Brain structures and functional connectivity in neglected children with no other types of maltreatment
Natasha Y S Kawata1, Shota Nishitani2, Akiko Yao1
1Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, 23-3 Matsuoka-Shimoaizuki, Eiheiji-cho, Fukui 910-1193, Japan.
Insights
Child neglect impacts brain development, causing larger anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and smaller angular gyrus (AG). These brain changes correlate with behavioral issues and depressive symptoms in neglected children.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Child Psychology
- Developmental Psychiatry
Background:
- Child maltreatment negatively impacts brain development, increasing psychiatric disorder risk.
- Child neglect, the most common maltreatment type, has limited research on its sole brain effects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify brain structural and functional differences in children with neglect only.
- To investigate associations between these brain differences and psychosocial phenotypes.
Main Methods:
- Case-control study using brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
- Compared neglected children (n=23) with typically developing children (n=140).
- Analyzed gray matter volume and resting-state functional connectivity (FC).
Main Results:
- Neglected children showed larger R/L.ACC and smaller L.AG gray matter volume.
- Larger R/L.ACC correlated with hyperactivity and inattention.
- Altered FC in the salience network (SN) linked to peer problems and depressive symptoms, with mediation by depression.
Conclusions:
- Child neglect leads to maladaptive brain development, specifically affecting the R/L.ACC and SN.
- Structural atypicality of R/L.ACC may indirectly worsen FC and exacerbate depressive symptoms.
- Childhood neglect is associated with neural changes contributing to depressive symptoms.
Abstract:
Child maltreatment can adversely affect brain development, leading to vulnerabilities in brain structure and function and various psychiatric disorders. Among the various types of child maltreatment, neglect has the highest incidence rate (76.0%); however, data on its sole adverse influence on the brain remain limited. This case-control brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study identified the changes in gray matter structure and function that distinguish neglected children with no other type of maltreatment (Neglect group, n = 23) from typically developing children (TD group, n = 140), and investigated the association between these structural and functional differences and specific psychosocial phenotypes observed in neglected children. Our results showed that the Neglect group had a larger right and left anterior cingulate cortex (R/L.ACC) and smaller left angular gyrus (L.AG) gray matter volume. The larger R/L.ACC was associated with hyperactivity and inattention. Resting-state functional analysis showed increased functional connectivity (FC) between the left supramarginal gyrus (L.SMG) in the salience network (SN) and the right middle frontal gyrus (R.MFG) simultaneously with a decrease in FC with the L.ACC for the same seed. The increased FC for the R.MFG was associated with difficulty in peer problems and depressive symptoms; a mediating effect was evident for depressive symptoms. These results suggest that the structural atypicality of the R/L.ACC indirectly contributes to the disturbed FCs within the SN, thereby exacerbating depressive symptoms in neglected children. In conclusion, exposure to neglect in childhood may lead to maladaptive brain development, particularly neural changes associated with depressive symptoms.
More Related Videos
12:21Probing the Brain in Autism Using fMRI and Diffusion Tensor Imaging
Published on: September 12, 2011
09:01A Method for Investigating Age-related Differences in the Functional Connectivity of Cognitive Control Networks Associated with Dimensional Change Card Sort Performance
Published on: May 7, 2014
