Hardesty Center for Clinical Research and Neuroscience, Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, Tulsa, Oklahoma; Department of Rural Health, Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Hardesty Center for Clinical Research and Neuroscience, Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, Tulsa, Oklahoma; Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma.
J Adolesc Health. 2024 Aug;75(2):275-280. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2024.04.003. Epub 2024 Jun 15.
Cross-sectional studies in adults have demonstrated associations between early life adversity (ELA) and reduced hippocampal volume, but the timing of these effects is not clear. The present study sought to examine whether ELA predicts changes in hippocampal volume over time in a large sample of early adolescents.
The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study provides a large dataset of tabulated neuroimaging, youth-reported adverse experiences, and parent-reported financial adversity from a sample of children around the United States. Linear mixed effects modeling was used to determine the relationship between ELA and hippocampal volume change within youth (n = 7036) from ages 9-10 to 11-12 years.
Results of the models indicated that the number of early adverse events predicted bilateral hippocampal volume change (β = -0.02, t = -2.02, p < .05). Higher adversity was associated with lower hippocampal volume at Baseline (t = 5.55, p < .01) and at Year 2 (t = 6.14, p < .001).
These findings suggest that ELA may affect hippocampal development during early adolescence. Prevention and early intervention are needed to alter the course of this trajectory. Future work should examine associations between ELA, hippocampal development, and educational and socioemotional outcomes.
成人的横断面研究表明，早期生活逆境（ELA）与海马体体积减小之间存在关联，但这些影响的时间尚不清楚。本研究旨在探讨在一大群早期青少年中，ELA 是否可以预测海马体体积随时间的变化。
青少年大脑认知发展研究提供了一个大型数据集，其中包含来自美国各地儿童的神经影像学表、青少年报告的不良经历和父母报告的经济逆境。线性混合效应模型用于确定在青少年（n=7036）从 9-10 岁到 11-12 岁期间，ELA 与海马体体积变化之间的关系。
模型结果表明，早期不良事件的数量预测了双侧海马体体积的变化（β=-0.02，t=-2.02，p<0.05）。更高的逆境与基线时的海马体体积较低（t=5.55，p<0.01）和第二年时的海马体体积较低（t=6.14，p<0.001）有关。
这些发现表明，ELA 可能会影响青少年早期的海马体发育。需要预防和早期干预来改变这一轨迹。未来的工作应该检查 ELA、海马体发育以及教育和社会情感结果之间的关联。
