Abstract
Background
Experiences of racial discrimination are linked to a range of negative brain health
outcomes, but little is known about how these experiences impact neural architecture,
including white matter microstructure, which may partially mediate these outcomes.
Our goal was to examine associations between racially discriminatory experiences and
white matter structural integrity in a sample of Black American women.
Methods
We recruited 116 Black American women as part of a long-standing study of trauma.
Participants completed assessments of racial discrimination, trauma exposure, and
posttraumatic stress disorder and underwent diffusion tensor imaging. Fractional anisotropy
and mean diffusivity values were extracted from major white matter tracts throughout
the brain.
Results
Experiences of racial discrimination were associated with significantly lower fractional
anisotropy in multiple white matter tracts, including the corpus callosum, cingulum,
and superior longitudinal fasciculus (ps < .004), even after accounting for variance associated with trauma, posttraumatic
stress disorder, and demographic- and scanner-related factors.
Conclusions
These findings suggest that experiences of racial discrimination are independently
related to decrements in white matter microarchitecture throughout the brain. In individuals
who have experienced other types of adversity, racial discrimination clearly has additive
and distinctive deleterious effects on white matter structure. Our findings suggest
a pathway through which racial discrimination can contribute to brain health disparities
in Black Americans; the deleterious contributions of racial discrimination on the
microstructure of major white matter pathways may increase vulnerability for the development
of neurodegenerative disorders as well as the development of mental health problems.
Keywords
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: August 23, 2021
Accepted:
August 16,
2021
Received in revised form:
July 26,
2021
Received:
May 28,
2021
Identification
Copyright
© 2021 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
