Neurostructural associations with traumatic experiences during child- and adulthood

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundAdverse experiences can lead to severe mental health problems such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) throughout the lifespan. In individuals with PTSD, both global and local brain volume reductions have been reported—especially in the amygdala and hippocampus—while the literature on childhood maltreatment suggests strong dependency on the timing of adverse events. In the present study, we pooled data from two studies to contrast effects of reported trauma-exposure during neurodevelopmentally sensitive periods in early life with trauma-exposure during adulthood.MethodsA total of 155 women were allocated into one of six age-matched groups according to timing of traumatization (childhood vs adulthood) and psychopathology (PTSD vs trauma-exposed healthy vs trauma-naïve healthy). Volumes of amygdala and hippocampus were compared between these groups. Six additional exploratory regions of interest (ROI) were included based on a recent meta-analysis.ResultsAmygdala volume was strongly dependent on timing of traumatization: Smaller amygdala volumes were observed in the childhood sample, while larger volumes were observed in the adulthood sample. Hippocampal volume comparisons revealed no statistically significant differences, although the descriptive pattern was similar to that found for the amygdala. The remaining exploratory ROIs showed significant group effects, but no timing effects.ConclusionsTiming of traumatization was associated with amygdala volumes throughout the lifespan, with opposite effects dependent on age at trauma occurrence. The relevance of potential confounders like trauma-type and multiplicity is discussed.