Aberrant Resting-state Functional Connectivity of Amygdala in adults with Childhood Trauma
Poster No:
2332
Submission Type:
Abstract Submission
Authors:
Jingjing Yang1, Huiyuan Huang2, Xia Liu3, Yihe Zhang3, Weiding Wang4, Yidan Qiu1, Ruiwang Huang4
Institutions:
1South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 2Guangzhou University of Chinese medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, 3South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China, 4School of Psychology, Key Laboratory of Brain, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong
First Author:
Co-Author(s):
Weiding Wang
School of Psychology, Key Laboratory of Brain, South China Normal University
Guangzhou, Guangdong
School of Psychology, Key Laboratory of Brain, South China Normal University
Guangzhou, Guangdong
Ruiwang Huang
School of Psychology, Key Laboratory of Brain, South China Normal University
Guangzhou, Guangdong
School of Psychology, Key Laboratory of Brain, South China Normal University
Guangzhou, Guangdong
Introduction:
Many studies have revealed that individuals with a history of childhood trauma (CM) had an increased prevalence of various mental illnesses. Recent studies have reported the abnormal resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) in individuals who have experienced CM. For instance, several studies detected the abnormal RSFC in the default mode network (DMN) and salience network by using the seed regions at the prefrontal cortex, insula, amygdala, hippocampus, anterior cingulate gyrus, and orbitofrontal cortex. However, it is still unclear how the CM affects the brain RSFC involving the amygdala. Thus, in the current study, we selected the bilateral amygdala as two seeds and compared the RSFC in the individuals with CM and those without CM.
Methods:
Participants
The study was approved by the Institutional Research Board (IRB) of South China Normal University (SCNU). All participants provided written informed consent. We enrolled 44 adult individuals, who were recruited from a survey in SCNU to test people who had experienced childhood maltreatment.
Data acquisition
The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF) was used to assess the severity of childhood trauma in the participants. When the total score on the scale is below 31, the participant was included in the without CM group (NCM) or the control group; otherwise, they were included in the CM group. The MRI data was acquired on a 3T Siemens Trio MRI scanner equipped with a 32-channel phased-array head coil. The BOLD-fMRI data were acquired using a gradient echo EPI sequence (GE-EPI). The high-resolution brain structural images were acquired using a T1-weighed 3D MP-RAGE sequence. The brain structural and fMRI data were obtained in the same session for each subject.
Data processing
The data were preprocessed using CONN (2022a). We defined the two seeds in the bilateral amygdala. Frames with significant motion artifact were scrubbed with the ART method and the resultant timeseries were bandpass filtered at 0.008-0.09 Hz. For each subject, we calculated the RSFC between each seed ant each voxel in the whole brain. Finally, the group-level analysis was conducted to detect the abnormal RSFC in the CM group.
The study was approved by the Institutional Research Board (IRB) of South China Normal University (SCNU). All participants provided written informed consent. We enrolled 44 adult individuals, who were recruited from a survey in SCNU to test people who had experienced childhood maltreatment.
Data acquisition
The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF) was used to assess the severity of childhood trauma in the participants. When the total score on the scale is below 31, the participant was included in the without CM group (NCM) or the control group; otherwise, they were included in the CM group. The MRI data was acquired on a 3T Siemens Trio MRI scanner equipped with a 32-channel phased-array head coil. The BOLD-fMRI data were acquired using a gradient echo EPI sequence (GE-EPI). The high-resolution brain structural images were acquired using a T1-weighed 3D MP-RAGE sequence. The brain structural and fMRI data were obtained in the same session for each subject.
Data processing
The data were preprocessed using CONN (2022a). We defined the two seeds in the bilateral amygdala. Frames with significant motion artifact were scrubbed with the ART method and the resultant timeseries were bandpass filtered at 0.008-0.09 Hz. For each subject, we calculated the RSFC between each seed ant each voxel in the whole brain. Finally, the group-level analysis was conducted to detect the abnormal RSFC in the CM group.
Results:
Fig. 1 shows significant group difference in RSFC between the CM and NCM groups. We found significant lower RSFC between the right amygdala and the right putamen, right hippocampus, and right thalamus, in the CM group than the NCM group. We also found significantly lower RSFC between the left amygdala and the left putamen, left hippocampus, and left pallidum, in the CM group than the NCM group.
Conclusions:
We detected significant differences in RSFC between adult individuals reporting CM and individuals without CM by selecting the seeds at the amygdala and using a seed-based connectivity. The findings may indicate adverse effects on emotional regulation, emotion processing and cognitive control. These findings hold promise in offering crucial insights into the long-term effects of childhood trauma on brain function and mental well-being.
Disorders of the Nervous System:
Neurodevelopmental/ Early Life (eg. ADHD, autism) 2
Novel Imaging Acquisition Methods:
BOLD fMRI 1
Keywords:
ADULTS
FUNCTIONAL MRI
Other - Childhood matreatment
1|2Indicates the priority used for review
Provide references using author date format
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[3] Nguyen KP, et al. Sensitivity of derived clinical biomarkers to rs-fMRI preprocessing software versions. Proc IEEE Int Symp Biomed Imaging. 2019 Apr;2019:1581-1584.doi:10.1109/ISBI.2019.8759526.
[4] Bluhm RL, et al. Alterations in default network connectivity in posttraumatic stress disorder related to early-life trauma. J Psychiatry Neurosci. 2009 May;34(3):187-94.
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