scholarly journals Longitudinal changes in amygdala, hippocampus and cortisol development following early caregiving adversity

Author(s):  
Michelle VanTieghem ◽  
Marta Korom ◽  
Jessica Flannery ◽  
Tricia Choy ◽  
Christina Caldera ◽  
...  

Decades of research have shown long-term effects of early caregiving adversity (ECA) on stress physiology and limbic brain volume (e.g. amygdala, hippocampus). Although these systems undergo significant maturational change during childhood and adolescence, and reciprocally influence each other, the effects of ECA on these developmental processes is not well understood. In the current study, we used an accelerated longitudinal design to assess the development of stress physiology, amygdala, and hippocampal volume following early institutional care. Previously Institutionalized (PI; N = 93) and comparison (COMP; N = 161) youth (ages 4-20 years old) completed 1-3 waves of data collection, each spaced approximately 2 years apart, for diurnal cortisol (N = 239, providing a total of 380 diurnal datasets), structural MRI (N = 156, providing a total of 306 scans) and parent-reported internalizing symptoms (N = 133, providing a total of 227 time points). We observed a developmental shift in morning cortisol in the PI group, with blunted levels in childhood and heightened levels in late adolescence. PI history was associated with reduced hippocampal volume and reduced growth rate of the amygdala, resulting in smaller volumes by adolescence. Results also suggested feed-forward brain-to-hormone mechanisms; amygdala and hippocampal volumes were prospectively associated with morning cortisol levels two years later. Finally, amygdala and hippocampal volumes were independently associated with internalizing scores. These results indicate that adversity-related physiological and neural phenotypes are not stationary during development but instead exhibit dynamic and interdependent changes from early childhood to early adulthood.

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 989-997 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Alicia Alba ◽  
Jessica Flannery ◽  
Mor Shapiro ◽  
Nim Tottenham

AbstractAdverse caregiving, for example, previous institutionalization (PI), is often associated with emotion dysregulation that increases anxiety risk. However, the concept of developmental multifinality predicts heterogeneity in anxiety outcomes. Despite this well-known heterogeneity, more work is needed to identify sources of this heterogeneity and how these sources interact with environmental risk to influence mental health. Here, working memory (WM) was examined during late childhood/adolescence as an intra-individual factor to mitigate the risk for separation anxiety, which is particularly susceptible to caregiving adversities. A modified “object-in-place” task was administered to 110 youths (10–17 years old), with or without a history of PI. The PI youths had elevated separation anxiety scores, which were anticorrelated with morning cortisol levels, yet there were no group differences in WM. PI youths showed significant heterogeneity in separation anxiety symptoms and morning cortisol levels, and WM moderated the link between caregiving and separation anxiety and mediated the association between separation anxiety and morning cortisol in PI youth. Findings suggest that (a) institutional care exerts divergent developmental consequences on separation anxiety versus WM, (b) WM interacts with adversity-related emotion dysregulation, and (c) WM may be a therapeutic target for separation anxiety following early caregiving adversity.


2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 151-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben T. Reeb ◽  
Ed Y. Wu ◽  
Monica J. Martin ◽  
Kristina L. Gelardi ◽  
Sut Yee Shirley Chan ◽  
...  

2017 ◽  
Vol 117 (5) ◽  
pp. 759-765 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viviana Albani ◽  
Laurie T. Butler ◽  
W. Bruce Traill ◽  
Orla B. Kennedy

AbstractEating fruit and vegetables (FV) offers important health benefits for children and adolescents, but their average intake is low. To explore if negative trends with age exist as children grow, this study modelled differences in FV consumption from childhood to young adulthood. A pseudo-panel was constructed using years 1–4 (combined) of the Rolling Programme of the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) (2008/2009–2011/2012). Intake of FV in the NDNS was recorded using 4-d unweighted food diaries. The data consisted of 2131 observations of individuals aged 2–23 years. Age-year-cohort decomposition regression analyses were used to separate age effects from year and cohort effects in the data. Total energy intake was included to account for age differences in overall energy consumption. Fruit intake started to decrease from the age of 7 years for boys and girls, and reached its lowest level during adolescence. By 17 years, boys were consuming 0·93 (P=0·037) less fruit portions compared with the age of 2 years. By 15 years, girls were consuming 0·8 fruit portions less (P=0·053). Vegetable intake changed little during childhood and adolescence (P=0·0834 andP=0·843 for change between 7 and 12 years, boys and girls, respectively). There was unclear evidence of recovery of FV intakes in early adulthood. Efforts to improve FV intake should consider these trends, and focus attention on the factors influencing intake across childhood and adolescence in order to improve the nutritional quality of diets during these periods.


