College of Computer and Information Science, School of Software, Southwest University, Chongqing, China; College of Artificial Intelligence, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality of the Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China; Department of Medical Psychology, Daping Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China.
Biol Psychol. 2023 Nov;184:108716. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2023.108716. Epub 2023 Nov 2.
Childhood maltreatment is considered as a robust predictor of depression. However, the underlying psychological and neurological mechanisms linking childhood maltreatment and depression remain poorly understood. Sufficient evidence demonstrates emotion dysregulation in individuals who have experienced childhood maltreatment, but it is unknown whether these changes represent vulnerability for depression. Here we speculated that decreased cognitive reappraisal and its corresponding neural basis might explain the relationship between childhood maltreatment and follow-up depression.
First, we investigated whether cognitive reappraisal can explain the relationship between childhood maltreatment and depression, with a cross-sectional (n = 657) behavioral sample. Then we recruit 38 maltreated participants and 27 controls to complete the cognitive reappraisal functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) task. The between-group difference in brain activation and functional connectivity (FC) were tested using independent t-tests. Finally, we investigated the relationship between childhood maltreatment, task-based brain activity and depression.
The behavior results suggested that cognitive reappraisal mediates the association between childhood maltreatment and depression. In addition, the maltreated group exhibited lower activation of orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and higher FC of between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), OFC, and amygdala during cognitive reappraisal, compared with healthy controls. Furthermore, the FC of DLPFC-amygdala mediates the association between childhood maltreatment and depression.
In summary, childhood maltreatment is associated with inefficient cognitive reappraisal ability, manifesting as aberrant modulation of cortical areas on amygdala. These cognitive and neural deficits might explain the relationship between childhood maltreatment and risk of depression in later life.
童年期虐待被认为是抑郁的一个强有力的预测因子。然而，将童年期虐待与抑郁联系起来的潜在心理和神经机制仍知之甚少。有充分的证据表明，经历过童年期虐待的个体存在情绪调节障碍，但尚不清楚这些变化是否代表了抑郁的易感性。在这里，我们推测认知重评的减少及其相应的神经基础可能解释了童年期虐待与后续抑郁之间的关系。
首先，我们通过横断面（n=657）行为样本研究了认知重评是否可以解释童年期虐待与抑郁之间的关系。然后，我们招募了 38 名受虐待的参与者和 27 名对照者完成认知重评功能磁共振成像（fMRI）任务。使用独立 t 检验测试组间大脑激活和功能连接（FC）的差异。最后，我们研究了童年期虐待、基于任务的大脑活动与抑郁之间的关系。
行为结果表明，认知重评在童年期虐待与抑郁之间的关系中起中介作用。此外，与健康对照组相比，受虐待组在进行认知重评时眶额皮层（OFC）的激活较低，而背外侧前额叶皮层（DLPFC）、后扣带回皮层（PCC）、OFC 和杏仁核之间的 FC 较高。此外，DLPFC-杏仁核的 FC 介导了童年期虐待与抑郁之间的关系。
总之，童年期虐待与认知重评能力的降低有关，表现为杏仁核皮质区的调节异常。这些认知和神经缺陷可能解释了童年期虐待与晚年抑郁风险之间的关系。
