Adverse childhood experiences associate with early post-trauma thalamus and thalamic nuclei volumes and PTSD development in adulthood

• Published in: Psychiatry research. Neuroimaging Vol. 319; p. 111421
• Main Authors: Xie, Hong, Huffman, Nickelas, Shih, Chia-Hao, Cotton, Andrew S., Buehler, Mark, Brickman, Kristopher R., Wall, John T., Wang, Xin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.01.2022
• Subjects: Adult; Adverse Childhood Experiences; FreeSurfer; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - pathology; Thalamic Nuclei; Thalamus - diagnostic imaging; Thalamus - pathology; The childhood trauma questionnaire; The PTSD checklist-special stressor; The childhood trauma questionnaire; Magnetic resonance imaging; The PTSD checklist-special stressor; FreeSurfer
• ISSN: 0925-4927; 1872-7506; 1872-7506
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2021.111421

•CTQ scores positively correlated with PCL scores at both 2 weeks and 3 months post-trauma.•CTQ scores negatively correlated with whole thalamus and 7 nuclei volumes at post-trauma 2 weeks in the PTSD group, but not the non-PTSD group.•Whole thalamus and 22 nuclei volumes negatively correlated with subsequent PCL scores at 3 months in the PTSD, but not the non-PTSD group.•Volumes of left MDm and VAmc, and right VLa and VA inversely associated with both CTQ and post-trauma 3 month PTSS in survivors who developed PTSD. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) potentially contribute to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after adult trauma exposure, but underlying brain changes remain unclear. The present study tested relationships between ACEs, whole thalamus and thalamic nuclei volumes, and post-trauma stress symptoms (PTSS) after adult trauma. Trauma survivors (n = 101) completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), the PTSD checklist-special stressor version 5 (PCL), and a structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) scan within post-trauma 2 weeks. At post-trauma 3 months, survivors completed a second PCL survey and a PTSD diagnosis interview using the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS). CTQ scores significantly positively correlated with PCL scores at post-trauma 2 weeks and 3 months (respective p's < 0.01 and < 0.001). CTQ scores significantly negatively correlated with whole thalamus and 7 thalamic nuclei volumes at post-trauma 2 weeks in the PTSD (N = 50), but not the non-PTSD (N = 51) group. Whole thalamus and 22 nuclei volumes significantly negatively correlated with PCL scores at post-trauma 3 months in the PTSD, but not the non-PTSD group. These results suggest ACEs negatively influence early post-trauma thalamic volumes which, in turn, are negatively associated with PTSS in survivors who develop PTSD.