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Liu J, Wang L, Zhang L, Ding Y, Zhang X, Hu Z, Zhao X. Abnormal amygdala volume moderates parenting and anxiety symptoms in children and adolescents with anxiety disorder. J Psychiatr Res 2024; 175:316-322. [PMID: 38759497 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2024.05.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2023] [Revised: 04/25/2024] [Accepted: 05/02/2024] [Indexed: 05/19/2024]
Abstract
Anxiety disorders (AD) usually onset in childhood or adolescence and are related to brain development and early experiences during this period. As the hub of the fear circuit, the amygdala plays a crucial role in the development of emotional processing, and abnormalities in its structure and function are associated with anxiety disorders. We aim to uncover the amygdala volume's moderation between parenting and anxiety severity in children and adolescents with AD. 129 children and adolescents with anxiety and 135 age- and sex-matched Health controls (HC) using the publicly available Healthy Brain Network (HBN) dataset were included. Anxiety severity was measured using the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders Self-report (SCARED-SR) and parenting was measured using the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire Self-Report (APQ-SR). We investigated age-related differences in amygdala volume in children and adolescents with anxiety disorders. Further, we examined the role of amygdala volume in moderating the association between parental involvement, particularly the maternal involvement, and anxiety symptoms in this population. We found larger bilateral amygdala in the AD group compared with the HC among the age range of 7-12. And increases in amygdala volume tended to negatively moderate the linear relationships between maternal involvement and anxiety symptoms in the AD group. These findings provide new evidence of abnormal brain alteration in children and adolescents with anxiety and may reflect proactive adaptations of adolescent brain development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingjing Liu
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, Shanghai East Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200120, China
| | - Lu Wang
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, Shanghai East Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200120, China
| | - Lei Zhang
- School of Government, Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, Shanghai, 201701, China
| | - Yue Ding
- Shanghai Mental Health Centre, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200030, China
| | - Xiaochen Zhang
- Shanghai Mental Health Centre, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200030, China
| | - Zhishan Hu
- Shanghai Mental Health Centre, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200030, China
| | - Xudong Zhao
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, Shanghai East Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200120, China; Pudong New Area Mental Health Centre Affiliated to Tongji University, Shanghai, 200124, China.
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2
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Creasey N, Leijten P, Overbeek G, Tollenaar MS. Incredible years parenting program buffers prospective association between parent-reported harsh parenting and epigenetic age deceleration in children with externalizing behavior. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2024; 165:107043. [PMID: 38593711 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2024.107043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2023] [Revised: 04/04/2024] [Accepted: 04/04/2024] [Indexed: 04/11/2024]
Abstract
Harsh parenting has been shown to increase the risk of physical and mental health problems in later life. To improve our understanding of these risks and how they can be mitigated, we investigated associations of harsh parenting with a clinically relevant biomarker, epigenetic age deviation (EAD), using data from a randomized-control trial of the Incredible Years (IY) parenting program. This study included 281 children aged 4-8 years who were screened for heightened externalizing behavior and whose parents were randomly allocated to either IY or care-as-usual (CAU). Parents reported on their own parenting practices and their child's externalizing behavior at baseline and at a follow-up assessment approximately three years later. Epigenetic age, based on the Pediatric Buccal Epigenetic (PedBE) clock, was estimated from child DNA methylation derived from saliva collected at the follow-up assessment. PedBE clock estimates were regressed on chronological age as a measure of EAD. Moderation analyses using multiple regression revealed that harsher parenting at baseline predicted epigenetic age deceleration in children that received CAU (b = -.21, 95% CI[-0.37, -0.05]), but no association was found in children whose parents were allocated to IY (b = -.02, 95% CI [-0.13, 0.19]). These results highlight a prospective association between harsh parenting and children's EAD and indicate a potential ameliorating effect of preventive intervention. Future work is needed to replicate these findings and understand individual differences in children's responses to harsh parenting in relation to epigenetic aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Creasey
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Clinical, Educational & Health Psychology, Division of Psychology & Language Sciences, Faculty of Brain Sciences, University College London, London, UK.
