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. 2011 Aug 23;108(34):14324-9.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.1105371108. Epub 2011 Aug 15.

Larger amygdala but no change in hippocampal volume in 10-year-old children exposed to maternal depressive symptomatology since birth

Sonia J Lupien  1 , Sophie Parent, Alan C Evans, Richard E Tremblay, Philip David Zelazo, Vincent Corbo, Jens C Pruessner, Jean R Séguin
Affiliations

Larger amygdala but no change in hippocampal volume in 10-year-old children exposed to maternal depressive symptomatology since birth

Sonia J Lupien et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. .

Abstract

Maternal separation and poor maternal care in animals have been shown to have important effects on the developing hippocampus and amygdala. In humans, children exposed to abuse/maltreatment or orphanage rearing do not present changes in hippocampal volumes. However, children reared in orphanages present enlarged amygdala volumes, suggesting that the amygdala may be particularly sensitive to severely disturbed (i.e., discontinous, neglectful) care in infancy. Maternal depressive symptomatology has been associated with reductions in overall sensitivity to the infant, and with an increased rate of withdrawn, disengaged behaviors. To determine if poor maternal care associated with maternal depressive symptomatology has a similar pattern of association to the volumes of the hippocampus and amygdala in children, as is the case for severely disturbed infant care (orphanage rearing), we measured hippocampal and amygdala volumes as well as stress hormone (glucocorticoid) levels in children exposed (n = 17) or not (n = 21) to maternal depressive symptomatology since birth. Results revealed no group difference in hippocampal volumes, but larger left and right amygdala volumes and increased levels of glucocorticoids in the children of mothers presenting depressive symptomatology since birth. Moreover, a significant positive correlation was observed between mothers' mean depressive scores and amygdala volumes in their children. The results of this study suggest that amygdala volume in human children may represent an early marker of biological sensitivity to quality of maternal care.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Scores of mothers on the CES-D at child's age 5, 17, 30, 42, 60 (5 y), 84 (7 y), and 156 mo (13 y). Mothers of children exposed to MDS presented significantly higher MDS at all timepoints compared with mothers of children not exposed to MDS (*P < 0.001). The gray zone represents time of scanning at 120 mo (10 y). Error bars represent SEMs.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Left and right hippocampal (Left) and amygdala (Right) volumes (cubic centimeters) in children exposed to MDS since birth and children not exposed to MDS since birth. Error bars represent SEMs. **P < 0.01 for left and right amygdala volume.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Correlation between 7-y mean depression score in the mother and mean (left and right) amygdala volumes (r = 0.59; P < 0.0001) in her own child. Amygdala volume is in cubic centimeters.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.
Salivary cortisol levels in children exposed to MDS since birth and in children not exposed to MDS since birth at the time of arrival to the scanning session, as well as pre- and postscan. *significant at P < 0.05. Error bars represent SEMs.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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