Brain structures and functional connectivity in neglected children with no other types of maltreatment

• Published in: NeuroImage (Orlando, Fla.) Fla.), 2024-04, Vol.292, p.120589-120589, Article 120589
• Main Authors: Kawata, Natasha Y.S., Nishitani, Shota, Yao, Akiko, Takiguchi, Shinichiro, Mizuno, Yoshifumi, Mizushima, Sakae, Makita, Kai, Hamamura, Shoko, Saito, Daisuke N., Okazawa, Hidehiko, Fujisawa, Takashi X., Tomoda, Akemi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bipolar disorder; Brain - diagnostic imaging; Brain - pathology; Brain - physiopathology; Case-Control Studies; Child; Child abuse & neglect; Child Abuse - psychology; Child maltreatment; Child welfare; Children; Connectome; Cortex (cingulate); Depression; Female; Frontal gyrus; Functional anatomy; Gray Matter - diagnostic imaging; Gray Matter - pathology; Humans; Hyperactivity; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Mental depression; Mental disorders; Neglected children; Nerve Net - diagnostic imaging; Nerve Net - physiopathology; Neural networks; Neuroimaging; Phenotypes; Post traumatic stress disorder; Resting-state fMRI; SBC; Structure-function relationships; Substantia grisea; VBM
• ISSN: 1053-8119; 1095-9572
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2024.120589

•Exposure to neglect makes the brain atypical at structural and functional levels.•Larger ACC was the one of structural atypicality.•Increased FC between the salience network and R.MFG was the functional atypicality.•Childhood neglect may have caused maladaptation of typical brain development.•This affects the network responsible for emotion regulation and social interaction. Child maltreatment can adversely affect brain development, leading to vulnerabilities in brain structure and function and various psychiatric disorders. Among the various types of child maltreatment, neglect has the highest incidence rate (76.0%); however, data on its sole adverse influence on the brain remain limited. This case-control brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study identified the changes in gray matter structure and function that distinguish neglected children with no other type of maltreatment (Neglect group, n = 23) from typically developing children (TD group, n = 140), and investigated the association between these structural and functional differences and specific psychosocial phenotypes observed in neglected children. Our results showed that the Neglect group had a larger right and left anterior cingulate cortex (R/L.ACC) and smaller left angular gyrus (L.AG) gray matter volume. The larger R/L.ACC was associated with hyperactivity and inattention. Resting-state functional analysis showed increased functional connectivity (FC) between the left supramarginal gyrus (L.SMG) in the salience network (SN) and the right middle frontal gyrus (R.MFG) simultaneously with a decrease in FC with the L.ACC for the same seed. The increased FC for the R.MFG was associated with difficulty in peer problems and depressive symptoms; a mediating effect was evident for depressive symptoms. These results suggest that the structural atypicality of the R/L.ACC indirectly contributes to the disturbed FCs within the SN, thereby exacerbating depressive symptoms in neglected children. In conclusion, exposure to neglect in childhood may lead to maladaptive brain development, particularly neural changes associated with depressive symptoms.