Briana L. Robustelli

Increased gyrification, but comparable surface area in adolescents with autism spectrum disorders

Autism spectrum disorders are associated with atypically excessive early brain growth. Recent studies suggest that later cortical development, specifically cortical thickness, during adolescence and young adulthood is also aberrant. Nevertheless, previous studies of other surface-based metrics (e.g. surface area and gyrification) at high-resolution in autism spectrum disorders are limited. Forty-one males with autism spectrum disorders and 39 typically developing males matched on age (mean ≈ 17; range = 12-24 years) and IQ (mean ≈ 113; range = 85-143) provided high-resolution 3 T anatomical magnetic resonance imaging scans. The FreeSurfer image analysis suite quantified vertex-level surface area and gyrification. There were gyrification increases in the autism spectrum disorders group (relative to typically developing subjects) localized to bilateral posterior cortices (cluster corrected P < 0.01). Furthermore, the association between vocabulary knowledge and gyrification in left inferior parietal cortex (typically developing group: positive correlation; autism spectrum disorders group: no association) differed between groups. Finally, there were no group differences in surface area, and there was no interaction between age and group for either surface area or gyrification (both groups showed decreasing gyrification with increasing age). The present study complements and extends previous work by providing the first evidence of increased gyrification (though no differences in surface area) at high resolution among adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorders and by showing a dissociation in the relationship between vocabulary and gyrification in autism spectrum disorders versus typically developing subjects. In contrast with previous findings of age-related cortical thinning in this same autism spectrum disorders sample, here we find that increases in gyrification are maintained across adolescence and young adulthood, implicating developmentally dissociable cortical atypicalities in autism spectrum disorders.

Cortical thickness, surface area, and gyrification abnormalities in children exposed to maltreatment: neural markers of vulnerability?

BACKGROUND Childhood maltreatment has been shown to significantly elevate the risk of psychiatric disorder. Previous neuroimaging studies of children exposed to maltreatment have reported atypical neural structure in several regions, including the prefrontal cortex and temporal lobes. These studies have exclusively investigated volumetric differences rather than focusing on genetically and developmentally distinct indices of brain structure. METHODS Here we used surface-based methods to examine cortical thickness, surface area, and local gyrification in a community sample of children with documented experiences of abuse (n = 22) and a group of carefully matched nonmaltreated peers (n = 21). RESULTS Reduced cortical thickness in the maltreated compared with the nonmaltreated group was observed in an extended cluster that incorporated the anterior cingulate, superior frontal gyrus, and orbitofrontal cortex. In addition, reduced cortical surface area was observed within the parcellated regions of the left middle temporal area and lingual gyrus. Local gyrification deficits within the maltreated group were located within two clusters, the lingual gyrus and the insula extending into pars opercularis. CONCLUSIONS This is the first time structural abnormalities in the anterior cingulate and lingual gyrus have been detected in children exposed to maltreatment. Surface-based methods seem to capture subtle, previously undetected, morphological abnormalities associated with maltreatment. We suggest that these approaches detect developmental precursors of brain volume differences seen in adults with histories of abuse. Because the reported regions are implicated in several clinical disorders, they might constitute biological markers of vulnerability, linking exposure to early adversity and psychiatric risk.

Longitudinal Cortical Development During Adolescence and Young Adulthood in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Increased Cortical Thinning but Comparable Surface Area Changes

