Kemp Jennifer V A, Bernier Emily, Lebel Catherine, Kopala-Sibley Daniel C
Department of Psychiatry, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev. 2022 Mar;25(1):222-247. doi: 10.1007/s10567-022-00393-5. Epub 2022 Feb 24.
A family history of mood and anxiety disorders is one of the most well-established risk factors for these disorders in offspring. A family history of these disorders has also been linked to alterations in brain regions involved in cognitive-affective processes broadly, and mood and anxiety disorders specifically. Results from studies of brain structure of children of parents with a history of mood or anxiety disorders (high-risk offspring) have been inconsistent. We followed the PRISMA protocol to conduct a scoping review of the literature linking parental mood and anxiety disorders to offspring brain structure to examine which structures in offspring brains are linked to parental major depressive disorder (MDD), anxiety, or bipolar disorder (BD). Studies included were published in peer-reviewed journals between January 2000 and July 2021. Thirty-nine studies were included. Significant associations between parental BD and offspring caudate volume, inferior frontal gyrus thickness, and anterior cingulate cortex thickness were found. Associations were also identified between parental MDD and offspring amygdala and hippocampal volumes, fusiform thickness, and thickness in temporoparietal regions. Few studies have examined associations between parental anxiety and high-risk offspring brain structure; however, one study found associations between parental anxiety symptoms and offspring amygdala structure, and another found similar associations with the hippocampus. The direction of grey matter change across studies was inconsistent, potentially due to the large age ranges for each study and the non-linear development of the brain. Children of parents with MDD and bipolar disorders, or elevated anxiety symptoms, show alterations in a range of brain regions. Results may further efforts to identify children at high risk for affective disorders and may elucidate whether alterations in specific brain regions represent premorbid markers of risk for mood and anxiety disorders.
情绪和焦虑障碍的家族史是后代患这些疾病最确定的风险因素之一。这些疾病的家族史还与广泛参与认知情感过程尤其是情绪和焦虑障碍的脑区改变有关。对有情绪或焦虑障碍病史的父母的子女（高危后代）进行脑结构研究的结果并不一致。我们遵循PRISMA方案对将父母的情绪和焦虑障碍与后代脑结构联系起来的文献进行范围综述，以研究后代大脑中的哪些结构与父母的重度抑郁症（MDD）、焦虑症或双相情感障碍（BD）有关。纳入研究发表于2000年1月至2021年7月期间的同行评审期刊。共纳入39项研究。发现父母的双相情感障碍与后代的尾状核体积、额下回厚度和前扣带回皮质厚度之间存在显著关联。还发现父母的重度抑郁症与后代的杏仁核和海马体体积、梭状回厚度以及颞顶叶区域厚度之间存在关联。很少有研究探讨父母焦虑与高危后代脑结构之间的关联；然而，一项研究发现父母的焦虑症状与后代的杏仁核结构之间存在关联，另一项研究发现与海马体也有类似关联。各研究中灰质变化的方向不一致，这可能是由于每项研究的年龄范围较大以及大脑的非线性发育所致。患有重度抑郁症和双相情感障碍或焦虑症状加重的父母的子女，在一系列脑区中表现出改变。研究结果可能会进一步推动识别情感障碍高危儿童的工作，并可能阐明特定脑区的改变是否代表情绪和焦虑障碍风险的病前标志物。
