Amygdala-Angular Gyrus Connectivity, Maternal Overprotection and Depressive Symptoms in Children
Poster No:
962
Submission Type:
Abstract Submission
Authors:
Lizhu Luo1, Ai Peng Tan2, Yap Seng Chong2, Peter Gluckman3, Johan Eriksson4, Shi Yu Chan5, Pei Huang5, Helen Juan Zhou2, Marielle Fortier6, Michael Meaney7
Institutions:
1Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore, 2National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore, 3University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand, 4University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland, 5A*STAR Research Entities, Singapore, Singapore, 6KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore, Singapore, 7McGill University, Montreal, Quebec
First Author:
Co-Author(s):
Introduction:
Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is one of the most prevalent mental health issues affecting children and adolescents worldwide (Costello, et al., 2015), as well as in Singapore (Magiati, et al, 2015). Parenting significantly influences children's emotional well-being (Eun, et al., 2018; Gao, et al., 2012), but the specific nature and neural mechanisms of this influence remain unclear. This study investigated 1) the association between maternal parenting and resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) of the amygdala, and 2) whether this amygdala rsFC moderates the relation between maternal parenting and childhood depressive symptoms.
Methods:
A total of 220 children from the GUSTO cohort in Singapore underwent resting-state fMRI scans at 7.5 years old on a 3T scanner (Magnetom Prisma; Siemens, Germany) and completed self-reported assessments of maternal parenting and depressive symptoms 1-3 years later using the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI-2) and the child-reported Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI). Multiple regression analyses using SPM12 examined the association between maternal parenting and amygdala rsFC, considering PBI subscales (maternal overprotection and care) for both the entire amygdala and individual subnuclei (centromedial, basolateral, and superficial amygdala). The threshold for significance was set at cluster-level p < 0.0125 (Family-Wise Error, FWE corrected) to account for multiple comparisons (initial voxel-level threshold: p = 0.001 uncorrected). Moderation analyses assessed whether amygdala rsFC moderated the parenting-depressive symptoms relationship.
Results:
Spearman correlation analyses showed a significant negative association between maternal care and maternal overprotection (r = -0.404, p < 0.001; Fig 1A). Additionally, maternal overprotection showed a positive correlation (r = 0.347, p < 0.001; Fig 1B), whereas maternal care exhibited a negative correlation (r = -0.342, p < 0.001; Fig 1C) with childhood depressive symptoms.
Two neural pathways were identified in relation to maternal overprotection. One showed a positive association between the rsFC of the right amygdala and the right angular gyrus (k = 197, t = 5.03, pFWE = 0.001, x/y/z: 28/-58/44; Fig 2A) as well as the left inferior parietal gyrus (k = 143, t = 4.32, pFWE = 0.008, x/y/z: -36/-48/38; Fig 2A). The other showed a negative correlation between maternal overprotection and the rsFC of the left amygdala and left anterior insula (k = 140, t = 4.85, pFWE = 0.008, x/y/z: -28/18/-10; Fig 2B).
Subnuclei analysis revealed that, as the level of maternal overprotection increased, the increased rsFC in the right amygdala was predominantly driven by the right basolateral amygdala with the right angular gyrus (k = 192, t = 4.58, pFWE = 0.001, x/y/z: 30/-52/46; Fig 2C) as well as the left inferior parietal gyrus (k = 303, t = 4.59, pFWE < 0.001, x/y/z: -34/-52/38; Figure 2C). In contrast, the reduced rsFC in the left amygdala was primarily driven by the left superficial amygdala with the left anterior insula (k = 127, t = 4.63, pFWE = 0.012, x/y/z: -28/18/-10; Fig 2D).
Notably, the right whole amygdala - angular gyrus rsFC significantly moderated the strong positive association between maternal overprotection and childhood depressive symptoms. The moderating effect is visualized by splitting maternal overprotection scores and rsFCs into low (mean - 1SD), medium (mean) and high (mean + 1SD) categories (Fig 2E).
There were no significant correlations between maternal depressive symptoms and all measures mentioned above (p > 0.23 for all cases), suggesting the brain-behavior associations were not a direct result of maternal mood.
Two neural pathways were identified in relation to maternal overprotection. One showed a positive association between the rsFC of the right amygdala and the right angular gyrus (k = 197, t = 5.03, pFWE = 0.001, x/y/z: 28/-58/44; Fig 2A) as well as the left inferior parietal gyrus (k = 143, t = 4.32, pFWE = 0.008, x/y/z: -36/-48/38; Fig 2A). The other showed a negative correlation between maternal overprotection and the rsFC of the left amygdala and left anterior insula (k = 140, t = 4.85, pFWE = 0.008, x/y/z: -28/18/-10; Fig 2B).
Subnuclei analysis revealed that, as the level of maternal overprotection increased, the increased rsFC in the right amygdala was predominantly driven by the right basolateral amygdala with the right angular gyrus (k = 192, t = 4.58, pFWE = 0.001, x/y/z: 30/-52/46; Fig 2C) as well as the left inferior parietal gyrus (k = 303, t = 4.59, pFWE < 0.001, x/y/z: -34/-52/38; Figure 2C). In contrast, the reduced rsFC in the left amygdala was primarily driven by the left superficial amygdala with the left anterior insula (k = 127, t = 4.63, pFWE = 0.012, x/y/z: -28/18/-10; Fig 2D).
Notably, the right whole amygdala - angular gyrus rsFC significantly moderated the strong positive association between maternal overprotection and childhood depressive symptoms. The moderating effect is visualized by splitting maternal overprotection scores and rsFCs into low (mean - 1SD), medium (mean) and high (mean + 1SD) categories (Fig 2E).
There were no significant correlations between maternal depressive symptoms and all measures mentioned above (p > 0.23 for all cases), suggesting the brain-behavior associations were not a direct result of maternal mood.
·Fig 1. Scatter plots of the associations between maternal overprotection, maternal care, and childhood depressive symptoms.
·Fig 2. Brain maps and scatter plots of the associations between maternal overprotection andbilateral amygdala-seeded functional connectivity and the moderating effect in the relation to childhood.
Conclusions:
This study provides insights into the neurobiological basis of the relation between maternal parenting and childhood depressive symptoms. The right amygdala-angular gyrus rsFC may indicate differential susceptibility in children to maternal overprotection, thus affecting the nature of their depressive symptoms.
Disorders of the Nervous System:
Psychiatric (eg. Depression, Anxiety, Schizophrenia)
Emotion, Motivation and Social Neuroscience:
Social Neuroscience Other 2
Lifespan Development:
Early life, Adolescence, Aging 1
Modeling and Analysis Methods:
Connectivity (eg. functional, effective, structural)
Novel Imaging Acquisition Methods:
BOLD fMRI
Keywords:
Affective Disorders
FUNCTIONAL MRI
Limbic Systems
PEDIATRIC
Sub-Cortical
1|2Indicates the priority used for review
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Provide references using APA citation style.
Eun, J.D., et al. (2018). Parenting style and mental disorders in a nationally representative sample of US adolescents. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 53(1):11-20.
Gao, J., et al. (2012). Perceived parenting and risk for major depression in Chinese women. Psychological Medicine, 42(5):921-930.
Magiati, I., et al. (2015). Self-reported depression and anxiety symptoms in school-aged Singaporean children. Asia-Pacific Psychiatry, 7(1):91-104.