childhood adversity plays an important role for development of major depressive disorder (MDD). There are differences in subcortical brain structures between patients with MDD and healthy controls, but the specific impact of childhood adversity on such structures in MDD remains unclear. Thus, aim of the present study was to investigate whether childhood adversity is associated with subcortical volumes and how it interacts with a diagnosis of MDD and sex. Within the ENIGMA-MDD network, nine unive ...[more]

PMID: 27918926

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Project description:BackgroundA large body of research supports the deleterious effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on disease susceptibility and health for both the exposed individual and the next generation. It is likely that there is an intergenerational transmission of risk from mother to child; however, the mechanisms through which such risk is conferred remain unknown. The current study evaluated the association between maternal ACEs, neonatal brain development of the amygdala and hippocampus, and later infant negative emotionality at six months of age.MethodsThe sample included 85 mother-infant dyads (44 female infants) from a longitudinal study. Maternal ACEs were assessed with the Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire (ACE-Q) and neonatal hippocampal and amygdala volume was assessed using structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Infant negative emotionality was assessed at 6 months using the Infant Behavior Questionnaire (IBQ).ResultsMultivariate analyses demonstrated that maternal ACEs were associated with bilateral amygdala volume (F(2,78) = 3.697,p = .029). Specifically, higher maternal ACEs were associated with smaller left (β = -0.220, t(79) = -2.661, p = .009, R2 = 0.494, and right (β = -0.167, t(79) = -2.043, p = .044, R2 = 0.501) amygdala volume. No significant association between maternal ACEs and bilateral hippocampal volume (F(2,78) = 0.215,p = .0807) was found. Follow-up regression analyses demonstrated that both high maternal ACEs and smaller left amygdala volume were associated with higher infant negative emotionality at six months of age (β = .232, p = .040, R2 = 0.094, and β = -0.337, p = .022, R2 = 0.16, respectively) although statistically significant mediation of this effect was not observed (Indirect effect = 0.0187, 95% CI [-0.0016-0.0557]).ConclusionsMaternal ACEs are associated with both newborn amygdala volume and subsequent infant negative emotionality. These findings linking maternal adverse childhood experiences and infant brain development and temperament provide evidence to support the intergenerational transmission of adversity from mother to child.

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Childhood adversity impacts on brain subcortical structures relevant to depression.

Publications

Childhood adversity impacts on brain subcortical structures relevant to depression.

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