Hanson Jamie L, Knodt Annchen R, Brigidi Bartholomew D, Hariri Ahmad R
Duke University.
Dev Psychopathol. 2015 Nov;27(4 Pt 2):1611-9. doi: 10.1017/S0954579415000978.
The experience of child maltreatment is a significant risk factor for the development of later internalizing disorders such as depression and anxiety. This risk is particularly heightened after exposure to additional, more contemporaneous stress. While behavioral evidence exists for such "stress sensitization," little is known about the mechanisms mediating such relationships, particularly within the brain. Here we report that the experience of child maltreatment independent of recent life stress, gender, and age is associated with reduced structural integrity of the uncinate fasciculus, a major white matter pathway between the amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex, in young adults. We further demonstrate that individuals with lower uncinate fasciculus integrity at baseline who subsequently experience stressful life events report higher levels of internalizing symptomatology at follow-up. Our findings suggest a novel neurobiological mechanism linking child maltreatment with later internalizing symptoms, specifically altered structural connectivity within the brain's threat-detection and emotion-regulation circuitry.
儿童期受虐待经历是日后出现如抑郁和焦虑等内化障碍的一个重要风险因素。在遭受额外的、更近期的压力后，这种风险会尤其增加。虽然有行为学证据支持这种“应激敏感化”，但对于介导这种关系的机制，尤其是大脑中的机制，我们却知之甚少。在此我们报告，在年轻成年人中，与近期生活压力、性别和年龄无关的儿童期受虐待经历，与钩状束（杏仁核与腹内侧前额叶皮层之间的一条主要白质通路）的结构完整性降低有关。我们进一步证明，在基线时钩状束完整性较低的个体，随后经历应激性生活事件，在随访时报告有更高水平的内化症状。我们的研究结果提示了一种将儿童期受虐待与日后内化症状联系起来的新的神经生物学机制，具体而言，即大脑威胁检测和情绪调节回路内结构连接性的改变。
