Idle Behaviors of the Hippocampus Reflect Endogenous Cortisol Levels in Youth

Thomason, Moriah E.; Tocco, Maria A.; Quednau, K; Bedway, Andrea R.; Carré, Justin M.

doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2013.04.004

Cited by 14 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…Decreased connectivity between hippocampus and PCC has also been associated with heightened anxiety in individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (Chen and Etkin, 2013;Sripada et al, 2012). However, one study of healthy adolescents found that reduced connectivity between hippocampus and DMN was associated with reduced anxiety and cortisol output in the scanner, as well as reduced cortisol during TSST (Thomason et al, 2013). In our sample, reduced functional connectivity within PCC was associated with greater cortisol output in anticipation of social stress, potentially indicating that reduced coupling within DMN is related to greater HPA reactivity.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 52%

Childhood Poverty and Stress Reactivity Are Associated with Aberrant Functional Connectivity in Default Mode Network

Sripada¹,

Swain

Evans

et al. 2014

Neuropsychopharmacol

143

117

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Convergent research suggests that childhood poverty is associated with perturbation in the stress response system. This might extend to aberrations in the connectivity of large-scale brain networks, which subserve key cognitive and emotional functions. Resting-state brain activity was measured in adults with a documented history of childhood poverty (n ¼ 26) and matched controls from middle-income families (n ¼ 26). Participants also underwent a standard laboratory social stress test and provided saliva samples for cortisol assay. Childhood poverty was associated with reduced default mode network (DMN) connectivity. This, in turn, was associated with higher cortisol levels in anticipation of social stress. These results suggest a possible brain basis for exaggerated stress sensitivity in low-income individuals. Alterations in DMN may be associated with less efficient cognitive processing or greater risk for development of stress-related psychopathology among individuals who experienced the adversity of chronic childhood poverty.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 52%

Childhood Poverty and Stress Reactivity Are Associated with Aberrant Functional Connectivity in Default Mode Network

Sripada¹,

Swain

Evans

et al. 2014

Neuropsychopharmacol

143

117

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Following prior work ( Forbes et al, 2009 ), participants were categorized as pre/early (Tanner stages 1–2) or mid/late pubertal (stages 3–5). Resting-state data from 22 participants have been reported previously ( Thomason et al, 2013 ). Face categorization conflict task data presented here have never been previously reported, however data from an analogous emotion-categorization stroop task in 29 participants included here have previously been described ( Marusak et al, 2015 ; tasks counterbalanced for order of presentation).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…RS data were not available for one comparison participant. A visual analog scale (VAS) was used to obtain an average rating of fear/anxiety during the MRI visit (repeat measures at 30-minute intervals) as previously described ( Thomason et al, 2013 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disrupted insula-based neural circuit organization and conflict interference in trauma-exposed youth

Marusak

Etkin

Thomason

2015

NeuroImage: Clinical

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Childhood trauma exposure is a potent risk factor for psychopathology. Emerging research suggests that aberrant saliency processing underlies the link between early trauma exposure and later cognitive and socioemotional deficits that are hallmark of several psychiatric disorders. Here, we examine brain and behavioral responses during a face categorization conflict task, and relate these to intrinsic connectivity of the salience network (SN). The results demonstrate a unique pattern of SN dysfunction in youth exposed to trauma (n = 14) relative to comparison youth (n = 19) matched on age, sex, IQ, and sociodemographic risk. We find that trauma-exposed youth are more susceptible to conflict interference and this correlates with higher fronto-insular responses during conflict. Resting-state functional connectivity data collected in the same participants reveal increased connectivity of the insula to SN seed regions that is associated with diminished reward sensitivity, a critical risk/resilience trait following stress. In addition to altered intrinsic connectivity of the SN, we observed altered connectivity between the SN and default mode network (DMN) in trauma-exposed youth. These data uncover network-level disruptions in brain organization following one of the strongest predictors of illness, early life trauma, and demonstrate the relevance of observed neural effects for behavior and specific symptom dimensions. SN dysfunction may serve as a diathesis that contributes to illness and negative outcomes following childhood trauma.

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“…OXTR groups also did not differ in fear/anxiety (VAS) reported during the MRI visit, t(53) = 0.48, p = 0.63. Effects observed are thus not likely influenced by group differences in stress responsivity during MRI scanning (Thomason, et al, 2013). ELS was highly prevalent across the sample, with 96% reporting witnessing family threats and 32% witnessing domestic violence.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Anxiety and depressive symptoms were assessed using the 41-item Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCR; Birmaher, et al, 1997) and the 10-item Children's Depression Inventory (CDI; Kovacs, 1992), respectively. A visual analog scale (VAS) was used to obtain an average rating of fear/anxiety during the MRI visit (repeat measures at 30-minute intervals) as previously described (Thomason, Tocco, Quednau, Bedway, & Carre, 2013). …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Amygdala responses to salient social cues vary with oxytocin receptor genotype in youth

et al. 2015

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Depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder are linked to altered limbic morphology, dysregulated neuroendocrine function, and heightened amygdala responses to salient social cues. Oxytocin appears to be a potent modulator of amygdala reactivity and neuroendocrine responses to psychosocial stress. Given these stress regulatory effects, there is increasing interest in understanding the role of oxytocin in vulnerability to stress-related clinical disorders. The present study examines the impact of a common functional variant within the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) gene (rs2254298) on structure and function of the amygdala in a high-risk sample of urban, low-income, minority youth with a high incidence of early life stress (ELS). Compared to G/G homozygotes, youth carrying the OXTR A-allele showed increased amygdala volume, reduced behavioral performance, and heightened amygdala response during two functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) tasks that involved viewing socially-relevant face stimuli. Higher amygdala response was related to ELS in A-alleles carriers but not G/G homozygotes. These findings underscore a series of relationships among a common oxytocin system gene variant, ELS exposure, and structure and function of the amygdala in early life. Heightened amygdala response to salient social cues in OXTR A-allele carriers may elevate risk for emotional psychopathology by increasing amygdala involvement in disambiguating environmental cues, particularly for individuals with ELS.

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Idle Behaviors of the Hippocampus Reflect Endogenous Cortisol Levels in Youth

Cited by 14 publications

References 68 publications

Childhood Poverty and Stress Reactivity Are Associated with Aberrant Functional Connectivity in Default Mode Network

Childhood Poverty and Stress Reactivity Are Associated with Aberrant Functional Connectivity in Default Mode Network

Disrupted insula-based neural circuit organization and conflict interference in trauma-exposed youth

Amygdala responses to salient social cues vary with oxytocin receptor genotype in youth

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