| | - Patty Leijten
- Research Institute of Child Development and Education, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Geertjan Overbeek
- Research Institute of Child Development and Education, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Marieke S Tollenaar
- Institute of Psychology & Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, the Netherlands
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3
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Gagnon-Chauvin A, Fornasier-Bélanger M, Jacobson SW, Jacobson JL, Courtemanche Y, Ayotte P, Bélanger RE, Muckle G, Saint-Amour D. Brain gray matter volume of reward-related structures in Inuit adolescents pre- and postnatally exposed to lead, mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls. Neurotoxicology 2024; 103:162-174. [PMID: 38880197 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuro.2024.06.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2024] [Revised: 06/10/2024] [Accepted: 06/11/2024] [Indexed: 06/18/2024]
Abstract
This study aimed to assess associations between prenatal and postnatal exposure to lead (Pb), mercury (Hg) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and gray matter volume of key regions of the brain reward circuit, namely the caudate nucleus, putamen, nucleus accumbens (nAcc), the amygdala, the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was conducted in 77 Inuit adolescents (mean age = 18.39) from Nunavik, Canada, who also completed the Brief Sensation Seeking Scale (BSSS-4) and Sensation Seeking - 2 (SS-2), two self-report questionnaires evaluating the tendency toward sensation seeking, which is a proxy of reward-related behaviors. Exposures to Pb, Hg and PCBs were measured in cord blood at birth, in blood samples at 11 years old and at time of testing (18 years old). Multivariate linear regressions were corrected for multiple comparisons and adjusted for potential confounders, such as participants' sociodemographic characteristics and nutrient fish intake. Results showed that higher cord blood Pb levels predicted smaller gray matter volume in the bilateral nAcc, caudate nucleus, amygdala and OFC as well as in left ACC. A moderating effect of sex was identified, indicating that the Pb-related reduction in volume in the nAcc and caudate nucleus was more pronounced in female. Higher blood Hg levels at age 11 predicted smaller right amygdala independently of sex. No significant associations were found between blood PCBs levels at all three times of exposure. This study provides scientific support for the detrimental effects of prenatal Pb and childhood Hg blood concentrations on gray matter volume in key reward-related brain structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Avril Gagnon-Chauvin
- Département de Psychologie, Université du Québec à Montréal, 100 Sherbrooke Ouest, Montréal, Québec H2X 3P2, Canada; Centre de Recherche du CHU Sainte-Justine, 3175, Chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine, Montréal, Québec H3T 1C5, Canada
| | - Mathieu Fornasier-Bélanger
- Département de Psychologie, Université du Québec à Montréal, 100 Sherbrooke Ouest, Montréal, Québec H2X 3P2, Canada; Centre de Recherche du CHU Sainte-Justine, 3175, Chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine, Montréal, Québec H3T 1C5, Canada
| | - Sandra W Jacobson
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 3901 Chrysler Drive, Detroit, MI 48201, United States
| | - Joseph L Jacobson
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 3901 Chrysler Drive, Detroit, MI 48201, United States
| | - Yohann Courtemanche
- Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec-Université Laval, Hôpital Saint-Sacrement, 1050 Ch Ste-Foy, Québec, Québec G1S 4L8, Canada
| | - Pierre Ayotte
- Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec-Université Laval, Hôpital Saint-Sacrement, 1050 Ch Ste-Foy, Québec, Québec G1S 4L8, Canada; Département de Médecine Sociale et Préventive, Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, 1050, Avenue de la Médecine, Pavillon Ferdinand-Vandry, Québec, Québec G1V 0A6, Canada
| | - Richard E Bélanger
- Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec-Université Laval, Hôpital Saint-Sacrement, 1050 Ch Ste-Foy, Québec, Québec G1S 4L8, Canada; Département de Pédiatrie, Université Laval, Centre mère-enfant Soleil du CHU de Québec, 2705, Boulevard Laurier, Québec, Québec G1V 4G2, Canada
| | - Gina Muckle
- Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec-Université Laval, Hôpital Saint-Sacrement, 1050 Ch Ste-Foy, Québec, Québec G1S 4L8, Canada; École de Psychologie, Université Laval, 2325, rue des Bibliothèques, Québec, Québec G1V 0A6, Canada
| | - Dave Saint-Amour
- Département de Psychologie, Université du Québec à Montréal, 100 Sherbrooke Ouest, Montréal, Québec H2X 3P2, Canada; Centre de Recherche du CHU Sainte-Justine, 3175, Chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine, Montréal, Québec H3T 1C5, Canada.
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Hiscox LV, Fairchild G, Donald KA, Groenewold NA, Koen N, Roos A, Narr KL, Lawrence M, Hoffman N, Wedderburn CJ, Barnett W, Zar HJ, Stein DJ, Halligan SL. Antenatal maternal intimate partner violence exposure is associated with sex-specific alterations in brain structure among young infants: Evidence from a South African birth cohort. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2023; 60:101210. [PMID: 36764039 PMCID: PMC9929680 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2023.101210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2022] [Revised: 02/02/2023] [Accepted: 02/04/2023] [Indexed: 02/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Maternal psychological distress during pregnancy has been linked to adverse outcomes in children with evidence of sex-specific effects on brain development. Here, we investigated whether in utero exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV), a particularly severe maternal stressor, is associated with brain structure in young infants from a South African birth cohort. Exposure to IPV during pregnancy was measured in 143 mothers at 28-32 weeks' gestation and infants underwent structural and diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (mean age 3 weeks). Subcortical volumetric estimates were compared between IPV-exposed (n = 63; 52% female) and unexposed infants (n = 80; 48% female), with white matter microstructure also examined in a subsample (IPV-exposed, n = 28, 54% female; unexposed infants, n = 42, 40% female). In confound adjusted analyses, maternal IPV exposure was associated with sexually dimorphic effects in brain volumes: IPV exposure predicted a larger caudate nucleus among males but not females, and smaller amygdala among females but not males. Diffusivity alterations within white matter tracts of interest were evident in males, but not females exposed to IPV. Results were robust to the removal of mother-infant pairs with pregnancy complications. Further research is required to understand how these early alterations are linked to the sex-bias in neuropsychiatric outcomes later observed in IPV-exposed children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucy V Hiscox
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK.
