@article{2281bd5260ab4793a639db4577f65d05,
title = "Hippocampal and parahippocampal volumes vary by sex and traumatic life events in children",
abstract = "Background: Childhood trauma is reliably associated with smaller hippocampal volume in adults; however, this finding has not been shown in children, and even less is known about how sex and trauma interact to affect limbic structural development in children. Methods: Typically developing children aged 9 to 15 years who completed a trauma history questionnaire and structural T1-weighted MRI were included in this study (n = 172; 85 female, 87 male). All children who reported 4 or more traumas (n = 36) composed the high trauma group, and all children who reported 3 or fewer traumas (n = 136) composed the low trauma group. Using multivariate analysis of covariance, we compared FreeSurfer-derived structural MRI volumes (normalized by total intracranial volume) of the amygdalar, hippo-campal and parahippocampal regions by sex and trauma level, controlling for age and study site. Results: We found a significant sex × trauma interaction, such that girls with high trauma had greater volumes than boys with high trauma. Follow-up analyses indicated sig-nificantly increased volumes for girls and generally decreased volumes for boys, specifically in the hippocampal and parahippocampal regions for the high trauma group; we observed no sex differences in the low trauma group. We noted no interaction effect for the amygdalae. Limitations: We assessed a community sample and did not include a clinical sample. We did not collect data about the ages at which children experienced trauma. Conclusion: Results revealed that psychological trauma affects brain development differ-ently in girls and boys. These findings need to be followed longitudinally to elucidate how structural differences progress and contribute to well-known sex disparities in psychopathology.",
author = "Badura-Brack, {Amy S.} and Mills, {Mackenzie S.} and Embury, {Christine M.} and Khanna, {Maya M.} and Earl, {Alicia Klanecky} and Stephen, {Julia M.} and Wang, {Yu Ping} and Calhoun, {Vince D.} and Wilson, {Tony W.}",
note = "Funding Information: We enrolled typically developing children (n = 183), aged 9 to 15 years, in the Developmental Chronnecto-Genomics study of healthy brain development (supported by the National Science Foundation of the United States) after obtaining written parental permission and child assent to participate in the study. The current study included all enrolled children who completed a modified version of the UCLA Trauma History Profile27 and had acceptable structural MRI data (n = 172). All children who self-reported 4 traumas or more (n = 36) composed the high trauma group, and the remaining children, who reported 0 to 3 traumas (n = 136), composed the low trauma group. Our resultant sample included 85 female (15 high trauma) and 87 male (21 high trauma) children. We selected the high trauma threshold of 4 traumas or more based on the original Adverse Childhood Experiences study28 and a recent large-scale meta-analysis,29 which showed that childhood exposure to 4 or more adverse events has been associated with numerous health risks, and that a dose-dependent relationship exists between the number of childhood adverse events and psychological difficulties in adulthood. Children were excluded from the study if their parents reported that they had ever had a diagnosis of any psychiatric or behavioural disorder, had a history of traumatic brain injury or other neurologic condition, or had metallic implants (e.g., orthodontia). The study was approved by the university institutional review boards, and all research was conducted according to ethical principles, including obtaining fully informed written parental consent and child assent. Data collection occurred at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska, and at the Mind Research Network in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Funding Information: Funding: This study was funded by At Ease USA, the National Science Foundation (#1539067), and the National Institute of Mental Health (R01-MH121101)",
year = "2020",
month = jul,
doi = "10.1503/jpn.190013",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "45",
pages = "288--297",
journal = "Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience",
issn = "1180-4882",
publisher = "Canadian Medical Association",
number = "4",
}