2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. de Girolamo ◽  
J. Dagani ◽  
R. Purcell ◽  
A. Cocchi ◽  
P. D. McGorry

Purpose of review.In this review, we provide an update of recent studies on the age of onset (AOO) of the major mental disorders, with a special focus on the availability and use of services providing prevention and early intervention.Recent findings.The studies reviewed here confirm previous reports on the AOO of the major mental disorders. Although the behaviour disorders and specific anxiety disorders emerge during childhood, most of the high-prevalence disorders (mood, anxiety and substance use) emerge during adolescence and early adulthood, as do the psychotic disorders. Early AOO has been shown to be associated with a longer duration of untreated illness, and poorer clinical and functional outcomes.Summary.Although the onset of most mental disorders usually occurs during the first three decades of life, effective treatment is typically not initiated until a number of years later. There is increasing evidence that intervention during the early stages of disorder may help reduce the severity and/or the persistence of the initial or primary disorder, and prevent secondary disorders. However, additional research is needed on effective interventions in early-stage cases, as well as on the long-term effects of early intervention, and for an appropriate service design for those with emerging mental disorders. This will mean not only the strengthening and re-engineering of existing systems, but is also crucial the construction of new streams of care for young people in transition to adulthood.


2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-8
Author(s):  
S Dahal ◽  
SK Agrawal ◽  
A Shrestha ◽  
TK Bhagat

Background and Objectives: Increased concern over dental appearance has been observed during childhood and adolescence to early adulthood. The study was conducted with objectives to assess the self-perception of dental aesthetics, knowledge, attitude and management of dental trauma and halitosis.Materials and Methods: Self-administered questionnaire translated in Nepali language consisting of 32 questions was used. The completed questionnaires were analyzed using descriptive statistics.Results: Out of the total study population, 63% were satisfied with their overall tooth appearance and 71.7% with their tooth color. Twenty-nine percent had experienced dental trauma. More than half of the study population thought that immediate treatment was required after dental trauma. Fifty seven percent of the villagers had halitosis.Conclusion: The research clearly shows that the people of Aurabani VDC were satisfied with their tooth color and overall tooth appearance; however the knowledge regarding emergency management of dental trauma, the cause and management of halitosis was insufficient.JCMS Nepal. 2015;11(1):6-8


2022 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Matt ◽  
Lisa Kaindl ◽  
Saskia Tenk ◽  
Anicca Egger ◽  
Teodora Kolarova ◽  
...  

Abstract Background With the high spatial resolution and the potential to reach deep brain structures, ultrasound-based brain stimulation techniques offer new opportunities to non-invasively treat neurological and psychiatric disorders. However, little is known about long-term effects of ultrasound-based brain stimulation. Applying a longitudinal design, we comprehensively investigated neuromodulation induced by ultrasound brain stimulation to provide first sham-controlled evidence of long-term effects on the human brain and behavior. Methods Twelve healthy participants received three sham and three verum sessions with transcranial pulse stimulation (TPS) focused on the cortical somatosensory representation of the right hand. One week before and after the sham and verum TPS applications, comprehensive structural and functional resting state MRI investigations and behavioral tests targeting tactile spatial discrimination and sensorimotor dexterity were performed. Results Compared to sham, global efficiency significantly increased within the cortical sensorimotor network after verum TPS, indicating an upregulation of the stimulated functional brain network. Axial diffusivity in left sensorimotor areas decreased after verum TPS, demonstrating an improved axonal status in the stimulated area. Conclusions TPS increased the functional and structural coupling within the stimulated left primary somatosensory cortex and adjacent sensorimotor areas up to one week after the last stimulation. These findings suggest that TPS induces neuroplastic changes that go beyond the spatial and temporal stimulation settings encouraging further clinical applications.


2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (52) ◽  
pp. 14949-14952 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary W. Evans

Childhood disadvantage has repeatedly been linked to adult physical morbidity and mortality. We show in a prospective, longitudinal design that childhood poverty predicts multimethodological indices of adult (24 y of age) psychological well-being while holding constant similar childhood outcomes assessed at age 9. Adults from low-income families manifest more allostatic load, an index of chronic physiological stress, higher levels of externalizing symptoms (e.g., aggression) but not internalizing symptoms (e.g., depression), and more helplessness behaviors. In addition, childhood poverty predicts deficits in adult short-term spatial memory.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 1715
Author(s):  
Soyoung Kim ◽  
Deanna J. Greene ◽  
Carolina Badke D’Andrea ◽  
Emily C. Bihun ◽  
Jonathan M. Koller ◽  
...  

Previous studies have investigated differences in the volumes of subcortical structures (e.g., caudate nucleus, putamen, thalamus, amygdala, and hippocampus) between individuals with and without Tourette syndrome (TS), as well as the relationships between these volumes and tic symptom severity. These volumes may also predict clinical outcome in Provisional Tic Disorder (PTD), but that hypothesis has never been tested. This study aimed to examine whether the volumes of subcortical structures measured shortly after tic onset can predict tic symptom severity at one-year post-tic onset, when TS can first be diagnosed. We obtained T1-weighted structural MRI scans from 41 children with PTD (25 with prospective motion correction (vNavs)) whose tics had begun less than 9 months (mean 4.04 months) prior to the first study visit (baseline). We re-examined them at the 12-month anniversary of their first tic (follow-up), assessing tic severity using the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale. We quantified the volumes of subcortical structures using volBrain software. Baseline hippocampal volume was correlated with tic severity at the 12-month follow-up, with a larger hippocampus at baseline predicting worse tic severity at follow-up. The volumes of other subcortical structures did not significantly predict tic severity at follow-up. Hippocampal volume may be an important marker in predicting prognosis in Provisional Tic Disorder.


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