| | | | - Kirsten A Donald
- Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital and University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; The Neuroscience institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Nynke A Groenewold
- Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital and University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; The Neuroscience institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Nastassja Koen
- The Neuroscience institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; SA MRC Unit on Risk & Resilience in Mental Disorders, Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Annerine Roos
- The Neuroscience institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Katherine L Narr
- Departments of Neurology, Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Marina Lawrence
- Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital and University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Nadia Hoffman
- Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Catherine J Wedderburn
- Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital and University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; The Neuroscience institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; Department of Clinical Research, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Whitney Barnett
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, USA
| | - Heather J Zar
- Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital and University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; SA MRC Unit on Child & Adolescent Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Dan J Stein
- The Neuroscience institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; SA MRC Unit on Risk & Resilience in Mental Disorders, Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Sarah L Halligan
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK; Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; Department of Psychiatry, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
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Effects of Parental Internalizing and Externalizing Behavior Problems on Children’s Limbic Brain Structures—An MRI Study. Brain Sci 2022; 12:brainsci12101319. [PMID: 36291253 PMCID: PMC9599765 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12101319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2022] [Revised: 09/22/2022] [Accepted: 09/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Parental behavior problems have long-term effects on children’s limbic brain structures and functions. Parental behavior problems-related brain changes in children may lead to mental disorders and behavior dysfunction later in life. However, our understanding of the relationship between parental behavior and children’s brain structures is less obvious when children and adolescents are studied in a general population without mental disorders. The majority of studies on the relationship between parental behavior and adolescent brain structure have been focused on severe forms of the following parental behavior problems: (1) internalizing behavior associated with mood and anxiety disorders, and (2) externalizing behavior associated with substance use and violence. A few studies examined the effect of normative variations or subtle differences in parental behavior. Therefore, we utilized a large study—Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD)—to determine relationships between normative variation in parental internalizing and externalizing behavior and limbic brain structures in children and adolescents without mental disorders. Quantile (median) regression models were used to compute associations between parental behavior and children’s limbic structures. We found that parental internalizing and externalizing behaviors are uniquely associated with children’s limbic structures after adjustment for biological confounders and parental socioeconomic status. Our findings indicate that normative parental behavior may have a significant early influence on limbic structures of normally developing children and adolescents. Accelerated or delayed limbic structure maturation may account for children’s and adolescents’ behavioral inadequacies and a risk of developing specific mood disorders or substance abuse problems later in life.
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Bhanot S, Bray S, McGirr A, Lee K, Kopala-Sibley DC. A Narrative Review of Methodological Considerations in Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Offspring Brain Development and the Influence of Parenting. Front Hum Neurosci 2021; 15:694845. [PMID: 34489661 PMCID: PMC8417117 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.694845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2021] [Accepted: 06/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Parenting has been robustly associated with offspring psychosocial development, and these effects are likely reflected in brain development. This hypothesis is being tested with increasingly rigorous methods and the use of magnetic resonance imaging, a powerful tool for characterizing human brain structure and function. The objective of this narrative review was to examine methodological issues in this field that impact the conclusions that can be drawn and to identify future directions in this field. Studies included were those that examined associations between parenting and offspring brain structure or function. Results show four thematic features in this literature that impact the hypotheses that can be tested, and the conclusions drawn. The first theme is a limited body of studies including repeated sampling of offspring brain structure and function, and therefore an over-reliance on cross-sectional or retrospective associations. The second involves a focus on extremes in early life caregiving, limiting generalizability. The third involves the nature of parenting assessment, predominantly parent- or child-report instead of observational measures which may be more ecologically valid measures of parenting. A closely related fourth consideration is the examination of detrimental versus positive parenting behaviors. While studies with one or more of these thematic limitations provide valuable information, future study design should consider addressing these limitations to determine how parenting shapes offspring brain development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shiv Bhanot
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Signe Bray
- Department of Radiology, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.,Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research and Education, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.,Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, Calgary, AB, Canada.,Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Alexander McGirr
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.,Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research and Education, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.,Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Kate Lee
- Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Daniel C Kopala-Sibley
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.,Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research and Education, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.,Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, Calgary, AB, Canada.,Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
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