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- Title
Association of Neural Connectome With Early Experiences of Abuse in Adults.
- Authors
Korgaonkar, Mayuresh S.; Breukelaar, Isabella A.; Felmingham, Kim; Williams, Leanne M.; Bryant, Richard A.
- Abstract
Key Points: Question: Is history of abuse associated with the intrinsic functional connectome of the adult brain independent of current psychiatric illness? Findings: In this cohort study of 768 participants, individuals with abuse experienced during childhood (but not adolescence) demonstrated an altered connectome of greater functional connectivity associated with somatomotor and dorsal-ventral attention brain networks, irrespective of current diagnosis or symptom state. Meaning: These findings suggest that a history of child abuse is associated with altered functioning of systems responsible for perceptual processing and attention, and these findings were transdiagnostic. This cohort study investigates the associations between experiences of abuse in childhood and alterations in whole-brain intrinsic functional connectivity in adulthood without the restriction of psychiatric disorder. Importance: More than 10% of children experience sexual, physical, or emotional abuse, and abuse experienced during sensitive neurodevelopmental periods is associated with a greater risk of psychiatric disorders. Objective: To investigate the extent to which a history of abuse is associated with alterations in the intrinsic functional connectome of the adult brain independent from the restriction of associated psychiatric conditions. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cohort study assessed data from 768 adult participants from the greater Sydney, Australia, area who were included in the study without diagnostic restrictions and categorized based on a history of childhood sexual, physical, and/or emotional abuse. Data were collected from January 1, 2009, to December 31, 2015; data analysis was performed from October 1, 2020, to March 31, 2022. Main Outcomes and Measures: Outcomes were structured psychiatric interview responses, self-report of the frequency and extent of various types of negative experiences in childhood and adolescence, and intrinsic functional connectivity derived from 5 functional magnetic resonance imaging tasks and estimated among 436 brain regions, comprising intranetwork and internetwork connectivity of 8 large-scale brain networks. Results: Among the 647 individuals with usable data (330 female [51.0%]; mean [SD] age, 33.3 [12.0] years; age range, 18.2-69.2 years), history of abuse was associated with greater likelihood of a current psychiatric illness (odds ratio, 4.55; 95% CI, 3.07-6.72; P <.001) and with greater depressive, anxiety, and stress symptoms (mean difference, 20.4; 95% CI, 16.1-24.7; P <.001). An altered connectome signature of higher connectivity within somatomotor, dorsal, and ventral attention networks and between these networks and executive control and default mode networks was observed in individuals with a history of abuse experienced during childhood (n = 127) vs those without a history of abuse (n = 442; mean difference, 0.07; 95% CI, 0.05-0.08; familywise, Bonferroni-corrected P =.01; Cohen d = 0.82) and compared with those who experienced abuse in adolescence (n = 78; mean difference, 0.06; 95% CI, 0.04-0.08]; familywise, Bonferroni-corrected P <.001; Cohen d = 0.68). Connectome alterations were not observed for those who experienced abuse in adolescence. Connectivity of this signature was transdiagnostic and independent of the nature and frequency of abuse, sex, or current symptomatic state. Conclusions and Relevance: Findings highlight the associations of exposure to abuse before and during adolescence with the whole-brain functional connectome. The experience of child abuse was found to be associated with physiologic changes in intrinsic connectivity, independent of psychopathology, in a way that may affect functioning of systems responsible for perceptual processing and attention.
- Subjects
AUSTRALIA; CHILD abuse &; psychology; MENTAL illness risk factors; ADVERSE childhood experiences; CONFIDENCE intervals; CHILD abuse; INTERVIEWING; NEURAL development; RISK assessment; DESCRIPTIVE statistics; RESEARCH funding; LONGITUDINAL method; ADULTS
- Publication
JAMA Network Open, 2023, Vol 6, Issue 1, pe2253082
- ISSN
2574-3805
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.53082