A magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging study of adult nonhuman primates exposed to early-life stressors.
BACKGROUND
Long-term behavioral, immunologic, and neurochemical alterations have been found in primates exposed to adverse early rearing.


METHODS
Bonnet macaque (Macaca radiata) mother-infant dyads were exposed to uncertain requirements for food procurement (variable foraging demand, VFD) for a few months. Ten years later, these offspring and age- and gender-matched control subjects were studied using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI).


RESULTS
In anterior cingulate, VFD-reared subjects displayed significantly decreased N-acetylaspartate (NAA) resonance and significantly increased glutamate-glutamine-gamma-aminobutyric acid (Glx) resonance relative to the stable neurometabolite creatine (Cr). Across all subjects, NAA/Cr and Glx/Cr ratios in the anterior cingulate were negatively correlated (r = -.638, p =.014). In the medial temporal lobe, the ratio of choline-containing compounds to Cr was significantly increased in VFD subjects.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings indicate that adverse early rearing in primates has an enduring impact on adult MRSI measures considered reflective of neuronal integrity and metabolism, membrane structure and glial function, and cerebral glutamate content, and that these alterations occur in the same brain regions implicated in trauma-related psychiatric disorders.
D000530:Alfaxalone Alfadolone Mixture / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000818:Animals; D001224:Aspartic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000032:analysis; D001923:Brain Chemistry; D001931:Brain Mapping; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002794:Choline / Q000032:analysis; D003401:Creatine / Q000032:analysis; D018756:GABA Antagonists / Q000008:administration & dosage; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000032:analysis; D005973:Glutamine / Q000032:analysis; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000378:metabolism; D008255:Macaca radiata / Q000523:psychology; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008297:Male; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000378:metabolism; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000032:analysis
D018756:GABA Antagonists; D005973:Glutamine; D001224:Aspartic Acid; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid; D000530:Alfaxalone Alfadolone Mixture; C000179:N-acetylaspartate; D003401:Creatine; D002794:Choline