Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, CT, USA.
Liggins Institute, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Dev Cogn Neurosci. 2024 Jun;67:101392. doi: 10.1016/j.dcn.2024.101392. Epub 2024 May 15.
Early life adversity has been posited to influence the pace of structural neurodevelopment. Most research, however, has relied on cross-sectional data, which do not reveal whether the pace of neurodevelopmental change is accelerated or slowed following early exposures. In a birth cohort study that included neuroimaging data obtained at 4.5, 6, and 7.5 years of age (N = 784), we examined associations among a cumulative measure of perinatal adversity relative to resources, nonlinear trajectories of hippocampal and amygdala volume, and children's subsequent depressive symptoms at 8.5 years of age. Greater adversity was associated with reduced bilateral hippocampal body volume in early childhood, but also to faster growth in the right hippocampal body across childhood. Further, the association between adversity and childhood depressive symptoms was mediated by faster hippocampal body growth. These findings suggest that perinatal adversity is biologically embedded in hippocampal structure development, including an accelerated pace of change in the right hippocampal body that is implicated in children's psychopathology risk. In addition, our findings suggest that reduced hippocampal volume is not inconsistent with accelerated hippocampal change; these aspects of structural development may typically co-occur, as smaller regional volumes in early childhood were associated with faster growth across childhood.
早期生活逆境被认为会影响结构神经发育的速度。然而，大多数研究依赖于横断面数据，这些数据并不能揭示早期暴露后神经发育变化的速度是加快还是减慢。在一项包括 4.5、6 和 7.5 岁时获得的神经影像学数据的队列研究中（N=784），我们研究了围产期逆境相对于资源的累积衡量指标与海马体和杏仁核体积的非线性轨迹，以及 8.5 岁时儿童随后的抑郁症状之间的关联。更多的逆境与儿童早期双侧海马体体积减少有关，但也与整个童年时期右侧海马体生长速度加快有关。此外，逆境与儿童抑郁症状之间的关联受海马体生长速度加快的影响。这些发现表明，围产期逆境在海马体结构发育中具有生物学基础，包括右侧海马体变化的加速，这与儿童精神病理学风险有关。此外，我们的研究结果表明，海马体体积的减少并不与海马体变化的加速不一致；这些结构发育的方面可能通常同时发生，因为在儿童早期较小的区域体积与整个童年时期的更快增长相关。
