Childhood Maltreatment Experience Influences Neural Response to Psychosocial Stress in Adults: An fMRI Study

Abstract

Background: Childhood maltreatment is a strong risk factor for the development of depression in later life. However, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying this vulnerability are not well understood. As depression has been associated with dysfunction of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and increased responsiveness to psychosocial stressors, we speculated that childhood maltreatment may lead to lasting alteration of the stress response system, thereby increasing the risk of depression. This study investigated the effects of childhood maltreatment on the stress response in healthy subjects while controlling for psychiatric condition. Methods: Forty-eight healthy young adults (24 females) with childhood maltreatment experience and 48 healthy controls (33 females) without such experience were administered the Montreal Imaging Stress Task during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Childhood maltreatment experience was assessed using the 28-item Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). Between-group differences in subjective stress levels, whole brain activations and cortisol levels were assessed. Results: Relative to healthy control subjects, individuals exposed to childhood maltreatment exhibited higher subjective stress and cortisol levels. Neurofunctionally, participants with histories of childhood maltreatment displayed significantly increased activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), insula and precuneus, and decreased activation in ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) relative to healthy controls during the psychosocial stress task. Activations in dlPFC and insula correlated with CTQ scores in the childhood maltreatment group. Conclusion: The results of this study show that childhood maltreatment induces lasting changes in brain function and HPA-axis responsiveness to stress. The observed

Childhood assaultive trauma and physical aggression: Links with cortical thickness in prefrontal and occipital cortices

“…Interestingly, other studies have also reported structural reductions in the occipital cortex among maltreated children ( McLaughlin et al, 2014 ) and adults with a history of childhood abuse ( Tomoda et al, 2009 ). Further, these structural findings are in line with results from functional-based MRI studies Specifically, studies have shown that adults with and without a history of childhood maltreatment evidence divergent activation patterns in both the prefrontal and occipital cortices ( Frewen et al, 2017 , Seghete et al, 2017 , Zhong et al, 2020 ). Thus, the findings of the present study fit within the greater neuroimaging literature documenting links between childhood adversity and neural adaptations within these cortices.…”

The role of only-child status in the psychological impact of COVID-19 on mental health of Chinese adolescents

“…It is reasonable that emotional abuse is a risk factor of depression and anxiety symptoms, while resilience and good parent-child relationship are protective factors with moderating effects in adolescents during the outbreak of COIVD-19. Moreover, we appeal to stop emotional abuse as well, for childhood maltreatment can negatively influence mental health of adolescents, it has been proved by previous studies ( Geoffroy et al., 2016 ; ten Have et al., 2019 ; Zhong et al., 2020 ).…”

Association Between Hyperactivity Symptoms and Somatic Complaints: Mediating and Moderating Mechanisms in Childhood Trauma and Life Events Among Chinese Male Adolescents

“…However, the mechanism for this relationship is unclear. It could be linked to post-traumatic changes in brain function or HPA axis responsiveness to stress ( 37 ). Based on the findings described above, interventions to address somatic complaints in male adolescents with hyperactivity symptoms should consider the effects of trauma and life events alone, and the interaction between childhood traumatic experiences and life events should be addressed.…”

“…Zhong et al found that childhood trauma changed brain function (dorsolateral pre-frontal cortex, insula, etc.) and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis responsiveness to stress ( 37 ). Recently, Janiri et al reported that childhood trauma increased vulnerability to stress-related psychological distress during the coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak ( 38 ).…”