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Impact of early vs. late childhood early life stress on brain morphometrics.
- Source :
-
Brain imaging and behavior [Brain Imaging Behav] 2013 Jun; Vol. 7 (2), pp. 196-203. - Publication Year :
- 2013
-
Abstract
- Previous studies of early life trauma suggest that in addition to its emotional impact, exposure to early life stress (ELS) is associated with alterations in brain structure. However, little attention has been devoted to the relationship between emotional processing and brain integrity as a function of age of ELS onset. In the present study we examined whether ELS onset in older ages of youth rather than younger ages is associated with smaller limbic and basal ganglia volumes as measured by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We hypothesized that later age of manifestation during youth is associated with smaller volumetric morphology in limbic and basal ganglia volumes in adulthood. A total of 173 individuals were divided into three groups based on the age of self-reported ELS. The three groups included individuals only experiencing early childhood ELS (1 month-7 years, n = 38), those only experiencing later childhood ELS (8 years -17 years, n = 59), and those who have not experienced ELS (n = 76). Anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), hippocampus, amygdala, insula and caudate volumes were measured using a T1-weighted MRI. Analyses confirmed that later childhood ELS was associated with volumetric reductions in the ACC and insula volumes, while ELS experienced between the ages of 1 month and 7 years was not associated with lower brain volumes in these regions. The results may reflect the influence of more fully developed emotional processing of ELS on the developing brain and reinforce a body of research implicating both the ACC and insula in neuropsychiatric disorders and emotional regulation.
- Subjects :
- Adolescent
Adult
Age Factors
Aged
Amygdala growth & development
Amygdala pathology
Amygdala physiopathology
Anxiety Disorders pathology
Anxiety Disorders physiopathology
Caudate Nucleus growth & development
Caudate Nucleus pathology
Caudate Nucleus physiopathology
Child
Child, Preschool
Depressive Disorder pathology
Depressive Disorder physiopathology
Female
Gyrus Cinguli growth & development
Gyrus Cinguli pathology
Gyrus Cinguli physiopathology
Hippocampus growth & development
Hippocampus pathology
Hippocampus physiopathology
Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Male
Middle Aged
Young Adult
Brain growth & development
Brain pathology
Brain physiopathology
Life Change Events
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Stress, Psychological pathology
Stress, Psychological physiopathology
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1931-7565
- Volume :
- 7
- Issue :
- 2
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Brain imaging and behavior
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 23247614
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s11682-012-9215-y