Thompson Institute, University of the Sunshine Coast, QLD, Australia.
Thompson Institute, University of the Sunshine Coast, QLD, Australia.
Brain Res. 2022 Jan 1;1774:147710. doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2021.147710. Epub 2021 Nov 9.
It has been suggested that biological markers that define mental health are different to those that define mental illness. The basal ganglia changes dramatically over adolescence and has been linked to wellbeing and mental health disorders in young people. However, there remains a paucity of research on wellbeing and brain structure in early adolescence. This cross-sectional study examined relationships between grey matter volume (GMV) of basal ganglia regions (caudate, putamen, pallidum and nucleus accumbens) and self-reported wellbeing (COMPAS-W), in a sample of Australian adolescents aged 12 years (N = 49, M = 12.6, 46.9% female). Significant negative associations were found between left hemisphere caudate GMV and scores on 'total wellbeing', 'composure' and 'positivity'. The results of this study indicate that smaller caudate GMV at age 12 is linked to increased subjective wellbeing. While seemingly counter-intuitive, our finding is consistent with previous research of decreased GMV in the pons and increased COMPAS-W scores in adults. Our results suggest that protective neurobiological factors may be identifiable early in adolescence and be linked to specific types of wellbeing (such as positive affect and optimism). This has implications for interventions targeted at building resilience against mental health disorders in young people.
有人认为，定义心理健康的生物学标志物与定义精神疾病的标志物不同。基底神经节在青春期会发生巨大变化，并且与年轻人的幸福感和心理健康障碍有关。然而，关于青少年早期的幸福感和大脑结构的研究仍然很少。这项横断面研究在澳大利亚青少年样本中（年龄 12 岁，N=49，M=12.6，46.9%为女性），检查了基底神经节区域（尾状核、壳核、苍白球和伏隔核）的灰质体积（GMV）与自我报告的幸福感（COMPAS-W）之间的关系。在左侧大脑半球尾状核 GMV 与“整体幸福感”、“沉着”和“积极性”的评分之间存在显著的负相关。这项研究的结果表明，12 岁时尾状核 GMV 较小与主观幸福感增加有关。虽然这似乎违反直觉，但我们的发现与成年人脑桥 GMV 减少和 COMPAS-W 评分增加的先前研究结果一致。我们的结果表明，在青少年早期可能可以识别出保护性神经生物学因素，并且与特定类型的幸福感（如积极情绪和乐观主义）有关。这对针对年轻人心理健康障碍的建立韧性的干预措施具有重要意义。
