TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2023//
TI  - Brain structural change associated with cognitive behavioral therapy in maltreated children
JO  - Brain research
A1  - González-Alemañy, Eduardo
A1  - Ostrosky, Feggy
A1  - Lozano, Azucena
A1  - Lujan, Angélica
A1  - Perez, Martha
A1  - Castañeda, Dianela
A1  - Diaz, Karla
A1  - Lara, Rafael
A1  - Sacristan, Emilio
A1  - Bobes, Maria A.
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - 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. <br><br>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. <br><br>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. <br><br>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.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0006-8993
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.brainres.2023.148702
ID  - ref1
ER  -