Decreased Amygdala Reactivity to Parent Cues Protects Against Anxiety Following Early Adversity: An Examination Across 3 Years
Decreased Amygdala Reactivity to Parent Cues Protects Against Anxiety Following Early Adversity: An Examination Across 3 Years
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DOI：
10.1016/j.bpsc.2019.02.001
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发表时间：
2019-07-01
影响因子：
5.9
通讯作者：
Tottenham, Nim
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Callaghan, Bridget L.;Gee, Dylan G.;Tottenham, Nim
背景：在漫长的发育过程中，人类大脑具有高度的可塑性。因此，尽管早期的照顾逆境会改变杏仁核的发育，导致持久的情绪调节困难，但这些轨迹应该对随后丰富的照顾作出反应。接受高质量的养育可以调节（即减少）儿童的杏仁核反应，从长期来看，这一过程被认为可以增强情绪调节。我们测试了这样一个假设，即即使在逆境中，亲子关系也会与杏仁核对父母暗示的反应减少有关，这反过来又预示着未来焦虑的降低。方法：参与者为102名儿童（6-10岁）和青少年（11-17岁），在一到两个时间点收集数据，他们要么在收养前经历过机构护理（n = 45），要么一直与亲生父母住在一起（n = 57）。我们研究了杏仁核在时间1时对父母视觉线索的反应如何预测父母报告的儿童焦虑在3年内的纵向变化（从时间1到时间2）。结果：在时间1，平均而言，在接受机构护理的儿童中没有看到杏仁核对父母提示的反应性下降，但在对照组的儿童中却看到了。然而，一些以前经历过机构护理的孩子确实表现出对父母暗示的杏仁核反应减弱（类似于40%），这与孩子报告的与父母在一起的安全感更强有关。杏仁核在时间1时减少，随后从时间1到时间2（即3年）焦虑急剧减少。结论：这些数据提供了一种神经生物学机制，通过这种机制，亲子关系可以增加心理弹性，即使在具有显著焦虑症状风险的儿童中也是如此。
BACKGROUND: The human brain remains highly plastic for a protracted developmental period. Thus, although early caregiving adversities that alter amygdala development can result in enduring emotion regulation difficulties, these trajectories should respond to subsequent enriched caregiving. Exposure to high-quality parenting can regulate (i.e., decrease) children's amygdala reactivity, a process that, over the long term, is hypothesized to enhance emotion regulation. We tested the hypothesis that even following adversity, the parent-child relationship would be associated with decreases in amygdala reactivity to parent cues, which would in turn predict lower future anxiety.METHODS: Participants were 102 children (6-10 years of age) and adolescents (11-17 years of age), for whom data were collected at one or two time points and who either had experienced institutional care before adoption (n = 45) or had lived always with their biological parents (comparison; n = 57). We examined how amygdala reactivity to visual cues of the parent at time 1 predicted longitudinal change (from time 1 to time 2) in parent-reported child anxiety across 3 years.RESULTS: At time 1, on average, amygdala reactivity decrements to parent cues were not seen in children who had received institutional care but were seen in children in the comparison group. However, some children who previously experienced institutional care did show decreased amygdala reactivity to parent cues (similar to 40%), which was associated with greater child-reported feelings of security with their parent. Amygdala decreases at time 1 were followed by steeper anxiety reductions from time 1 to time 2 (i.e., 3 years).CONCLUSIONS: These data provide a neurobiological mechanism by which the parent-child relationship can increase resilience, even in children at significant risk for anxiety symptoms.