Limbic Scars: Long-Term Consequences of Childhood Maltreatment Revealed by Functional and Structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Dannlowski, Udo; Stuhrmann, Anja; Beutelmann, Victoria; Zwanzger, Peter; Lenzen, Thomas; Grotegerd, Dominik; Domschke, Katharina; Hohoff, Christa; Ohrmann, Patricia; Bauer, Jochen; Lindner, Christian; Postert, Christian; Konrad, Carsten; Arolt, Volker; Heindel, Walter; Suslow, Thomas; Kugel, Harald

doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2011.10.021

Cited by 812 publications

(765 citation statements)

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“…In its breadth, the TLEQ is limited in the amount of information it provides in terms of abuse‐related traumas. It also does not provide information relative to emotional and physical neglect, which have been shown to impact psychological and biological development (Dannlowski et al., 2012; Hanson et al., 2013; Sheridan, Fox, Zeanah, McLaughlin, & Nelson, 2012). While the TLEQ does not delve into the specifics of types of trauma, it has been shown to be a valid measure for detecting whether or not early life trauma occurred (Clancy et al., 2006; Corbo et al., 2014; Kubany et al., 2000; Van Voorhees et al., 2012).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Animal models provided initial evidence of a lasting impact of ELT on the limbic system (LeDoux, 2000, 2003). Human brain imaging studies subsequently showed that I‐ELT was associated with altered structural integrity in the limbic system (Aas et al., 2012; Andersen et al., 2008; Bremner et al., 1997; Carrion, Weems, & Reiss, 2007; Corbo et al., 2014; Dannlowski et al., 2012; Driessen et al., 2004; Lupien et al., 2011; Tottenham et al., 2010; Veer et al., 2015). Functional imaging studies have further shown that, when processing emotional stimuli (e.g., angry faces), I‐ELT was associated with increased activity in the amygdala (Bremner et al., 2005; Grant, Cannistraci, Hollon, Gore, & Shelton, 2011; Maheu et al., 2010), and with decreased activity of the hippocampus (Bremner et al., 1999; Bremner et al., 2003; Carrion, Haas, Garrett, Song, & Reiss, 2010) and anterior cingulate cortex (Bremner, Vythilingam, Vermetten, Southwick, McGlashan, Nazeer, et al., 2003; Bremner, et al., 2003; Bremner et al., 2004; Mueller et al., 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Interpersonal early‐life trauma alters amygdala connectivity and sustained attention performance

et al. 2017

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IntroductionInterpersonal early life trauma (I‐ELT) is associated with a myriad of functional impairments in adulthood, increased risk of drug addiction, and neuropsychiatric disorders. While deficits in emotional regulation and amygdala functioning are well characterized, deficits in general cognitive functioning have also been documented. However, the neural underpinnings of cognitive dysfunction in adults with a history of I‐ELT and the potential relationship between amygdala‐based functional connectivity and behavioral performance are currently poorly understood. This study examined how I‐ELT affects the cognitive and neural mechanisms supporting sustained attention.MethodsA total of 66 Veterans (18 with and 48 without a history of I‐ELT) completed a nonemotional sustained attention task during functional MRI.ResultsThe individuals with I‐ELT showed significant impairments in sustained attention (i.e., higher error rates, greater response variability). This cohort exhibited increased amygdala functional connectivity with the prefrontal cortex and decreased functional connectivity with the parahippocampal gyrus when compared to those without I‐ELT. These connections were significantly correlated with individual differences in sustained attention performance. Notably, classification analyses revealed that the pattern of amygdala connectivity across the whole brain was able to classify I‐ELT status with 70% accuracy.ConclusionThese results provide evidence of a lasting negative impact for those with a history of I‐ELT on sustained attention ability. They also highlight a critical role for amygdala functioning in cognitive control and sustained attention for those with a history of I‐ELT, which may underlie the observed attention deficits in clinical assessments and cognitive tests involving both emotional and nonemotional stimuli.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interpersonal early‐life trauma alters amygdala connectivity and sustained attention performance

et al. 2017

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“…The Amygdala -A Discrete Multitasking Manager 328 scores) was positively associated with right amygdala responsiveness to negative facial expressions (Dannlowski et al, 2012). In addition, adverse early rearing environments in the postnatal period were followed by heightened amygdala activity during childhood.…”

Section: Traumatic Experiences Induce Changes In Amygdala Functionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Traumatic Experiences Disrupt Amygdala – Prefrontal Connectivity

Oh¹

2012

The Amygdala - A Discrete Multitasking Manager

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“…While many have reported volumetric reductions in the hippocampus [15][16][17] or amygdala [18], others have found no change in either hippocampal or amygdala volume [19,20]. Resting-state functional imaging studies have also produced varied results, with some research reporting increased amygdala-hippocampal connectivity associated with greater levels of self-reported trauma symptoms [21] or following stress induction [22], and other work reporting no trauma-related connectivity changes [18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…have been previously linked to reduced amygdala volumes in young people [18,26,27], however the impact of such stressors on functional connectivity in youth have not been widely explored [28]. Concurrent examinations of trauma-related changes in both brain structure and functional connectivity have been limited to adult populations or to task-specific activation paradigms [16,29].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Altered Structural-functional Maturation of the Right Amygdala in Healthy Adolescents Exposed to Traumatic Events

David¹,

E²

2015

J Child Adolesc Behav

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Trauma is defined as a physical or psychological threat or assault to an individual's physical integrity, sense of self, safety or survival or to the physical safety of a significant other. The most common long-term mental health conditions resulting from trauma are post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. A number of studies using neuroimaging methodologies have implicated the amygdala and hippocampus in emotion processing in mood disorders, and adult depression studies suggest amygdala-hippocampal functional connectivity deficits. However, while trauma contributes to depression in a variety of ways, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying exposure to traumatic experiences have been poorly studied. In order to address this question, we used voxel based morphometry (VBM) and spectral dynamic causal modelling (spectral DCM; spDCM) approaches to analyse structural and restingstate functional magnetic resonance imaging and examine grey matter volume, white matter volume, and effective connectivity within the amygdala-hippocampal network in adolescents without psychiatric diagnoses, who had or had not been previously exposed to traumatic life events. Our results indicated greater intrinsic connectivity within the right amygdala in individuals with traumatic experiences compared to controls. Likewise we observed reduced white matter volume within the same region in those individuals, compared with controls. Together, these findings are suggestive of altered maturation of the right amygdala in healthy adolescents following trauma exposure. We interpret such brain changes as a plausible mechanism that may make individuals more vulnerable to developing psychopathology later in life.

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Limbic Scars: Long-Term Consequences of Childhood Maltreatment Revealed by Functional and Structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Cited by 812 publications

References 71 publications

Interpersonal early‐life trauma alters amygdala connectivity and sustained attention performance

Interpersonal early‐life trauma alters amygdala connectivity and sustained attention performance

Traumatic Experiences Disrupt Amygdala – Prefrontal Connectivity

Altered Structural-functional Maturation of the Right Amygdala in Healthy Adolescents Exposed to Traumatic Events

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