Choi Jeewook, Jeong Bumseok, Rohan Michael L, Polcari Ann M, Teicher Martin H
Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Developmental Biopsychiatry Research Program, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts; Department of Psychiatry, Catholic University of Korea, South Korea.
Biol Psychiatry. 2009 Feb 1;65(3):227-34. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2008.06.022. Epub 2008 Aug 9.
Psychiatric sequelae of exposure to parental verbal abuse (PVA) appear to be comparable with that of nonfamilial sexual abuse and witnessing domestic violence. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was used to ascertain whether PVA was associated with abnormalities in white matter (WM) tract integrity.
1271 healthy young adults were screened for exposure to childhood adversity. Diffusion tensor imaging was collected on 16 unmedicated subjects with history of high-level exposure to PVA but no other form of maltreatment (4 male/12 female subjects, mean age 21.9 +/- 2.4 years) and 16 healthy control subjects (5 male/11 female subjects, 21.0 +/- 1.6 years). Group differences in fractional anisotropy (FA), covaried by parental education and income, were assessed using tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS).
Three WM tract regions had significantly reduced FA: 1) arcuate fasciculus in left superior temporal gyrus, 2) cingulum bundle by the posterior tail of the left hippocampus, and 3) the left body of the fornix. Fractional anisotropy in these areas was strongly associated with average PVA scores (r(s) = -.701, -.801, -.524, respectively) and levels of maternal verbal abuse. Across groups, FA in region 1 correlated with verbal IQ and verbal comprehension index. Fractional anisotropy in region 2 was inversely associated with ratings of depression, dissociation, and limbic irritability. Fractional anisotropy in region 3 was inversely correlated with ratings of somatization and anxiety.
Exposure to PVA may be associated with alteration in the integrity of neural pathways with implications for language development and psychopathology.
遭受父母言语虐待（PVA）后的精神后遗症似乎与非家庭性虐待和目睹家庭暴力的情况相当。弥散张量成像（DTI）用于确定PVA是否与白质（WM）束完整性异常有关。
对1271名健康的年轻人进行童年逆境暴露筛查。对16名有高水平PVA暴露史但无其他形式虐待史的未用药受试者（4名男性/12名女性受试者，平均年龄21.9±2.4岁）和16名健康对照受试者（5名男性/11名女性受试者，21.0±1.6岁）进行弥散张量成像。使用基于束的空间统计学（TBSS）评估在父母教育和收入协变量调整下的分数各向异性（FA）组间差异。
三个白质束区域的FA显著降低：1）左侧颞上回的弓状束，2）左侧海马后尾旁的扣带束，3）左侧穹窿体。这些区域的分数各向异性与平均PVA评分（分别为r(s)=-.701、-.801、-.524）和母亲言语虐待水平密切相关。在各群组中，区域1的FA与言语智商和言语理解指数相关。区域2的分数各向异性与抑郁、解离和边缘易激惹评分呈负相关。区域3的分数各向异性与躯体化和焦虑评分呈负相关。
暴露于PVA可能与神经通路完整性改变有关，这对语言发展和精神病理学有影响。
