Institute of Developmental Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, School of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
PLoS One. 2019 Jan 14;14(1):e0210489. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0210489. eCollection 2019.
Multiple studies have revealed that adolescent AIDS orphans have more psychosocial problems than healthy adolescents. However, little is known about whether and how the brain structures of adolescent AIDS orphans differ from those of healthy adolescents. Here, we used magnetic resonance imaging to compare adolescent AIDS orphans reared in institutions (N = 20) with a sex- and age-matched group of healthy adolescents reared in families (N = 20) in China using a voxel-based morphometry analysis. First, we found that both total gray- and white-matter volumes did not differ between groups. Second, after correcting for age, sex, and total gray-matter volume, the AIDS orphan group demonstrated smaller hippocampal volumes, larger anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) volumes, and no differences in the amygdala. Third, a whole-brain analysis identified higher gray-matter volume of the ACC in the AIDS orphan group than in the control group. The preliminary findings of this study highlight the need for future research to confirm the sensitivity of the hippocampus and ACC to early adversity.
多项研究表明，艾滋病孤儿青少年比健康青少年有更多的心理社会问题。然而，人们对艾滋病孤儿青少年的大脑结构是否与健康青少年不同以及有何不同知之甚少。在这里，我们使用磁共振成像，通过体素形态计量分析，比较了在中国机构中长大的艾滋病孤儿青少年（N=20）与在家庭中长大的性别和年龄匹配的健康青少年（N=20）。首先，我们发现两组之间的总灰质和白质体积没有差异。其次，在校正年龄、性别和总灰质体积后，艾滋病孤儿组的海马体体积较小，前扣带回皮质（ACC）体积较大，杏仁核体积无差异。第三，全脑分析发现艾滋病孤儿组的 ACC 灰质体积高于对照组。这项初步研究的结果强调了未来研究需要证实海马体和 ACC 对早期逆境的敏感性。
