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A functional neuroimaging study of affective and cognitive processes in maltreated and non-maltreated children.
Author: Joseph C. Crozier
ISBN/ASIN: 0549662057
Conservative estimates suggest that approximately 12 out of every 1000 children in the United States are victims of child maltreatment each year. Maltreated children are at increased risk for the development of a host of behavioral and emotional difficulties including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), mood disorders, and disruptive behavior disorders. The functional neural substrates that the mediate the relation between child maltreatment and psychopathology have not yet been elucidated and represent the focus of the current inquiry. The two main goals of the current study are the following: (1) to examine whether maltreated children, compared to healthy, non-maltreated children, exhibit altered patterns of neural activity related to processing of threatening stimuli (images of fearful faces), and (2) to investigate whether altered patterns of neural activity are related to the development of PTSD symptoms. The study involved 60 participants (including 25 maltreated youths). All participants received psychiatric and neuropsychological assessments. Fifty-nine participants completed the experimental task during a functional magnetic resonance imaging session. The main finding from the current study is that maltreated youths, compared to control participants, exhibit hyporesponsivity to affective stimuli in medial prefrontal regions, including the anterior cingulate cortex and medial frontal gyrus. Among the maltreated youths, PTSD severity was associated both with patterns of hyporesponsivity and hyperresponsivity in medial prefrontal regions. The findings are consistent with previous research with adults with PTSD and support a theory of the relation of PTSD to alterations in the functioning of neural regions involved in regulating emotions.