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Roy E, Van Rinsveld A, Nedelec P, Richie-Halford A, Rauschecker AM, Sugrue LP, Rokem A, McCandliss BD, Yeatman JD. Differences in educational opportunity predict white matter development. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2024; 67:101386. [PMID: 38676989 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2024.101386] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2023] [Revised: 02/05/2024] [Accepted: 04/15/2024] [Indexed: 04/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Coarse measures of socioeconomic status, such as parental income or parental education, have been linked to differences in white matter development. However, these measures do not provide insight into specific aspects of an individual's environment and how they relate to brain development. On the other hand, educational intervention studies have shown that changes in an individual's educational context can drive measurable changes in their white matter. These studies, however, rarely consider socioeconomic factors in their results. In the present study, we examined the unique relationship between educational opportunity and white matter development, when controlling other known socioeconomic factors. To explore this question, we leveraged the rich demographic and neuroimaging data available in the ABCD study, as well the unique data-crosswalk between ABCD and the Stanford Education Data Archive (SEDA). We find that educational opportunity is related to accelerated white matter development, even when accounting for other socioeconomic factors, and that this relationship is most pronounced in white matter tracts associated with academic skills. These results suggest that the school a child attends has a measurable relationship with brain development for years to come.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ethan Roy
- Graduate School of Education, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
| | | | - Pierre Nedelec
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Adam Richie-Halford
- Graduate School of Education, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA; Division of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Andreas M Rauschecker
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Leo P Sugrue
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Ariel Rokem
- Department of Psychology and eScience Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | - Jason D Yeatman
- Graduate School of Education, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA; Division of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
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Schilliger Z, Alemán-Gómez Y, Magnus Smith M, Celen Z, Meuleman B, Binz PA, Steullet P, Do KQ, Conus P, Merglen A, Piguet C, Dwir D, Klauser P. Sex-specific interactions between stress axis and redox balance are associated with internalizing symptoms and brain white matter microstructure in adolescents. Transl Psychiatry 2024; 14:30. [PMID: 38233401 PMCID: PMC10794182 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-023-02728-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2023] [Revised: 12/20/2023] [Accepted: 12/22/2023] [Indexed: 01/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Adolescence is marked by the maturation of systems involved in emotional regulation and by an increased risk for internalizing disorders (anxiety/depression), especially in females. Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA)-axis function and redox homeostasis (balance between reactive oxygen species and antioxidants) have both been associated with internalizing disorders and may represent critical factors for the development of brain networks of emotional regulation. However, sex-specific interactions between these factors and internalizing symptoms and their link with brain maturation remain unexplored. We investigated in a cohort of adolescents aged 13-15 from the general population (n = 69) whether sex-differences in internalizing symptoms were associated with the glutathione (GSH)-redox cycle homeostasis and HPA-axis function and if these parameters were associated with brain white matter microstructure development. Female adolescents displayed higher levels of internalizing symptoms, GSH-peroxidase (GPx) activity and cortisol/11-deoxycortisol ratio than males. There was a strong correlation between GPx and GSH-reductase (Gred) activities in females only. The cortisol/11-deoxycortisol ratio, related to the HPA-axis activity, was associated with internalizing symptoms in both sexes, whereas GPx activity was associated with internalizing symptoms in females specifically. The cortisol/11-deoxycortisol ratio mediated sex-differences in internalizing symptoms and the association between anxiety and GPx activity in females specifically. In females, GPx activity was positively associated with generalized fractional anisotropy in widespread white matter brain regions. We found that higher levels of internalizing symptoms in female adolescents than in males relate to sex-differences in HPA-axis function. In females, our results suggest an important interplay between HPA-axis function and GSH-homeostasis, a parameter strongly associated with brain white matter microstructure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zoé Schilliger
- Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Service of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Yasser Alemán-Gómez
- Connectomics Lab, Department of Radiology, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Mariana Magnus Smith
- Division of General Pediatrics, Geneva University Hospitals and Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Zeynep Celen
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Ben Meuleman
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Pierre-Alain Binz
- Service of Clinical Chemistry, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, 1011, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Pascal Steullet
- Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Kim Q Do
- Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Philippe Conus
