UNDERSTANDING NEURODEVELOPMENT IN MACAQUES WITH DIFFERENT REARING EXPERIENCES

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Goal of this project: We have used a unique, naturalistic, nonhuman primate model of human childhood maltreatment to characterize the long-term impact of adverse caregiving on neurodevelopment using in vivo neuroimaging technologies. In order to accomplish this important goal, we have also proposed the collection of in vivo neuroimaging data to compare with normative brain development. In order to study normative changes in neurodevelopment of rhesus monkeys, we collected structural MRI, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and MR spectroscopy scans on rhesus monkeys throughout the infant period. Changes in neurodevelopment during these periods were assessed for links to changes in physical growth and socioemotional development. We have completed scans on 5 rhesus infants at 2 weeks, 3 months and 6 months of age We also studied pathological brain development caused by adverse early caregiving, in addition to normative neurodevelopmental changes. For this, we collected structural MRI, DTI and MRS scans to study the organization of brain structure, connectivity and function in adolescent rhesus monkeys with or without adverse caregiving experiences. Our preliminary DTI analysis revealed alterations in brain white matter integrity in the animals raised by mothers with poor caregiving skills. In these animals, we detected increased fractional anisotropy (FA, a measure of microstructural organization/integrity) in cortical regions: frontal lobe (anterior cingulate, dorsolateral prefrontal and orbitofrontal cortices), somatosensory, parietal and left visual cortices, in comparison to controls. On the other hand, FA was reduced in the ventral striatum and right visual cortex. These differences in FA indicate the existence of alterations in normal maturation of brain white matter structure in animals that received poor early caregiving. Further research is necessary to determine the mechanisms through which early adverse experiences can have such far reaching and diverse effects on neural structure and function.