title: Associations among parenting experiences during childhood and adolescence, hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis hypoactivity, and hippocampal gray matter volume reduction in young adults.
abstract: Recent human studies have indicated that adverse parenting experiences during childhood and adolescence are associated with adulthood hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis hypoactivity. Chronic HPA axis hypoactivity inhibits hippocampal gray matter (GM) development, as shown by animal studies. However, associations among adverse parenting experiences during childhood and adolescence, HPA axis activity, and brain development, particularly hippocampal development, are insufficiently investigated in humans. In this voxel-based structural magnetic resonance imaging study, using a cross-sectional design, we examined the associations among the scores of parental bonding instrument (PBI; a self-report scale to rate the attitudes of parents during the first 16 years), cortisol response determined by the dexamethasone/corticotropin-releasing hormone test, and regional or total hippocampal GM volume in forty healthy young adults with the following features: aged between 18 and 35 years, no cortisol hypersecretion in response to the dexamethasone test, no history of traumatic events, or no past or current conditions of significant medical illness or neuropsychiatric disorders. As a result, parental overprotection scores significantly negatively correlated with cortisol response. Additionally, a significant positive association was found between cortisol response and total or regional hippocampal GM volume. No significant association was observed between PBI scores and total or regional hippocampal GM volume. In conclusion, statistical associations were found between parental overprotection during childhood and adolescence and adulthood HPA axis hypoactivity, and between HPA axis hypoactivity and hippocampal GM volume reduction in healthy young adults, but no significant relationship was observed between any PBI scores and adulthood hippocampal GM volume.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, 3-39-22 Showa-machi, Maebashi, Gunma 371-8511, Japan. knarita@med.gunma-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Kosuke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Narita
authors.forename: Kazuyuki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fujihara
authors.forename: Yuichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takei
authors.forename: Masashi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Suda
authors.forename: Yoshiyuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Aoyama
authors.forename: Toru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Uehara
authors.forename: Takehiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Majima
authors.forename: Hirotaka
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kosaka
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Amanuma
authors.forename: Masato
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fukuda
authors.forename: Masahiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mikuni
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone / Q000097:blood; D000328:Adult; D019540:Area Under Curve; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000097:blood; D007030:Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System / Q000502:physiology*; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009769:Object Attachment; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D010913:Pituitary-Adrenal System / Q000502:physiology*; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone; D006854:Hydrocortisone