Abstract：
Prenatal exposure to maternal depression increases the risk for onset of emotional and behavioral disorders in children. We investigated the effects of exposure to prenatal depression on white matter microstructural integrity at birth and at 2-3 years, and associated neurodevelopment. Diffusion-weighted images were acquired for children of the Drakenstein Child Health Study at 2-4 weeks postpartum (n=70, 47% boys) and at 2-3 years of age (n=60, 58% boys). Tract-Based Spatial Statistics was used to compare, using an ROI based approach, diffusion tensor metrics across groups defined by presence (>19 on Beck\'s Depression Inventory and/or >12 on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale) or absence (below depression thresholds) of depression, and associations with neurodevelopmental measures at age 2-3 years were determined. We did not detect group differences in white matter integrity at neonatal age, but at 2-3 years, children in the exposed group demonstrated higher fractional anisotropy, and lower mean and radial diffusivity in association tracts compared to controls. This was notable in the sagittal stratum (radial diffusivity: p<0.01). Altered white matter integrity metrics were also observed in projection tracts, including the corona radiata, which associated with cognitive and motor outcomes in exposed 2-3-year-olds (p<0.05). Our findings of widespread white matter alterations in 2-3-year-old children with prenatal exposure to depression are consistent with previous findings, as well as with neuroimaging findings in adults with major depression. Further, we identified novel associations of altered white matter integrity with cognitive development in depression-exposed children, suggesting that these neuroimaging findings may have early functional impact.
摘要：
产前暴露于母亲抑郁症会增加儿童情绪和行为障碍发作的风险。我们调查了出生时和2-3岁时暴露于产前抑郁对白质微结构完整性的影响。和相关的神经发育。Drakenstein儿童健康研究的儿童在产后2-4周（n=70，47％的男孩）和2-3岁（n=60，58％的男孩）获得了扩散加权图像。基于轨道的空间统计用于比较，使用基于ROI的方法，通过抑郁的存在（贝克抑郁量表>19和/或爱丁堡产后抑郁量表>12）或不存在（低于抑郁阈值）定义的组间扩散张量指标，并确定了与2-3岁时神经发育指标的相关性。我们没有检测到新生儿年龄白质完整性的组间差异，但在2-3年,暴露组的儿童表现出更高的分数各向异性，与对照组相比，相关区域的平均和径向扩散系数较低。这在矢状地层中是显著的(径向扩散率:p<0.01)。在投影区域中也观察到改变的白质完整性指标，包括日冕辐射,与2-3岁暴露儿童的认知和运动结果相关(p<0.05)。我们对2-3岁产前暴露于抑郁症的儿童中广泛的白质改变的发现与先前的发现一致。以及成人重度抑郁症的神经影像学检查结果。Further,我们发现，在暴露于抑郁的儿童中，白质完整性改变与认知发展的新关联，提示这些神经影像学发现可能对早期功能产生影响。
