Trajectories of adolescent conduct problems in relation to cortical thickness development: a longitudinal MRI study.
Multiple cross-sectional imaging studies have identified structural abnormalities in prefrontal, temporal and limbic regions related to conduct problems (CPs). However, the relationship between development of such neurobiological deficits and developmental pathways of CPs has remained unclear. The current study investigated distinct trajectories of CP and related trajectories of cortical thickness within a community-based sample of adolescents (n=239), age range 12-19, to address this gap. Three trajectory classes were revealed using latent class growth analyses (LCGAs), comprising a 'desisting' CP group, an 'intermediate' CP group and a 'stable low' CP group. Structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were collected with a subgroup of 171 adolescents at three waves throughout adolescence (ages 12, 16 and 19). Generalized estimating equation (GEE) analysis-comparing longitudinal changes in cortical thickness and subcortical volume between CP groups for several regions of interest (ROIs)-showed that these CP groups had differential trajectories of cortical thickness in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dl-PFC), and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and volume of the hippocampus. Adolescents in the desisting CP group showed an attenuation of the typical pattern of cortical thinning as present in the intermediate and stable low CP groups, in addition to an exaggeration of the typical pattern of hippocampal volume increase. These findings suggest that a deviant cortical thickness trajectory was related to a desisting CP pathway across adolescence. Such deviant neurodevelopmental growth trajectories may act as an underlying mechanism for developmental CP pathways, and possibly distinguish desisting antisocial adolescents.
VU University Medical Centre Amsterdam, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
S
S
Oostermeijer
Department of Psychiatry, Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, The University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
S
S
Whittle
Brain and Mental Health Laboratory, School of Psychological Sciences and Monash Biomedical Imaging Facility, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
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C
Suo
Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.|Orygen, The National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.|Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA.
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NB
Allen
Department of Psychiatry, Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, The University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.|Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
J G
JG
Simmons
Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
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Vijayakumar
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, VU University Medical Centre Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
P M
PM
van de Ven
VU University Medical Centre Amsterdam, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
L M C
LM
Jansen
Brain and Mental Health Laboratory, School of Psychological Sciences and Monash Biomedical Imaging Facility, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
M
M
Yücel
VU University Medical Centre Amsterdam, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.
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A
Popma
D000293:Adolescent; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology*; D002648:Child; D019955:Conduct Disorder / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D009929:Organ Size; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires