Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom.
Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom.
Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging. 2023 Jun;8(6):609-619. doi: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2022.12.012. Epub 2023 Jan 2.
Childhood maltreatment is common in youths with conduct disorder (CD), and both CD and maltreatment have been linked to neuroanatomical alterations. Nonetheless, our understanding of the contribution of maltreatment to the neuroanatomical alterations observed in CD remains limited. We tested the applicability of the ecophenotype model to CD, which holds that maltreatment-related psychopathology is (neurobiologically) distinct from psychopathology without maltreatment.
Surface-based morphometry was used to investigate cortical volume, thickness, surface area, and gyrification in a mixed-sex sample of participants with CD (n = 114) and healthy control subjects (HCs) (n = 146), ages 9 to 18 years. Using vertexwise general linear models adjusted for sex, age, total intracranial volume, and site, the control group was compared with the overall CD group and the CD subgroups with (n = 49) versus without (n = 65) maltreatment (assessed by the Children's Bad Experiences interview). These subgroups were also directly compared.
The overall CD group showed lower cortical thickness in the right inferior frontal gyrus. CD youths with a history of maltreatment showed more widespread structural alterations relative to HCs, comprising lower thickness, volume, and gyrification in inferior and middle frontal regions. Conversely, CD youths with no history of maltreatment only showed greater left superior temporal gyrus folding relative to HCs. When contrasting the CD subgroups, those with maltreatment displayed lower right superior temporal gyrus volume, right precentral gyrus surface area, and gyrification in frontal, temporal, and parietal regions.
Consistent with the ecophenotype model, findings indicated that CD youths with versus without maltreatment differ neurobiologically. This highlights the importance of considering maltreatment history in neuroimaging studies of CD and other disorders.
童年期虐待在患有品行障碍（CD）的年轻人中很常见，CD 和虐待都与神经解剖结构改变有关。尽管如此，我们对虐待对 CD 中观察到的神经解剖结构改变的贡献的理解仍然有限。我们测试了表型模型在 CD 中的适用性，该模型认为与虐待有关的精神病理学在（神经生物学上）与没有虐待的精神病理学不同。
使用基于表面的形态计量学方法，研究了混合性别样本中患有 CD（n=114）和健康对照组（HCs）（n=146）的参与者的皮质体积、厚度、表面积和脑回形成。使用顶点式一般线性模型，调整了性别、年龄、总颅内体积和部位，将对照组与总体 CD 组和 CD 亚组（n=49 例有虐待史，n=65 例无虐待史）进行了比较（通过儿童不良经历访谈评估）。还对这些亚组进行了直接比较。
总体 CD 组右侧额下回皮质厚度较低。有虐待史的 CD 青少年与 HCs 相比，表现出更广泛的结构改变，包括额中和额下回皮质变薄、体积减小和脑回形成减少。相反，无虐待史的 CD 青少年仅表现出左侧颞上回折叠增多与 HCs 相比。当对比 CD 亚组时，有虐待史的亚组右侧颞上回体积、右侧中央前回表面积以及额、颞和顶叶的脑回形成减少。
与表型模型一致，研究结果表明，有虐待史和无虐待史的 CD 青少年在神经生物学上存在差异。这强调了在 CD 和其他疾病的神经影像学研究中考虑虐待史的重要性。