- Service of General Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Arnaud Merglen
- Division of General Pediatrics, Geneva University Hospitals and Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Camille Piguet
- Division of General Pediatrics, Geneva University Hospitals and Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Daniella Dwir
- Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Paul Klauser
- Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
- Service of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
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Merz EC, Myers B, Hansen M, Simon KR, Strack J, Noble KG. Socioeconomic Disparities in Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis Regulation and Prefrontal Cortical Structure. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY GLOBAL OPEN SCIENCE 2024; 4:83-96. [PMID: 38090738 PMCID: PMC10714216 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2023.10.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2023] [Revised: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 10/17/2023] [Indexed: 02/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Socioeconomic disadvantage during childhood predicts an increased risk for mental health problems across the life span. Socioeconomic disadvantage shapes multiple aspects of children's proximal environments and increases exposure to chronic stressors. Drawing from multiple literatures, we propose that childhood socioeconomic disadvantage may lead to adaptive changes in the regulation of stress response systems including the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. These changes, in turn, affect the development of prefrontal cortical (PFC) circuitry responsible for top-down control over cognitive and emotional processes. Translational findings indicate that chronic stress reduces dendritic complexity and spine density in the medial PFC and anterior cingulate cortex, in part through altered HPA axis regulation. Socioeconomic disadvantage has frequently been associated with reduced gray matter in the dorsolateral and ventrolateral PFC and anterior cingulate cortex and lower fractional anisotropy in the superior longitudinal fasciculus, cingulum bundle, and uncinate fasciculus during middle childhood and adolescence. Evidence of socioeconomic disparities in hair cortisol concentrations in children has accumulated, although null findings have been reported. Coupled with links between cortisol levels and reduced gray matter in the PFC and anterior cingulate cortex, these results support mechanistic roles for the HPA axis and these PFC circuits. Future longitudinal studies should simultaneously consider multiple dimensions of proximal factors, including cognitive stimulation, while focusing on epigenetic processes and genetic moderators to elucidate how socioeconomic context may influence the HPA axis and PFC circuitry involved in cognitive and emotional control. These findings, which point to modifiable factors, can be harnessed to inform policy and more effective prevention strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily C. Merz
- Department of Psychology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado
| | - Brent Myers
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado
| | - Melissa Hansen
- Department of Psychology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado
| | - Katrina R. Simon
- Department of Biobehavioral Sciences, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, New York
| | - Jordan Strack
- Department of Psychology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado
| | - Kimberly G. Noble
- Department of Biobehavioral Sciences, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, New York
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Hardi FA, Goetschius LG, Peckins MK, Brooks-Gunn J, McLanahan SS, McLoyd V, Lopez-Duran NL, Mitchell C, Hyde LW, Monk CS. Differential Developmental Associations of Material Hardship Exposure and Adolescent Amygdala-Prefrontal Cortex White Matter Connectivity. J Cogn Neurosci 2021; 34:1866-1891. [PMID: 34942644 PMCID: PMC9651170 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Accumulating literature has linked poverty to brain structure and function, particularly in affective neural regions; however, few studies have examined associations with structural connections or the importance of developmental timing of exposure. Moreover, prior neuroimaging studies have not used a proximal measure of poverty (i.e., material hardship, which assesses food, housing, and medical insecurity) to capture the lived experience of growing up in harsh economic conditions. The present investigation addressed these gaps collectively by examining the associations between material hardship (ages 1, 3, 5, 9, and 15 years) and white matter connectivity of frontolimbic structures (age of 15 years) in a low-income sample. We applied probabilistic tractography to diffusion imaging data collected from 194 adolescents. Results showed that material hardship related to amygdala-prefrontal, but not hippocampus-prefrontal or hippocampus-amygdala, white matter connectivity. Specifically, hardship during middle childhood (ages 5 and 9 years) was associated with greater connectivity between the amygdala and dorsomedial pFC, whereas hardship during adolescence (age of 15 years) was related to reduced amygdala-orbitofrontal (OFC) and greater amygdala-subgenual ACC connectivity. Growth curve analyses showed that greater increases of hardship across time were associated with both greater (amygdala-subgenual ACC) and reduced (amygdala-OFC) white matter connectivity. Furthermore, these effects remained above and beyond other types of adversity, and greater hardship and decreased amygdala-OFC connectivity were related to increased anxiety and depressive symptoms. Results demonstrate that the associations between material hardship and white matter connections differ across key prefrontal regions and developmental periods, providing support for potential windows of plasticity for structural circuits that support emotion processing.
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