Do white matter microstructural alterations associated with childhood maltreatment explain psychopathology in early adulthood?-a longitudinal neuroimaging study

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Rita Pasion - , Lusófona University (Author)
  • Sofia Amaoui - , University of Granada (Author)
  • Tiago O Paiva - , Lusófona University (Author)
  • Inês Macedo - , University of Porto (Author)
  • José Bourbon-Teles - , Lusófona University (Author)
  • João V Duarte - , Champalimaud Foundation (Author)
  • T M Pinto - , Lusófona University (Author)
  • R Costa - , Lusófona University (Author)
  • D Lamela - , Lusófona University (Author)
  • I Jongenelen - , Lusófona University (Author)
  • João Ribeiro - , Lusófona University (Author)
  • Tobias Banaschewski - , Universitätsmedizin Mannheim (Author)
  • Gareth J Barker - , King's College London (KCL) (Author)
  • Arun L W Bokde - , Trinity College Dublin (Author)
  • Sylvane Desrivières - , King's College London (KCL) (Author)
  • Herta Flor - , University of Mannheim (Author)
  • Antoine Grigis - , Université Paris-Saclay (Author)
  • Hugh Garavan - , University of Vermont (Author)
  • Penny Gowland - , University of Nottingham (Author)
  • Andreas Heinz - , Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Author)
  • Rüdiger Brühl - , National Metrology Institute of Germany (PTB) (Author)
  • Jean-Luc Martinot - , INSERM - Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (Author)
  • Marie-Laure Paillère Martinot - , Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Institut National de La Santé Et de La Recherche Médicale, INSERM U 1299 "Trajectoires Développementales & Psychiatrie", University Paris-Saclay, CNRS; Ecole Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay, Centre Borelli; Gif-Sur-Yvette and AP-HP, Sorbonne University, Paris, France. (Author)
  • Eric Artiges - , INSERM - Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (Author)
  • Frauke Nees - , Universitätsmedizin Mannheim (Author)
  • Dimitri Papadopoulos Orfanos - , Université Paris-Saclay (Author)
  • Herve Lemaitre - , Université de Bordeaux (Author)
  • Luise Poustka - , University Medical Center Göttingen (Author)
  • Sarah Hohmann - , University Hospital Hamburg Eppendorf (Author)
  • Nathalie Holz - , Universitätsmedizin Mannheim (Author)
  • Juliane H Fröhner - , Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Neuroimaging Center (Author)
  • Michael N Smolka - , Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Neuroimaging Center (Author)
  • Nilakshi Vaidya - , Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Author)
  • Henrik Walter - , Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Author)
  • Robert Whelan - , Trinity College Dublin (Author)
  • Gunter Schumann - , Fudan University (Author)

Abstract

The current study aims to identify tracts in which white-matter changes at age 19 interweave with different experiences of childhood abuse and neglect and whether these changes can explain psychopathology at ages 19 and 22. IMAGEN is a longitudinal, genetic, neuroimaging database in which community adolescents were followed from 14 to 22 years-old across eight sites in Europe. This study includes participants (n = 769, 55% females; Mage = 18.41 and 21.85) with high-quality DTI data who completed the Childhood Maltreatment Questionnaire and self-reported psychopathology symptoms at ages 19 and 22. White-matter changes-assessed via fractional anisotropy (FA)-were computed from Tract-Based Spatial Statistics. Radial diffusion (RD) was further calculated as a complementary indicator. We first isolated WM projections associated with childhood maltreatment to then test their specific impact on clinical problems. Emotional neglect was associated with lower FA, but not RD, in 5 clusters, most of them representing thalamic projections to temporal and prefrontal regions. Only C5 of emotional neglect, comprising several tracts previously reported in the literature, was linked to psychopathology at ages 19 and 22. The effect spans across internalizing and externalizing dimensions at age 19 (hyperactivity and emotional problems), and covers the entire spectrum of psychopathology at age 22. The moderation role of sex revealed that results at age 22 are restricted to female participants. An unexpected, but weak, effect was found in physical neglect in its association with higher FA. Still, this positive association correlated with lower levels of clinical problems at age 19 and did not explain psychopathological outcomes at 22. In conclusion, emotional neglect is associated with developmental brain changes that explain clinical problems at both ages 19 and 22. Since there are no specific-symptom effects, our results possibly unveil a neurobiological risk factor operating at the transdiagnostic level of psychopathology.

Details

Original languageEnglish
JournalEuropean child & adolescent psychiatry
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 23 Oct 2025
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

Scopus 105023504307
ORCID /0000-0002-8493-6396/work/203813708
ORCID /0000-0001-5398-5569/work/203814394

Keywords