背景:儿童虐待(CM)是与多种精神障碍相关的常见心理压力源。虽然CM与抑郁和焦虑的脆弱性有关,对这种关系的具体机制知之甚少。目的:本研究旨在探讨健康成人CM患者的脑白质(WM)及其与抑郁和焦虑的关系,为儿童创伤患者精神障碍的发展提供生物学依据。方法:CM组包括40例健康成人CM。非CM组包括40例无CM的健康成年人。采集扩散张量成像(DTI)数据,和基于道的空间统计(TBSS)被应用于整个大脑,以评估两组之间的WM差异;事后纤维束成像被用来表征发育差异;调解分析被用来评估儿童创伤问卷(CTQ)结果之间的关系。DTI指数,抑郁和焦虑得分。结果:相对于非CM组,CM组显示右后冠辐射(PCR-R)的各向异性分数(FA)显着降低,右前电晕辐射(ACR-R),左超日冕辐射(SCR-L),前丘脑辐射(ATR),和内囊的右后肢(PLIC-R)。此外,较短的纤维束通过PCR-R,ACR-R,与非CM组相比,CM组的ATR。此外,ACR-R的长度介导了CM与特质焦虑的关系。结论:健康成人与儿童创伤相关的白质微结构改变可能反映了儿童创伤的生物标志物。此外,健康成人CM的WM微观结构改变介导了CM与特质焦虑之间的关联,这可能代表了在童年创伤经历后发展为精神障碍的脆弱性。
在本文中,我们在健康成年人中发现了与CM相关的特定改变,这可能会调解童年创伤与晚年特质焦虑之间的关系。
Background: Childhood maltreatment (CM) is a common psychological stressor associated with multiple mental disorders. While CM is associated with vulnerability to depression and anxiety, little is known about the specific mechanism underlying this relationship.Objective: This study aimed to investigate the white matter (WM) of healthy adults with CM and their relationships with depression and anxiety to provide biological evidence for the development of mental disorders in subjects with childhood trauma.Methods: The CM group included 40 healthy adults with CM. The non-CM group included 40 healthy adults without CM. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data were collected, and tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) were applied to the whole brain to assess WM differences between the two groups; post-hoc fibre tractography was used to characterise the developmental differences; and mediation analysis was used to assess the relationships among the Child Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) results, DTI indices, and depression and anxiety scores.Results: Relative to the non-CM group, the CM group revealed significantly lower fractional anisotropy (FA) in the right posterior corona radiata (PCR-R), right anterior corona radiata (ACR-R), left super corona radiata (SCR-L), anterior thalamic radiation (ATR), and right posterior limb of the internal capsule (PLIC-R). Additionally, shorter fibre bundles passed through the PCR-R, ACR-R, and ATR in the CM group compared with the non-CM group. Besides, the length of the ACR-R mediated the relationship between CM and trait anxiety.Conclusions: The alteration of white matter microstructure associated with childhood trauma in healthy adults may reflect biomarkers of childhood trauma. Besides, an alteration of WM microstructure in healthy adults with CM mediates the association between CM and trait anxiety, which may represent the vulnerability to developing mental disorders after childhood trauma experiences.
In this paper, we found specific alterations associated with CM in healthy adults, which may mediate the relationship between childhood trauma and trait anxiety in later life.