Imaging Research Center, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States.
Department of Environmental Health, Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, United States.
Neurotoxicology. 2018 Jul;67:1-26. doi: 10.1016/j.neuro.2018.04.004. Epub 2018 Apr 7.
Childhood lead exposure has been correlated to acts of delinquency and criminal behavior; however, little research has been conducted to examine its potential long term influence on behavioral factors such as personality, specifically psychopathic personality. Neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that the effects of childhood lead exposure persist into adulthood, with structural abnormalities found in gray and white matter regions involved in behavioral decision making. The current study examined whether measurements of adult psychopathy were associated with neuroanatomical differences in structural brain volumes for a longitudinal cohort with measured childhood lead exposure. We hypothesized that increased total psychopathy scores and increased blood lead concentration at 78 months of age (PbB78) would be inversely associated with volumetric measures of gray and white matter brain structures responsible for executive and emotional processing. Analyses did not display a direct effect between total psychopathy score and gray matter volume; however, reduced white matter volume in the cerebellum and brain stem in relation to increased total psychopathy scores was observed. An interaction between sex and total psychopathy score was also detected. Females displayed increased gray matter volume in the frontal, temporal, and parietal lobes associated with increased total psychopathy score, but did not display any white matter volume differences. Males primarily displayed reductions in frontal gray and white matter brain volume in relation to increased total psychopathy scores. Additionally, reduced gray and white matter volume was associated with increased blood lead levels in the frontal lobes; reduced white matter volume was also observed in the parietal and temporal lobes. Females demonstrated gray and white matter volume loss associated with increased PbB78 values in the right temporal lobe, as well as reduced gray matter volume in the frontal lobe. Males displayed reduced white matter volumes associated with increased PbB78 values in the frontal, temporal, and parietal lobes. Comparison of the two primary models revealed a volumetric decrease in the white matter of the left prefrontal cortex associated with increased total psychopathy scores and increased blood lead concentration in males. The results of this study suggested that increased psychopathy scores in this cohort may be attributable to the neuroanatomical abnormalities observed and that childhood lead exposure may be influential to these outcomes.
儿童期铅暴露与犯罪行为和犯罪行为有关；然而，很少有研究检查其对行为因素的潜在长期影响，例如人格，特别是精神病态人格。神经影像学研究表明，儿童期铅暴露的影响持续到成年期，在参与行为决策的灰质和白质区域发现结构异常。本研究检查了在具有测量的儿童期铅暴露的纵向队列中，成人精神病态测量值是否与结构脑体积的神经解剖差异相关。我们假设，78 个月时的总精神病态评分增加和血铅浓度（PbB78）增加与负责执行和情绪处理的灰质和白质脑结构的容积测量值呈负相关。分析未显示总精神病态评分与灰质体积之间存在直接影响；然而，与总精神病态评分增加相关，观察到小脑和脑干的白质体积减少。还检测到性别与总精神病态评分之间的相互作用。女性与总精神病态评分增加相关的额、颞和顶叶的灰质体积增加，但没有显示任何白质体积差异。男性主要表现为与总精神病态评分增加相关的额、额和额白质脑体积减少。此外，额叶的血铅水平升高与灰质和白质体积减少相关；还观察到顶叶和颞叶的白质体积减少。女性表现为与右颞叶血铅水平升高相关的灰质和白质体积减少，以及额极灰质体积减少。男性表现为与额、颞和顶叶血铅水平升高相关的白质体积减少。对两个主要模型的比较显示，与总精神病态评分增加和男性血铅浓度增加相关的左前额叶皮质白质体积减少。本研究结果表明，该队列中精神病态评分的增加可能归因于观察到的神经解剖异常，并且儿童期铅暴露可能对这些结果有影响。
