Testing the ecophenotype hypothesis: Differences in white matter microstructure in youth with conduct disorder with versus without a history of childhood abuse

Publikation: Beitrag in FachzeitschriftForschungsartikelBeigetragenBegutachtung

Beitragende

  • Sophie Townend - , University of Bath (Autor:in)
  • Marlene Staginnus - , University of Bath (Autor:in)
  • Jack Rogers - , University of Birmingham (Autor:in)
  • Areti Smaragdi - , Child Development Institute (Autor:in)
  • Anne Martinelli - , Universitätsklinikum Frankfurt, Hochschule Fresenius gGmbH Idstein (Autor:in)
  • Anka Bernhard - , Klinik und Poliklinik für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie, Universitätsklinikum Frankfurt (Autor:in)
  • Nora Maria Raschle - , Universität Zürich, ETH Zürich (Autor:in)
  • Gregor Kohls - , Klinik und Poliklinik für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie, Deutsches Zentrum für Kinder- und Jugendgesundheit (DZKJ) - Standort Leipzig/Dresden (Autor:in)
  • Kerstin Konrad - , Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen (Autor:in)
  • Christina Stadler - , Universität Basel (Autor:in)
  • Christine M. Freitag - , Universitätsklinikum Frankfurt (Autor:in)
  • Esther Walton - , University of Bath (Autor:in)
  • Stephane A. De Brito - , University of Birmingham (Autor:in)
  • Graeme Fairchild - , University of Bath (Autor:in)

Abstract

Childhood maltreatment is a key risk factor for conduct disorder (CD), and the "ecophenotype hypothesis"suggests that maltreatment-related versus non-maltreatment-related CD are neurobiologically distinct. This may explain inconsistent findings in previous structural connectivity studies of CD. We tested this hypothesis by comparing youth with CD with (CD/+) versus without (CD/-) childhood physical or sexual abuse in white-matter microstructure. Diffusion tensor imaging data were collected from 100 CD and 169 control participants aged 9-18 years. Using Tract-Based Spatial Statistics, we compared the CD and control groups in fractional anisotropy, and axial, radial and mean diffusivity, then compared the CD/+ (n = 39) and CD/- (n = 61) subgroups and controls. The combined CD group had higher fractional anisotropy in the corpus callosum than controls. When divided by abuse history, only the CD/- subgroup exhibited higher corpus callosum fractional anisotropy than controls; the CD/+ subgroup did not differ from controls. Comparing the CD subgroups, the CD/+ subgroup displayed higher superior longitudinal fasciculus axial diffusivity than the CD/- subgroup. Notably, sex-stratified analyses yielded different findings in all-male and all-female samples. Findings support the ecophenotype hypothesis, demonstrating microstructural differences between the CD/+ and CD/- subgroups and emphasizing the importance of considering abuse/maltreatment (and sex) in future studies.

Details

OriginalspracheEnglisch
Seiten (von - bis)1-15
Seitenumfang15
FachzeitschriftDevelopment and psychopathology
Jahrgang(2025)
PublikationsstatusElektronische Veröffentlichung vor Drucklegung - 26 Mai 2025
Peer-Review-StatusJa

Externe IDs

ORCID /0000-0003-2408-2939/work/188858112
ORCID /0000-0001-8864-1360/work/197966010

Schlagworte

Schlagwörter

  • antisocial behavior, child abuse, childhood maltreatment, conduct disorder, diffusion tensor imaging, Keywords:, sex differences