Childhood maltreatment and psychopathology affect brain development during adolescence

S Whittle; M Dennison; N Vijayakumar; JG Simmons; M Yücel; DI Lubman; C Pantelis; NB Allen

Journal article

Childhood maltreatment and psychopathology affect brain development during adolescence

S Whittle, M Dennison, N Vijayakumar, JG Simmons, M Yücel, DI Lubman, C Pantelis, NB Allen

Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry | Published : 2013

DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2013.06.007

Abstract

Objective The hippocampus and amygdala have received much attention with regard to the deleterious effects of childhood maltreatment. However, it is not known if and when these effects emerge during adolescence and whether comorbid psychopathology is more likely to explain these effects. This study investigated whether childhood maltreatment was associated with hippocampal and amygdala development from early to midadolescence and whether the experience of psychopathology during this period mediated the relation. Method One hundred seventeen (60 male) adolescents, recruited as part of a broader adolescent development study, participated in magnetic resonance imaging assessments during early a..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Sarah Whittle Author

Nandita Vijayakumar Author

Julian Simmons Author

Christos Pantelis Author

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Grants

Awarded by Australian Research Council

Funding Acknowledgements

This research was supported by grants from the Colonial Foundation, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC, Australia; program grant 3502411, and the Australian Research Council (ARC; Discovery Grant DP0878136). Dr. Whittle is supported by On NHMRC Career Development Fellowship (ID: 1007716). Dr. Dennison is supported by an Australian Postgraduate Award. Ms Vijayakumar is supported by a Melbourne International Research Scholarship. Prof. Yucel is supported by an NHMRC Fellowship (ID. 1021973). Dr. Pantelis is supported by an NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellowship (ID: 628386)