RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Social support and hippocampal volume are negatively associated in adults with previous experience of childhood maltreatment
JF Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience
JO JPN
FD Canadian Medical Association
SP E328
OP E336
DO 10.1503/jpn.200162
VO 46
IS 3
A1 Katharina Förster
A1 Lorenz Danzer
A1 Ronny Redlich
A1 Nils Opel
A1 Dominik Grotegerd
A1 Elisabeth J. Leehr
A1 Katharina Dohm
A1 Verena Enneking
A1 Susanne Meinert
A1 Janik Goltermann
A1 Hannah Lemke
A1 Lena Waltemate
A1 Katharina Thiel
A1 Katja Behnert
A1 Katharina Brosch
A1 Frederike Stein
A1 Tina Meller
A1 Kai Ringwald
A1 Simon Schmitt
A1 Olaf Steinsträter
A1 Andreas Jansen
A1 Axel Krug
A1 Igor Nenadic
A1 Tilo Kircher
A1 Tim Hahn
A1 Harald Kugel
A1 Walter Heindel
A1 Jonathan Repple
A1 Udo Dannlowski
YR 2021
UL http://jpn.ca/content/46/3/E328.abstract
AB Background: Childhood maltreatment has been associated with reduced hippocampal volume in healthy individuals, whereas social support, a protective factor, has been positively associated with hippocampal volumes. In this study, we investigated how social support is associated with hippocampal volume in healthy people with previous experience of childhood maltreatment.Methods: We separated a sample of 446 healthy participants into 2 groups using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire: 265 people without maltreatment and 181 people with maltreatment. We measured perceived social support using a short version of the Social Support Questionnaire. We examined hippocampal volume using automated segmentation (Freesurfer). We conducted a social support × group analysis of covariance on hippocampal volumes controlling for age, sex, total intracranial volume, site and verbal intelligence.Results: Our analysis revealed significantly lower left hippocampal volume in people with maltreatment (left F1,432 = 5.686, p = 0.018; right F1,433 = 3.371, p = 0.07), but no main effect of social support emerged. However, we did find a significant social support × group interaction for left hippocampal volume (left F1,432 = 5.712, p = 0.017; right F1,433 = 3.480, p = 0.06). In people without maltreatment, we observed a trend toward a positive association between social support and hippocampal volume. In contrast, social support was negatively associated with hippocampal volume in people with maltreatment.Limitations: Because of the correlative nature of our study, we could not infer causal relationships between social support, maltreatment and hippocampal volume.Conclusion: Our results point to a complex dynamic between environmental risk, protective factors and brain structure — in line with previous evidence — suggesting a detrimental effect of maltreatment on hippocampal development.