Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands.
J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2018 Oct;59(10):1061-1072. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.12972.
Cross-sectional studies report relations between externalizing behavior and structural abnormalities in cortical thickness of prefrontal regions and volume reductions in subcortical regions. To understand how these associations emerge and develop, longitudinal designs are pivotal.
In the current longitudinal study, a community sample of children, adolescents and young adults (N = 271) underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in three biennial waves (680 scans). At each wave, aspects of externalizing behavior were assessed with parent-reported aggression and rule-breaking scores (Child Behavior Checklist), and self-reported aggression scores (Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire). Regions of interest (ROIs) were selected based on prior research: dorsolateral prefrontal (dlPFC), orbitofrontal (OFC), anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), insula, and parahippocampal cortex, as well as subcortical regions. Linear mixed models were used to assess the longitudinal relation between externalizing behavior and structural brain development. Structural covariance analyses were employed to identify whether longitudinal relations between ROIs (maturational coupling) were associated with externalizing behavior.
Linear mixed model analyses showed a negative relation between parent-reported aggression and right hippocampal volume. Moreover, this longitudinal relation was driven by change in hippocampal volume and not initial volume of hippocampus at time point 1. Exploratory analyses showed that stronger maturational coupling between prefrontal regions, the limbic system, and striatum was associated with both low and high externalizing behavior.
Together, these findings reinforce the hypothesis that altered structural brain development coincides with development of more externalizing behavior. These findings may guide future research on normative and deviant development of externalizing behavior.
横断面研究报告称，外向行为与前额皮质厚度的结构异常以及皮质下区域体积减少之间存在关系。为了了解这些关联是如何出现和发展的，纵向设计至关重要。
在当前的纵向研究中，一个社区样本的儿童、青少年和年轻人（N=271）在三个两年期波（680 次扫描）中接受了磁共振成像（MRI）检查。在每个波次中，通过父母报告的攻击和违规得分（儿童行为检查表）以及自我报告的攻击得分（Buss-Perry 攻击问卷）评估外向行为的各个方面。根据先前的研究选择了感兴趣区域（ROI）：背外侧前额叶（dlPFC）、眶额皮质（OFC）、前扣带皮质（ACC）、脑岛和海马旁回，以及皮质下区域。线性混合模型用于评估外向行为与结构大脑发育之间的纵向关系。结构协方差分析用于确定 ROI 之间的纵向关系（成熟耦合）是否与外向行为相关。
线性混合模型分析显示，父母报告的攻击行为与右侧海马体体积呈负相关。此外，这种纵向关系是由海马体体积的变化而不是第 1 时间点的海马体初始体积驱动的。探索性分析表明，前额叶区域、边缘系统和纹状体之间更强的成熟耦合与低和高外向行为都有关。
这些发现共同强化了这样一种假设，即结构大脑发育的改变与更多外向行为的发展相吻合。这些发现可能为未来关于外向行为的正常和异常发展的研究提供指导。
