Jedd Kelly, Hunt Ruskin H, Cicchetti Dante, Hunt Emily, Cowell Raquel A, Rogosch Fred A, Toth Sheree L, Thomas Kathleen M
University of Minnesota Institute of Child Development.
University of Rochester Mt. Hope Family Center.
Dev Psychopathol. 2015 Nov;27(4 Pt 2):1577-89. doi: 10.1017/S0954579415000954.
Childhood maltreatment is a serious individual, familial, and societal threat that compromises healthy development and is associated with lasting alterations to emotion perception, processing, and regulation (Cicchetti & Curtis, 2005; Pollak, Cicchetti, Hornung, & Reed, 2000; Pollak & Tolley-Schell, 2003). Individuals with a history of maltreatment show altered structural and functional brain development in both frontal and limbic structures (Hart & Rubia, 2012). In particular, previous research has identified hyperactive amygdala responsivity associated with childhood maltreatment (e.g., Dannlowski et al., 2012). However, less is known about the impact of maltreatment on the relationship between the amygdala and other brain regions. The present study employed an emotion processing functional magnetic resonance imaging task to examine task-based activation and functional connectivity in adults who experienced maltreatment as children. The sample included adults with a history of substantiated childhood maltreatment (n = 33) and comparison adults (n = 38) who were well matched on demographic variables, all of whom have been studied prospectively since childhood. The maltreated group exhibited greater activation than comparison participants in the prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia. In addition, maltreated adults showed increased amygdala connectivity with the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. The results suggest that the intense early stress of childhood maltreatment is associated with lasting alterations to frontolimbic circuitry.
童年期受虐是一种严重的个人、家庭和社会威胁，它会损害健康发展，并与情绪感知、处理和调节的持久改变相关（西契迪 & 柯蒂斯，2005；波拉克、西契迪、霍农 & 里德，2000；波拉克 & 托利 - 谢尔，2003）。有受虐史的个体在额叶和边缘结构的大脑结构和功能发育上表现出改变（哈特 & 鲁比亚，2012）。特别是，先前的研究已经确定与童年期受虐相关的杏仁核反应过度活跃（例如，丹诺夫斯基等人，2012）。然而，关于受虐对杏仁核与其他脑区之间关系的影响知之甚少。本研究采用情绪处理功能磁共振成像任务，来检查童年期受过虐待的成年人基于任务的激活和功能连接。样本包括有确凿童年期受虐史的成年人（n = 33）和在人口统计学变量上匹配良好的对照成年人（n = 38），所有这些人自童年起就接受了前瞻性研究。受虐组在前额叶皮质和基底神经节的激活程度高于对照参与者。此外，受虐成年人的杏仁核与海马体和前额叶皮质的连接增加。结果表明，童年期受虐的强烈早期压力与额边缘回路的持久改变有关。
