Background
Cumulative adversity and stress are associated with risk of psychiatric disorders.
While basic science studies show repeated and chronic stress effects on prefrontal
and limbic neurons, human studies examining cumulative stress and effects on brain
morphology are rare. Thus, we assessed whether cumulative adversity is associated
with differences in gray matter volume, particularly in regions regulating emotion,
self-control, and top-down processing in a community sample.
Methods
One hundred three healthy community participants, aged 18 to 48 and 68% male, completed
interview assessment of cumulative adversity and a structural magnetic resonance imaging
protocol. Whole-brain voxel-based-morphometry analysis was performed adjusting for
age, gender, and total intracranial volume.
Results
Cumulative adversity was associated with smaller volume in medial prefrontal cortex
(PFC), insular cortex, and subgenual anterior cingulate regions (familywise error
corrected, p < .001). Recent stressful life events were associated with smaller volume in two
clusters: the medial PFC and the right insula. Life trauma was associated with smaller
volume in the medial PFC, anterior cingulate, and subgenual regions. The interaction
of greater subjective chronic stress and greater cumulative life events was associated
with smaller volume in the orbitofrontal cortex, insula, and anterior and subgenual
cingulate regions.
Conclusions
Current results demonstrate that increasing cumulative exposure to adverse life events
is associated with smaller gray matter volume in key prefrontal and limbic regions
involved in stress, emotion and reward regulation, and impulse control. These differences
found in community participants may serve to mediate vulnerability to depression,
addiction, and other stress-related psychopathology.
Key Words
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: January 05, 2012
Accepted:
November 30,
2011
Received in revised form:
November 22,
2011
Received:
July 5,
2011
Identification
Copyright
© 2012 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