OBJECTIVE Prior reports suggest that autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with atypically excessive early brain growth. Recent cross-sectional studies suggest that later cortical development during adolescence/adulthood might also be aberrant, although longitudinal designs are required to evaluate atypical growth trajectories. The present study sought to examine longitudinal changes in cortical thickness and surface area among adolescents and young adults with ASD. METHOD Two high-resolution anatomic magnetic resonance imaging scans approximately 2 years apart were acquired from 17 adolescents with ASD and 18 typically developing (TD) adolescents, matched on age (range = 14-24 years), IQ, sex ratio, and handedness (70 scans total). The FreeSurfer image analysis suite was used to quantify longitudinal changes in cortical thickness and surface area. RESULTS Accelerated cortical thinning for the ASD group as compared to the TD group was found in 2 areas in the left hemisphere, the posterior portion of ventral temporal cortex and superior parietal cortex (cluster corrected p < .01). For ventral temporal cortex, cortical thinning was associated with everyday executive function impairments, and thinner cortex at time 2 was correlated with ASD social symptoms. Differences in surface area changes were not detected. CONCLUSION The present longitudinal study extends prior cross-sectional research by demonstrating increased cortical thinning (in portions of temporal and parietal cortex) but comparable surface area growth rates in participants with ASD compared to TD controls during adolescence and into young adulthood. These findings provide further evidence for atypical cortical development beyond the early years in ASD, marked by increased cortical thinning in late adolescence/young adulthood.

Physical Activity Level and Medial Temporal Health in Youth at Ultra High-Risk for Psychosis

A growing body of evidence suggests that moderate to vigorous activity levels can affect quality of life, cognition, and brain structure in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. However, physical activity has not been systematically studied during the period immediately preceding the onset of psychosis. Given reports of exercise-based neurogenesis in schizophrenia, understanding naturalistic physical activity levels in the prodrome may provide valuable information for early intervention efforts. The present study examined 29 ultra high-risk (UHR) and 27 matched controls to determine relationships between physical activity level, brain structure (hippocampus and parahippocampal gyrus), and symptoms. Participants were assessed with actigraphy for a 5-day period, MRI, and structured clinical interviews. UHR participants showed a greater percentage of time in sedentary behavior while healthy controls spent more time engaged in light to vigorous activity. There was a strong trend to suggest the UHR group showed less total physical activity. The UHR group exhibited smaller medial temporal volumes when compared with healthy controls. Total level of physical activity in the UHR group was moderately correlated with parahippocampal gyri bilaterally (right: r = .44, left: r = .55) and with occupational functioning (r = -.36; of negative symptom domain), but not positive symptomatology. Results suggest that inactivity is associated with medial temporal lobe health. Future studies are needed to determine if symptoms are driving inactivity, which in turn may be affecting the health of the parahippocampal structure and progression of illness. Although causality cannot be determined from the present design, these findings hold important implications for etiological conceptions and suggest promise for an experimental trial.

Marital disruption is associated with shorter salivary telomere length in a probability sample of older adults.

RATIONALE Marital disruption (i.e., marital separation, divorce) is associated with a wide range of poor mental and physical health outcomes, including increased risk for all-cause mortality. One biological intermediary that may help explain the association between marital disruption and poor health is accelerated cellular aging. OBJECTIVE This study examines the association between marital disruption and salivary telomere length in a United States probability sample of adults ≥50 years of age. METHOD Participants were 3526 individuals who participated in the 2008 wave of the Health and Retirement Study. Telomere length assays were performed using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) on DNA extracted from saliva samples. Health and lifestyle factors, traumatic and stressful life events, and neuroticism were assessed via self-report. Linear regression analyses were conducted to examine the associations between predictor variables and salivary telomere length. RESULTS Based on their marital status data in the 2006 wave, people who were separated or divorced had shorter salivary telomeres than people who were continuously married or had never been married, and the association between marital disruption and salivary telomere length was not moderated by gender or neuroticism. Furthermore, the association between marital disruption and salivary telomere length remained statistically significant after adjusting for demographic and socioeconomic variables, neuroticism, cigarette use, body mass, traumatic life events, and other stressful life events. Additionally, results revealed that currently married adults with a history of divorce evidenced shorter salivary telomeres than people who were continuously married or never married. CONCLUSION Accelerated cellular aging, as indexed by telomere shortening, may be one pathway through which marital disruption is associated with morbidity and mortality.

Intimate relationship involvement, intimate relationship quality, and psychiatric disorders in adolescents.

