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Brain structural covariance network centrality in maltreated youth with PTSD and in maltreated youth resilient to PTSD

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 April 2018

Delin Sun ,
Courtney C. Haswell ,
Rajendra A. Morey  and
Michael D. De Bellis
Delin Sun
Affiliation:
Duke University Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research and Clinical Center
Courtney C. Haswell
Affiliation:
Duke University Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research and Clinical Center
Rajendra A. Morey
Affiliation:
Duke University Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research and Clinical Center Duke University School of Medicine
Michael D. De Bellis*
Affiliation:
Duke University Duke University School of Medicine
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Michael D. De Bellis, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Box 104360, Durham, NC 27710; E-mail: michael.debellis@duke.edu.
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Abstract

Child maltreatment is a major cause of pediatric posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Previous studies have not investigated potential differences in network architecture in maltreated youth with PTSD and those resilient to PTSD. High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging brain scans at 3 T were completed in maltreated youth with PTSD (n = 31), without PTSD (n = 32), and nonmaltreated controls (n = 57). Structural covariance network architecture was derived from between-subject intraregional correlations in measures of cortical thickness in 148 cortical regions (nodes). Interregional positive partial correlations controlling for demographic variables were assessed, and those correlations that exceeded specified thresholds constituted connections in cortical brain networks. Four measures of network centrality characterized topology, and the importance of cortical regions (nodes) within the network architecture were calculated for each group. Permutation testing and principle component analysis method were employed to calculate between-group differences. Principle component analysis is a methodological improvement to methods used in previous brain structural covariance network studies. Differences in centrality were observed between groups. Larger centrality was found in maltreated youth with PTSD in the right posterior cingulate cortex; smaller centrality was detected in the right inferior frontal cortex compared to youth resilient to PTSD and controls, demonstrating network characteristics unique to pediatric maltreatment-related PTSD. Larger centrality was detected in right frontal pole in maltreated youth resilient to PTSD compared to youth with PTSD and controls, demonstrating structural covariance network differences in youth resilience to PTSD following maltreatment. Smaller centrality was found in the left posterior cingulate cortex and in the right inferior frontal cortex in maltreated youth compared to controls, demonstrating attributes of structural covariance network topology that is unique to experiencing maltreatment. This work is the first to identify cortical thickness-based structural covariance network differences between maltreated youth with and without PTSD. We demonstrated network differences in both networks unique to maltreated youth with PTSD and those resilient to PTSD. The networks identified are important for the successful attainment of age-appropriate social cognition, attention, emotional processing, and inhibitory control. Our findings in maltreated youth with PTSD versus those without PTSD suggest vulnerability mechanisms for developing PTSD.

Keywords

cortical networkscortical thicknessmaltreatmentnetwork centralitypediatric PTSDresilience
Type
Regular Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 31 , Issue 2 , May 2019 , pp. 557 - 571
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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Footnotes

This work has been funded by NIH Grants K24MH71434, K24 DA028773, R01 MH63407, R01 AA12479, and R01 MH61744 (to M.D.D.B.); and VA and NIH Grants VHA VISN 6 MIRECC, VHA CSR&D 5I01CX000120-03, VHA CSR&D 5I01CX000748-03, and NINDS 5R01NS086885-02 (to R.A.M.). This study was presented in poster and abstract form at the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology's 55th Annual Meeting, in Hollywood, Florida, December 4–8, 2016. The authors of this study would like to thank the staff of the Healthy Childhood Brain Development Research Program, and the individuals who participated in this study.

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