Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan.
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychological Medicine, University of Fukui Hospital, Fukui, Japan; Division of Developmental Higher Brain Functions, United Graduate School of Child Development, University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan.
Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging. 2020 Sep 30;303:111129. doi: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2020.111129. Epub 2020 Jun 15.
Childhood maltreatment is associated with altered brain structure and function and is a major risk factor for psychopathology, including reactive attachment disorder (RAD). However, whether changes to white matter microstructural integrity are associated with RAD is unclear. We used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to assess group differences in fractional anisotropy (FA) in patients with RAD (n = 25; mean age = 13.2) to typically developing (TD) controls (n = 33; mean age = 13.0). To further interpret differences in FA, additional parameters such as mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (AD) and radial diffusivity (RD) were assessed. We found that FA values in the body of corpus callosum (CC) and in the projection and thalamic pathways, including the posterior limb of the internal capsule and corona radiata (anterior, posterior, and superior), were significantly higher in the RAD than in the TD group. Additionally, RAD group showed significantly lower RD values in the body of the CC and abovementioned pathways than TD group. Our findings indicate that RAD is associated with altered structure of the CC and projection and thalamic pathways, which may play a role in emotion regulation. The aberrant development of these tracts in RAD may reflect stress-related psychophysiological responses.
儿童虐待与大脑结构和功能的改变有关，是精神病理学的主要危险因素，包括反应性依恋障碍（RAD）。然而，与 RAD 相关的白质微观结构完整性的变化是否存在尚不清楚。我们使用弥散张量成像（DTI）来评估 RAD 患者（n=25；平均年龄=13.2）与正常发育（TD）对照组（n=33；平均年龄=13.0）之间各向异性分数（FA）的组间差异。为了进一步解释 FA 的差异，评估了平均弥散度（MD）、轴向弥散度（AD）和径向弥散度（RD）等其他参数。我们发现，胼胝体体部（CC）和投射及丘脑通路（包括内囊后肢和放射冠）的 FA 值在 RAD 组明显高于 TD 组。此外，RAD 组在 CC 体部和上述通路的 RD 值明显低于 TD 组。我们的研究结果表明，RAD 与 CC 和投射及丘脑通路的结构改变有关，这可能在情绪调节中发挥作用。RAD 中这些束的异常发育可能反映了与应激相关的生理心理反应。
