Citation

González-Alemañy E, Ostrosky F, Lozano A, Lujan A, Perez M, Castañeda D, Diaz K, Lara R, Sacristan E, Bobes MA. Brain Res. 2023; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, International Brain Research Organization, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.brainres.2023.148702

PMID

38070819

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Severely maltreatment child is a harmful social factor that can disrupt normal neurodevelopment. Two commonly reported effects of maltreatment are post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and brain structural and functional alteration. While Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) is effectively used to reduce PTSD symptoms in maltreated children, yet, its impact on brain structural alterations has not been fully explored. This study investigated whether TF-CBT can attenuate alterations in brain structures associated with PTSD in middle childhood.

METHODS: The study evaluated the longitudinal effects of Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and gray matter volume (GMV) in two groups of children under 12 years old: maltreated children (MC) and healthy non- maltreatmentd children (HC). Structural magnetic resonance images T1 were obtained before and after TF-CBT in the MC group, while the HC group was scanned twice within the same time interval. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was used to analyze GMV changes over time.

RESULTS: After TF-CBT, maltreated children showed significantly reduced PTSD symptoms. Furthermore, a significant group-by-time interaction effect was observed in certain areas of the Left Temporal, Left Occipital, and bilateral Frontal Cortex, the Basal Ganglia and Cerebellum. These interaction effects were driven by a GMV decrease in the MC group compared to the HC group. GMV changes can be predicted with clinical improvement in the left Middle Temporal gyrus, left Precuneus, and Cerebellum.

CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that TF-CBT intervention in very young maltreated children may have an effect on gray matter. This evidence demonstrates the importance of timely intervention when neuroplasticity mechanisms may be activated.

Language: en