Interactive impact of childhood maltreatment, depression, and age on cortical brain structure: mega-analytic findings from a large multi-site cohort

• Published in: Psychological medicine Vol. 50; no. 6; pp. 1020 - 1031
• Main Authors: Tozzi, Leonardo, Garczarek, Lisa, Janowitz, Deborah, Stein, Dan J, Wittfeld, Katharina, Dobrowolny, Henrik, Lagopoulos, Jim, Hatton, Sean N, Hickie, Ian B, Carballedo, Angela, Brooks, Samantha J, Vuletic, Daniella, Uhlmann, Anne, Veer, Ilya M, Walter, Henrik, Bülow, Robin, Völzke, Henry, Klinger-König, Johanna, Schnell, Knut, Schoepf, Dieter, Grotegerd, Dominik, Opel, Nils, Dannlowski, Udo, Kugel, Harald, Schramm, Elisabeth, Konrad, Carsten, Kircher, Tilo, Jüksel, Dilara, Nenadić, Igor, Krug, Axel, Hahn, Tim, Steinsträter, Olaf, Redlich, Ronny, Zaremba, Dario, Zurowski, Bartosz, Fu, Cynthia H Y, Dima, Danai, Cole, James, Grabe, Hans J, Connolly, Colm G, Yang, Tony T, Ho, Tiffany C, LeWinn, Kaja Z, Li, Meng, Groenewold, Nynke A, Salminen, Lauren E, Walter, Martin, Simmons, Alan N, van Erp, Theo G M, Jahanshad, Neda, Baune, Bernhard T, van der Wee, Nic J A, van Tol, Marie-Jose, Penninx, Brenda W J H, Hibar, Derrek P, Thompson, Paul M, Veltman, Dick J, Schmaal, Lianne, Frodl, Thomas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Cambridge University Press 01.04.2020
• Subjects: Abuse; Adolescent; Adult; Adults; Age; Age composition; Age Factors; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Brain; Brain Cortical Thickness; Brain structure; Case-Control Studies; Cerebral Cortex - pathology; Child; Child Abuse; Child abuse & neglect; Childhood; Children; Cognition; Cohort Studies; Cortex; Cortex (cingulate); Cortex (parietal); Depressive Disorder, Major - pathology; Depressive personality disorders; Emotions; Female; Gyrus Cinguli - pathology; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Males; Maturation; Medical diagnosis; Men; Mental depression; Mental disorders; Middle Aged; Neuroimaging; Parietal lobe; Parietal Lobe - pathology; Prefrontal Cortex - pathology; Regions; Severity; Subtypes; Superior temporal sulcus; Surface area; Temporal lobe; Temporal Lobe - pathology; Temporal lobes; Theory of mind; Time; Trauma; Violence; Young Adult; ENIGMA; Childhood maltreatment; major depressive disorder; cortical thickness
• ISSN: 0033-2917; 1469-8978
• DOI: 10.1017/S003329171900093X

Childhood maltreatment (CM) plays an important role in the development of major depressive disorder (MDD). The aim of this study was to examine whether CM severity and type are associated with MDD-related brain alterations, and how they interact with sex and age. Within the ENIGMA-MDD network, severity and subtypes of CM using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire were assessed and structural magnetic resonance imaging data from patients with MDD and healthy controls were analyzed in a mega-analysis comprising a total of 3872 participants aged between 13 and 89 years. Cortical thickness and surface area were extracted at each site using FreeSurfer. CM severity was associated with reduced cortical thickness in the banks of the superior temporal sulcus and supramarginal gyrus as well as with reduced surface area of the middle temporal lobe. Participants reporting both childhood neglect and abuse had a lower cortical thickness in the inferior parietal lobe, middle temporal lobe, and precuneus compared to participants not exposed to CM. In males only, regardless of diagnosis, CM severity was associated with higher cortical thickness of the rostral anterior cingulate cortex. Finally, a significant interaction between CM and age in predicting thickness was seen across several prefrontal, temporal, and temporo-parietal regions. Severity and type of CM may impact cortical thickness and surface area. Importantly, CM may influence age-dependent brain maturation, particularly in regions related to the default mode network, perception, and theory of mind.