Corticostriatal-Limbic Gray Matter Morphology in Adolescents With Self-reported Exposure to Childhood Maltreatment

Hippocampal Atrophy in Major Depression: a Function of Childhood Maltreatment Rather than Diagnosis?

“…First, our finding of reduced hippocampal volumes in depressed patients compared with healthy controls is well in line with numerous imaging studies showing similar effects, including meta-analyses (Arnone et al, 2012a;Cole et al, 2011;MacQueen and Frodl, 2011). Second, the results of our study suggest a strong impact of childhood maltreatment on hippocampal morphometry in both, patients and healthy subjects, with comparable effect sizes in both samples (accounting for B8-9% variance of hippocampal volume), which is also in accordance with several previous studies reporting similar effects and effect sizes (Dannlowski et al, 2012;Edmiston et al, 2011;Teicher et al, 2012) but contradicts a study by Lenze et al (2008) that found childhood adversity to be associated with earlier onset of MDD but not with reduced hippocampal volume.…”

“…Small hippocampal volumes have been repeatedly detected in subjects affected by childhood maltreatment (Dannlowski et al, 2012;Teicher and Samson, 2013). There has been growing evidence regarding the genesis of these trauma-related changes in limbic structures to be independent from disease status, as they could be found in both healthy subjects and currently depressed patients suffering from MDD (Chaney et al, 2014;Edmiston et al, 2011;Frodl et al, 2010b;Vythilingam et al, 2002). Teicher et al (2012) showed that hippocampal shape alterations in subjects having experienced childhood maltreatment is not mediated by the presence or absence of life-time affective disorders.…”

CBASP with Intensified Significant Other History Exercise for Chronic Major Depression with Antecedent Dysthymic Disorder in Outpatient Treatment: Rationale, Assessment and Effects on the Hypothesized Core Content of the Patient’s in-Session Interpersonal

“…The first part starts with a recapitulation of key learning theory considerations about the origin of the disorder that follows our previous work published elsewhere 2011). This starting point provides the foundation for a better comprehension of the rationale to use the techniques of disciplined personal involvement (DPI) early in therapy to shape a sensitive patient-therapist relationship.…”

“…The (Pavlovian) fear is perpetuated by several forms of (Skinnerian) avoidance, thus accounting for an uncoupling of the person-environment connection as a contributing cause of depressive symptomatology. Functional brain changes may include that (1) the signal-reinforcer-relationship in relation to the implicit regulation of attentional control is biased towards stimuli that predict uncontrollability and unpredictability, and that (2) the behaviour-reinforcer-relation with respect to the implicit regulation of situational outcome is biased towards an independent of response expectation of some sort of punishment (Schoepf et al, 2007;2011).…”

“…In full agreement with these learning-theory and neurobiological based considerations, recent imaging studies demonstrated how chronic environmental stress in child victims of family violencephysical abuse, physical neglect and verbal abuse -primes the brain of the on-growing child for future mental illness by setting it's stress system in a permanent state of high alert as well as lead to corticostriatal-limbic gray matter reduction in the intervening adolescent epoch (McCrory et al, 2011). Furthermore, hippocampal and striatal alterations in adults are associated with reported emotional neglect during childhood, suggesting that such neglect may have long-lasting effects on corticostriatal-limbic regions subserving emotion regulation (Edmiston et al, 2011).…”