Boes Aaron D, Murko Vesna, Wood Jessica L, Langbehn Douglas R, Canady John, Richman Lynn, Nopoulos Peg
University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.
Behav Brain Res. 2007 Aug 6;181(2):224-31. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2007.04.009. Epub 2007 Apr 22.
Isolated clefts of the lip and/or palate (ICLP) are developmental craniofacial abnormalities that have consistently been linked to increased social inhibition or shyness. Two explanations have been proposed: (1) psychosocial factors related to differences in facial appearance may lead to low self-concept and subsequent shyness, or (2) abnormal development of brain structures involved in social function, such as the ventral frontal cortex (VFC), may underlie the difference. To investigate these two possibilities this study was designed to evaluate measures of social function in relation to measures of self-concept and VFC morphology. Subjects included 30 boys (age 7-12) with ICLP and a comparison group of 43 boys without cleft in the same age category. Social function and self-concept were assessed using questionnaires with standardized scoring filled out by subjects and one of their parents. The cortical volume and surface area of the VFC, composed of the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and straight gyrus (SG), were evaluated using structural magnetic resonance imaging. The ICLP subjects had significantly impaired social function relative to the comparison group. No difference in self-concept was identified. VFC morphology revealed significant differences between groups, particularly decreased volume and surface area in the left SG of the ICLP group. Moreover, abnormal VFC measures were correlated with social dysfunction but measures of self-concept were not. These results are consistent with the possibility that aberrant VFC development may partially underlie social dysfunction in boys with ICLP.
孤立性唇裂和/或腭裂（ICLP）是一种发育性颅面异常，一直与社交抑制增加或害羞有关。对此提出了两种解释：（1）与面部外观差异相关的心理社会因素可能导致自我概念低下及随后的害羞，或者（2）参与社交功能的脑结构异常发育，如腹侧额叶皮质（VFC），可能是造成这种差异的原因。为了探究这两种可能性，本研究旨在评估社交功能指标与自我概念和VFC形态学指标之间的关系。研究对象包括30名患有ICLP的男孩（年龄7至12岁）以及43名同年龄组无唇裂的男孩作为对照组。使用由受试者及其父母之一填写的具有标准化评分的问卷来评估社交功能和自我概念。使用结构磁共振成像评估由眶额皮质（OFC）和直回（SG）组成的VFC的皮质体积和表面积。与对照组相比，ICLP受试者的社交功能明显受损。未发现自我概念存在差异。VFC形态学显示两组之间存在显著差异，特别是ICLP组左侧SG的体积和表面积减小。此外，VFC异常指标与社交功能障碍相关，但自我概念指标与之无关。这些结果与VFC发育异常可能是ICLP男孩社交功能障碍部分原因的可能性一致。
