title: Childhood poverty and stress reactivity are associated with aberrant functional connectivity in default mode network.
abstract: Convergent research suggests that childhood poverty is associated with perturbation in the stress response system. This might extend to aberrations in the connectivity of large-scale brain networks, which subserve key cognitive and emotional functions. Resting-state brain activity was measured in adults with a documented history of childhood poverty (n=26) and matched controls from middle-income families (n=26). Participants also underwent a standard laboratory social stress test and provided saliva samples for cortisol assay. Childhood poverty was associated with reduced default mode network (DMN) connectivity. This, in turn, was associated with higher cortisol levels in anticipation of social stress. These results suggest a possible brain basis for exaggerated stress sensitivity in low-income individuals. Alterations in DMN may be associated with less efficient cognitive processing or greater risk for development of stress-related psychopathology among individuals who experienced the adversity of chronic childhood poverty.
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA [2] Veterans Affairs Serious Mental Illness Treatment Resource and Evaluation Center (SMITREC), Ann Arbor, MI, USA [3] Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor Health Care System, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Rebecca K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Sripada
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: James E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Swain
authors.affiliation: College of Human Ecology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Gary W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA [2] Department of Radiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Robert C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Welsh
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA [2] Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor Health Care System, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Israel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Liberzon
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000254:growth & development / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000032:analysis; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000254:growth & development / Q000503:physiopathology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011203:Poverty; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry; D057566:Self Report; D012938:Social Perception; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000503:physiopathology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone