The Exploration Of The Correlation Between The Childhood Trauma And Emotional Brain Network Based On Amygdala

Childhood trauma has been significantly associated with the prevalence of mental disorders in adulthood,most of which are dominated by mood disorders,such as depression and anxiety.Converging evidence also suggest the association between childhood trauma and altered brain structure and function,particularly in limbic systems engaged in emotional processing and regulation.Amygdala,as the key node of the limbic system,includes the central medial nucleus(CMA),the basolateral nucleus(BLA)and the superficial nucleus(SFA).Therefore,based on magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)technology,this thesis investigate the correlation of the amygdala structure/emotional brain network and childhood trauma,also with gender effect.At the same time,we also focused on the relationship between amygdala emotional brain network and childhood trauma and levels of depression and anxiety,it is hoped to provide a reference for the treatment and intervention of mental illness caused by early trauma.A total of 90 healthy college students(47 males)participated in the present restingstate fMRI study.Levels of childhood trauma,depression and anxiety were assessed using the short form of Childhood Trauma Questionnaire(CTQ-SF),Beck Depression Inventory(BDI-II)and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory(STAI)separately.Voxel-based morphometry(VBM)analysis and whole-brain multiple regression analyses didn’t show any significant associations between childhood trauma and grey matter volumes of whole-brain amygdala and its subregions.However,there was a gender effect in the relationship between sexual abuse and the structure of the amygdala and its subregions,it was only associated with males,not females.ROI-to-ROI approach was employed to examine the FC of bilateral amygdala and subnuclei during multiple regression analyses.The results showed childhood trauma was found to be significantly correlated with the decreased left amygdala-left anterior insula FC and decreased left CMA-left anterior insula FC.Partial correlation analysis between left CMA-left anterior insula FC and subtypes of childhood trauma showed that only emotional abuse was negatively correlated with left CMA-left anterior insula FC,and there was a gender effect between emotional abuse and FC of the amygdala and its subregions,the correlation was negative for males and positive for females.In addition,moderating analysis showed that left CMA-left anterior insula FC moderated the relationship between childhood trauma and depression,and between emotional abuse and depression or anxiety.In conclusion,we found gender differences in the correlation between amygdala structure and sexual abuse,and childhood trauma was associated with reduced FC between the left amygdala-left anterior insula,especially the left CMA-left anterior insula FC.Emotional abuse was not only associated with left CMA-left anterior insula FC,but also has gender differences in the amygdala FCs.The left CMA-left anterior insula FC also played a moderating role in the relationship between childhood trauma and depression and anxiety.The present findings provide evidence for further understanding the function of amygdala subnuclei and the relationship with the subtypes of childhood trauma,thus contributing to the understanding of the pathological mechanisms of depression and anxiety disorders.