Childhood Adversity and White Matter Microstructure: White Matter Differences Associated with Trauma Exposure
Current research on the effects of childhood trauma largely focuses on maltreatment. In the current study, we used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to determine the association between potentially traumatic exposures not related to maltreatment and fractional anisotropy (FA) in 184 youth aged 9–14 yea...
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MDPI AG
2025-03-01
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| author | Andrea Rodriguez Helen Petropoulos Pilar M. Sanjuan Yu-Ping Wang Tony W. Wilson Vince D. Calhoun Julia M. Stephen |
| author_facet | Andrea Rodriguez Helen Petropoulos Pilar M. Sanjuan Yu-Ping Wang Tony W. Wilson Vince D. Calhoun Julia M. Stephen |
| author_sort | Andrea Rodriguez |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Current research on the effects of childhood trauma largely focuses on maltreatment. In the current study, we used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to determine the association between potentially traumatic exposures not related to maltreatment and fractional anisotropy (FA) in 184 youth aged 9–14 years. The Trauma History Profile was used to determine how many traumatic events in different categories were experienced and create low- and high-trauma groups. FA values were compared between groups in twelve a priori chosen regions of interest (ROIs). Five of the twelve regions showed significantly lower FA in the high-trauma groups when compared to the low-trauma groups, including the body of the corpus callosum, the total corpus callosum, bilateral posterior thalamic radiation, and the left cingulate gyrus projection of the cingulum bundle. Group differences were also observed across a range of behaviors. However, FA was not associated with posttraumatic stress symptomology. The results support the hypothesis that the high-trauma group had lower FA compared to the low-trauma group. The significant ROIs represent a subset of regions identified in studies of adults exposed to traumatic childhood events or children with a history of maltreatment. These results, obtained from typically developing youth, underline the importance of examining childhood trauma exposure in future developmental studies. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c8cdcf0bca7d4168b08e46df89f7a328 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2673-7140 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| spelling | doaj-art-c8cdcf0bca7d4168b08e46df89f7a3282025-08-20T02:09:11ZengMDPI AGStresses2673-71402025-03-01511910.3390/stresses5010019Childhood Adversity and White Matter Microstructure: White Matter Differences Associated with Trauma ExposureAndrea Rodriguez0Helen Petropoulos1Pilar M. Sanjuan2Yu-Ping Wang3Tony W. Wilson4Vince D. Calhoun5Julia M. Stephen6The Mind Research Network, Lovelace Biomedical Research Institute, Albuquerque, NM 87106, USATri-Institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USADepartment of Family and Community Medicine, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USABiomedical Engineering Department, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118, USAInstitute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE 68010, USATri-Institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USAThe Mind Research Network, Lovelace Biomedical Research Institute, Albuquerque, NM 87106, USACurrent research on the effects of childhood trauma largely focuses on maltreatment. In the current study, we used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to determine the association between potentially traumatic exposures not related to maltreatment and fractional anisotropy (FA) in 184 youth aged 9–14 years. The Trauma History Profile was used to determine how many traumatic events in different categories were experienced and create low- and high-trauma groups. FA values were compared between groups in twelve a priori chosen regions of interest (ROIs). Five of the twelve regions showed significantly lower FA in the high-trauma groups when compared to the low-trauma groups, including the body of the corpus callosum, the total corpus callosum, bilateral posterior thalamic radiation, and the left cingulate gyrus projection of the cingulum bundle. Group differences were also observed across a range of behaviors. However, FA was not associated with posttraumatic stress symptomology. The results support the hypothesis that the high-trauma group had lower FA compared to the low-trauma group. The significant ROIs represent a subset of regions identified in studies of adults exposed to traumatic childhood events or children with a history of maltreatment. These results, obtained from typically developing youth, underline the importance of examining childhood trauma exposure in future developmental studies.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7140/5/1/19diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)posttraumatic stresschildhood traumatypically developing youth |
| spellingShingle | Andrea Rodriguez Helen Petropoulos Pilar M. Sanjuan Yu-Ping Wang Tony W. Wilson Vince D. Calhoun Julia M. Stephen Childhood Adversity and White Matter Microstructure: White Matter Differences Associated with Trauma Exposure Stresses diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) posttraumatic stress childhood trauma typically developing youth |
| title | Childhood Adversity and White Matter Microstructure: White Matter Differences Associated with Trauma Exposure |
| title_full | Childhood Adversity and White Matter Microstructure: White Matter Differences Associated with Trauma Exposure |
| title_fullStr | Childhood Adversity and White Matter Microstructure: White Matter Differences Associated with Trauma Exposure |
| title_full_unstemmed | Childhood Adversity and White Matter Microstructure: White Matter Differences Associated with Trauma Exposure |
| title_short | Childhood Adversity and White Matter Microstructure: White Matter Differences Associated with Trauma Exposure |
| title_sort | childhood adversity and white matter microstructure white matter differences associated with trauma exposure |
| topic | diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) posttraumatic stress childhood trauma typically developing youth |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7140/5/1/19 |
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