School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK; Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia.
J Affect Disord. 2021 Feb 15;281:638-645. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2020.11.098. Epub 2020 Nov 12.
Childhood conduct problems are an important public health issue as these children are at-risk of adverse outcomes. Studies using diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging (dMRI) have found that conduct problems in adults are characterised by abnormal white-matter microstructure within a range of white matter pathways underpinning socio-emotional processing, while evidence within children and adolescents has been less conclusive based on non-specific diffusion tensor imaging metrics. Fixel-based analysis (FBA) provides measures of fibre density and morphology that are more sensitive to developmental changes in white matter microstructure. The current study used FBA to investigate whether childhood conduct problems were related both cross-sectionally and longitudinally to microstructural alterations within the fornix, inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF), inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF), superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), and the uncinate fasciculus (UF). dMRI data was obtained for 130 children across two time-points in a community sample with high levels of externalising difficulties (age: time-point 1 = 9.47 - 11.86 years, time-point 2 = 10.67 -13.45 years). Conduct problems were indexed at each time-point using the Conduct Problems subscale of the parent-informant Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Conduct problems were related to lower fibre density in the fornix at both time-points, and in the ILF at time-point 2. We also observed lower fibre cross-section in the UF at time-point 1. The change in conduct problems did not predict longitudinal changes in white-matter microstructure across time-points. The current study suggests that childhood conduct problems are related to reduced fibre-specific microstructure within white matter fibre pathways implicated in socio-emotional functioning.
儿童期品行问题是一个重要的公共卫生问题，因为这些儿童有出现不良后果的风险。使用扩散磁共振成像（dMRI）的研究发现，成年人的品行问题的特征是在一系列支持社会情感处理的白质通路中的白质微观结构异常，而在儿童和青少年中，基于非特异性扩散张量成像指标的证据则不那么明确。基于体素的分析（FBA）提供了纤维密度和形态的测量方法，这些方法对白质微观结构的发育变化更为敏感。本研究使用 FBA 来研究儿童期品行问题是否与连合纤维、下额枕束（IFOF）、下纵束（ILF）、上纵束（SLF）和钩束（UF）内的微观结构改变存在横断面和纵向关系。在一个具有高外化困难水平的社区样本中，在两个时间点上获得了 130 名儿童的 dMRI 数据，年龄分别为：时间点 1=9.47-11.86 岁，时间点 2=10.67-13.45 岁。使用父母报告的长处与困难问卷（SDQ）中的品行问题子量表在每个时间点上对品行问题进行索引。品行问题与连合纤维在两个时间点上以及 ILF 在时间点 2 上的纤维密度降低有关。我们还观察到 UF 在时间点 1 上的纤维横截面较低。品行问题的变化并没有预测到两个时间点之间白质微观结构的纵向变化。本研究表明，儿童期品行问题与社会情感功能所涉及的白质纤维通路内的纤维特异性微观结构减少有关。
