Citation
Machlin, Laura S.; Egger, Helen L.; Stein, Cheryl R.; Navarro, Esmeralda; Carpenter, Kimberly L. H.; Goel, Srishti; Patel, Kinjal K.; Copeland, William E.; & Sheridan, Margaret A. (2023). Distinct Associations of Deprivation and Threat with Alterations in Brain Structure in Early Childhood. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 62(8), 885-894. PMCID: PMC10412726Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The dimensional model of adversity and psychopathology hypothesizes deprivation and threat impact distinct neurobiological pathways, such as brain structure. This hypothesis has not been examined longitudinally or in young children. We tested longitudinal associations between threat and deprivation measured in preschool and brain structure in childhood. We hypothesized threat would be associated with amygdala and hippocampal subcortical volume and deprivation would be associated with cortical thickness in association cortex.METHOD: The study included T1-weighted scans from 72 children (5-10 years old, 54.2% female participants). Threat was measured by the presence of domestic violence, sexual abuse, physical abuse, or neighborhood violence. Deprivation was measured by the presence of neglect. We examined associations of deprivation or threat with brain structure controlling for other dimension (deprivation or threat) and nuisance covariates using whole-brain vertex-wise analyses. We extracted subcortical volume and examined the same associations using multiple regression.
RESULTS: Threat was associated with widespread decreases in cortical surface area across the prefrontal cortex and other regions. Threat was not associated with amygdala or hippocampal volume. Deprivation was associated with increased thickness in occipital cortex, insula and cingulate.
CONCLUSION: Results suggest distinct associations of deprivation and threat on brain structure in early childhood. Threat is associated with widespread differences in surface area and deprivation is associated with differences in cortical thickness. These observations are consistent with work in adolescence and adulthood and reflect how dimensions of adversity differentially impact neural structure.
URL
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2023.02.006Reference Type
Journal ArticleYear Published
2023Journal Title
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent PsychiatryAuthor(s)
Machlin, Laura S.Egger, Helen L.
Stein, Cheryl R.
Navarro, Esmeralda
Carpenter, Kimberly L. H.
Goel, Srishti
Patel, Kinjal K.
Copeland, William E.
Sheridan, Margaret A.