title: Long-term consequences of childhood maltreatment: Altered amygdala functional connectivity.
abstract: Childhood maltreatment is a serious individual, familial, and societal threat that compromises healthy development and is associated with lasting alterations to emotion perception, processing, and regulation (Cicchetti & Curtis, 2005; Pollak, Cicchetti, Hornung, & Reed, 2000; Pollak & Tolley-Schell, 2003). Individuals with a history of maltreatment show altered structural and functional brain development in both frontal and limbic structures (Hart & Rubia, 2012). In particular, previous research has identified hyperactive amygdala responsivity associated with childhood maltreatment (e.g., Dannlowski et al., 2012). However, less is known about the impact of maltreatment on the relationship between the amygdala and other brain regions. The present study employed an emotion processing functional magnetic resonance imaging task to examine task-based activation and functional connectivity in adults who experienced maltreatment as children. The sample included adults with a history of substantiated childhood maltreatment (n = 33) and comparison adults (n = 38) who were well matched on demographic variables, all of whom have been studied prospectively since childhood. The maltreated group exhibited greater activation than comparison participants in the prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia. In addition, maltreated adults showed increased amygdala connectivity with the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. The results suggest that the intense early stress of childhood maltreatment is associated with lasting alterations to frontolimbic circuitry.
authors.affiliation: University of Minnesota Institute of Child Development.
authors.forename: Kelly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jedd
authors.affiliation: University of Minnesota Institute of Child Development.
authors.forename: Ruskin H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Hunt
authors.affiliation: University of Minnesota Institute of Child Development.
authors.forename: Dante
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cicchetti
authors.affiliation: University of Rochester Mt. Hope Family Center.
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hunt
authors.affiliation: University of Minnesota Institute of Child Development.
authors.forename: Raquel A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Cowell
authors.affiliation: University of Rochester Mt. Hope Family Center.
authors.forename: Fred A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Rogosch
authors.affiliation: University of Rochester Mt. Hope Family Center.
authors.forename: Sheree L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Toth
authors.affiliation: University of Minnesota Institute of Child Development.
authors.forename: Kathleen M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Thomas
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D054523:Adult Survivors of Child Abuse; D000679:Amygdala / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001479:Basal Ganglia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D063132:Connectome; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000503:physiopathology*; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology*; D055815:Young Adult