Prior research has shown that poor relationship quality in marriage and other intimate relationships demonstrates cross-sectional and longitudinal associations with a variety of psychiatric disorders in adults. In comparison, there has been less research on the covariation between relationship quality and psychiatric disorders in adolescents, a developmental period that is associated with elevated risk of incidence of several disorders and that is important for the acquisition and maintenance of intimate relationships. The present study was conducted to examine the associations between intimate relationship involvement, intimate relationship quality, and psychiatric disorders in a population-based sample of adolescents. The associations between relationship involvement, positive and negative relationship quality, and 12-month prevalence of mood, anxiety, and substance use disorders were evaluated in adolescents from the National Comorbidity Survey-Adolescent Supplement. Participants completed an interview-based assessment of psychiatric disorders and a self-report measure of relationship quality. Results indicated that the prevalence of broad categories of mood, anxiety, and substance use disorders, and several specific disorders were significantly associated with (a) being married, cohabiting, or involved in a serious relationship; and (b) reporting more negative (but not less positive) relationship quality. For several disorders, the association between the disorder and relationship involvement was moderated by age, wherein the strength of the association decreased in magnitude with increasing age. Findings suggest that being in an intimate relationship and reporting higher levels of negative relationship quality are associated with the prevalence of several common psychiatric disorders in adolescents.

Activity Enjoyment, Not Frequency, Is Associated With Alcohol-Related Problems and Heavy Episodic Drinking.

Depression and alcohol use disorder (AUD) commonly co-occur, and this comorbidity is associated with greater impairment and higher likelihood of relapse compared to either disorder alone. Identifying shared vulnerability across depression and AUD may aid in developing more parsimonious treatment approaches. Low levels of positive reinforcement for healthy behaviors have been implicated as a shared vulnerability across both depression and AUD. However, prior research in this area has largely been conducted among college students and has rarely examined depression and AUD symptoms together. This study aims to extend prior literature by examining the association between both the frequency and enjoyment of activities and AUD symptoms in a national sample of adults (n = 609) while also accounting for depressive symptoms. Study results indicated that low levels of enjoyment were associated with greater alcohol-related problems and frequency of heavy episodic drinking, above and beyond depressive symptoms. The frequency of potentially pleasurable activities was unrelated to alcohol-related problems or heavy episodic drinking. Findings extend prior literature by providing evidence for the association between enjoyment of activities and alcohol use, above and beyond depressive symptoms, among a national sample of adults. These results suggest that prioritizing enjoyment of activities, rather than frequency, may be important for behavioral intervention efforts to address heavy drinking and associated problems. Future longitudinal research using observational methods of behavior is needed to identify causal relationships between activity enjoyment and AUD symptoms.

Marital adjustment and psychological distress in Japan

This study was conducted to examine the association between marital adjustment and psychological distress in a large, probability sample of married adults in Japan (N = 710) from the Midlife Development in Japan study. Results indicate that positive and negative dimensions of marital adjustment were significantly associated with dimensional and categorical measures of psychological distress. Furthermore, the associations between marital adjustment and psychological distress remained significant when statistically controlling for neuroticism, quality of friend and family relationships, and demographic variables. These results demonstrate that the well-established association between marital adjustment and psychological distress found in European American countries is also found in Japan. Findings support continued research on marital functioning and psychological distress in East Asian countries.

Marital discord and depression in middle-aged and older couples Is taxon status associated with depression?

Although a large literature links relationship discord with depression, most prior studies have evaluated relationship discord as a continuous variable and have examined this association in younger couples. Based on findings suggesting that the latent structure of marital discord is taxonic, this study evaluated whether taxon status was associated with depressive symptoms in middle-aged and older individuals and whether taxon status accounted for unique variance in depressive symptoms, over and above that which was accounted for by continuous measures of marital quality. This association was examined in a community sample of 502 couples who had been married at least 10 years and in which at least one spouse was 55 to 75 years old. There were statistically significant differences between taxon (discordant) and complement (nondiscordant) women and men in depressive symptoms, with discordant spouses reporting higher levels of depressive symptoms than nondiscordant spouses. For wives but not for husbands, taxon status contributed to symptoms beyond the effect of the mean of continuously distributed marital quality scales, indicating a point at which couple taxon status incrementally predicts a significant increase in depressive symptoms. Implications for clinical assessment and further research are discussed.