Altered longitudinal trajectory of default mode network connectivity in healthy youth with subclinical depressive and posttraumatic stress symptoms

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Jake J Son, Boys Town National Research Hospital; Mikki Schantell, Boys Town National Research Hospital; Giorgia Picci, Boys Town National Research Hospital; Yu-Ping Wang, Tulane University; Julia M Stephen, Mind Research Network, Albuquerque; Vince Calhoun, Emory University; Gaelle E Doucet, Boys Town National Research Hospital; Brittany K Taylor, Boys Town National Research Hospital; Tony W Wilson, Boys Town National Research Hospital
• Language: English
• Date: 2023-02-27
• Publisher: ELSEVIER SCI LTD
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2023 The Authors
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2023.101216
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: DEVELOPMENTAL COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE
• Volume: 60
• Start Page: 101216
• End Page: 101216
• Grant/Funding Information: The authors report no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest.
• Keywords: CHILDHOOD; Neurosciences & Neurology; Social Sciences; Psychology, Developmental; BRAIN-DEVELOPMENT; PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES; SELF; CHILDREN; DISORDER; Neurosciences; ABNORMALITIES; TRAUMA; FMRI; Science & Technology; Resting-state; ADOLESCENCE; Trauma; STATE FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY; Development; Psychology; Life Sciences & Biomedicine
• Research Categories: Biology, Neuroscience; Health Sciences, Pharmacology

Abstract

The default mode network (DMN) plays a crucial role in internal self-processing, rumination, and social functions. Disruptions to DMN connectivity have been linked with early adversity and the emergence of psychopathology in adolescence and early adulthood. Herein, we investigate how subclinical psychiatric symptoms can impact DMN functional connectivity during the pubertal transition. Resting-state fMRI data were collected annually from 190 typically-developing youth (9–15 years-old) at three timepoints and within-network DMN connectivity was computed. We used latent growth curve modeling to determine how self-reported depressive and posttraumatic stress symptoms predicted rates of change in DMN connectivity over the three-year period. In the baseline model without predictors, we found no systematic changes in DMN connectivity over time. However, significant modulation emerged after adding psychopathology predictors; greater depressive symptomatology was associated with significant decreases in connectivity over time, whereas posttraumatic stress symptoms were associated with significant increases in connectivity over time. Follow-up analyses revealed that these effects were driven by connectivity changes involving the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex subnetwork. In conclusion, these data suggest that subclinical depressive and posttraumatic symptoms alter the trajectory of DMN connectivity, which may indicate that this network is a nexus of clinical significance in mental health disorders.