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Measurement of Fronto-limbic Activity Using an Emotional Oddball Task in Children with Familial High Risk for Schizophrenia
Published on: December 2, 2015
Specificity of associations between parental psychopathology and offspring brain structure
Matthew Mattoni1, Helene J Hopman2, Adefunke Dadematthews3
1Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Insights
Parental psychopathology may affect child brain structure, particularly amygdala and striatal volumes. Comorbidity, or having multiple disorders, appears to moderate these effects in children, suggesting smaller volumes when parents have co-occurring conditions.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Parental psychopathology is linked to variations in children's subcortical brain volumes.
- The impact of parental comorbidity on child brain structure remains under-explored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if child subcortical brain structure alterations are specific to parental depression, anxiety, mania, or substance use disorders.
- To determine if these alterations are influenced by a parental history of multiple disorders (comorbidity).
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 6,581 children (aged 9-10) from the ABCD study with no history of mental disorders.
- Examination of interactions between parental psychopathology types and child subcortical brain volumes (amygdala, striatal).
- Statistical control for intracranial volume and other parental psychopathology forms, excluding child psychopathology.
Main Results:
- Significant interactions indicated that parental comorbidity moderated the effects of depression, anxiety, and substance use history on amygdala and striatal volumes.
- These interactions suggested smaller volumes in children with parents reporting comorbid disorders.
- Effect sizes were small, and no associations remained significant after multiple comparison corrections.
Conclusions:
- Familial risk for psychopathology shows modest associations with offspring brain structure in 9-10-year-olds.
- The amygdala and striatal regions are implicated in these associations.
- Parental comorbid psychopathology history appears to moderate these relationships, suggesting complex familial influences on child neurodevelopment.
Abstract:
Multiple forms of parental psychopathology have been associated with differences in subcortical brain volume. However, few studies have considered the role of comorbidity. Here, we examine if alterations in child subcortical brain structure are specific to parental depression, anxiety, mania, or alcohol/substance use parental psychopathology, common across these disorders, or altered by a history of multiple disorders. We examined 6581 children aged 9 to 10 years old from the ABCD study with no history of mental disorders. We found several significant interactions such that the effects of a parental history of depression, anxiety, and substance use problems on amygdala and striatal volumes were moderated by comorbid parental history of another disorder. Interactions tended to suggest smaller volumes in the presence of a comorbid disorder. However, effect sizes were small, and no associations remained significant after correcting for multiple comparisons. Results suggest that associations between familial risk for psychopathology and offspring brain structure in 9-10-year-olds are modest, and relationships that do exist tend to implicate the amygdala and striatal regions and are moderated by a comorbid parental psychopathology history. Several methodological factors, including controlling for intracranial volume and other forms of parental psychopathology and excluding child psychopathology, likely contribute to inconsistencies in the literature.
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