Stress-related psychopathology shapes episodic memory development in youth: Network-level brain predictors and...

Episodic memory processes and their underlying neural circuitry have been closely linked with stress-related psychopathology; however, the temporal and directional nature of these links remains unclear. Understanding how large-scale brain networks and psychopathology symptoms relate to changes in episodic memory across development is important for identifying at-risk youth and guiding developmentally-tailored interventions.

We used latent change score modeling to examine longitudinal associations between stress-related psychopathology and episodic memory in N = 3,466 youth aged 9-10 from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. We then trained and tested resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) networks to predict changes in episodic memory using connectome-based predictive modeling, and examined how these networks and stress-related psychopathology mediate links between early-life stress and memory.

Stress-related psychopathology emerged as a leading predictor of change in episodic memory in youth. Whole-brain rsFC networks successfully predicted developmental changes in episodic memory. Specifically, stronger connectivity in the visual association area, primary visual cortex, and secondary visual cortex predicted less improvement in episodic memory over two years, whereas stronger connectivity in the cerebellum and subcortical networks predicted greater improvement in episodic memory over two years. Finally, rsFC and stress-related psychopathology mediated the association between higher early-life stress and less improvement in episodic memory.

Together, these findings suggest that early-life stress, network connectivity, and stress-related psychopathology contribute to episodic memory development. The identification of these neurobiological and early environmental predictors may contribute to better understanding of potential interventions targeting maladaptive memory processes in youth with stress-related psychopathology.