title: The long-term impact of early life poverty on orbitofrontal cortex volume in adulthood: results from a prospective study over 25 years.
abstract: Converging evidence has highlighted the association between poverty and conduct disorder (CD) without specifying neurobiological pathways. Neuroimaging research has emphasized structural and functional alterations in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) as one key mechanism underlying this disorder. The present study aimed to clarify the long-term influence of early poverty on OFC volume and its association with CD symptoms in healthy participants of an epidemiological cohort study followed since birth. At age 25 years, voxel-based morphometry was applied to study brain volume differences. Poverty (0=non-exposed (N=134), 1=exposed (N=33)) and smoking during pregnancy were determined using a standardized parent interview, and information on maternal responsiveness was derived from videotaped mother-infant interactions at the age of 3 months. CD symptoms were assessed by diagnostic interview from 8 to 19 years of age. Information on life stress was acquired at each assessment and childhood maltreatment was measured using retrospective self-report at the age of 23 years. Analyses were adjusted for sex, parental psychopathology and delinquency, obstetric adversity, parental education, and current poverty. Individuals exposed to early life poverty exhibited a lower OFC volume. Moreover, we replicated previous findings of increased CD symptoms as a consequence of childhood poverty. This effect proved statistically mediated by OFC volume and exposure to life stress and smoking during pregnancy, but not by childhood maltreatment and maternal responsiveness. These findings underline the importance of studying the impact of early life adversity on brain alterations and highlight the need for programs to decrease income-related disparities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim/Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Nathalie E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Holz
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim/Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Regina
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Boecker
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim/Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hohm
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim/Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Katrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zohsel
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim/Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Arlette F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Buchmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim/Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Dorothea
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Blomeyer
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim/Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jennen-Steinmetz
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim/Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Baumeister
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim/Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hohmann
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim/Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany [2] Department of Neuroimaging, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim/Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Isabella
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Wolf
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim/Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Plichta
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam OT Golm, Germany.
authors.forename: Günter
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Esser
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim/Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim/Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Meyer-Lindenberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim/Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Banaschewski
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim/Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany [2] Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Brandeis
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim/Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany [2] Department of Psychology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam OT Golm, Germany.
authors.forename: Manfred
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Laucht
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D019955:Conduct Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency / Q000523:psychology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D017008:Negotiating; D011203:Poverty / Q000523:psychology*; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000473:pathology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D055815:Young Adult