Interpersonal early‐life trauma alters amygdala connectivity and sustained attention performance. Issue 5 (10th April 2017) - Fortenbaugh, Francesca C.
Abstract: Introduction: Interpersonal early life trauma (I‐ELT) is associated with a myriad of functional impairments in adulthood, increased risk of drug addiction, and neuropsychiatric disorders. While deficits in emotional regulation and amygdala functioning are well characterized, deficits in general cognitive functioning have also been documented. However, the neural underpinnings of cognitive dysfunction in adults with a history of I‐ELT and the potential relationship between amygdala‐based functional connectivity and behavioral performance are currently poorly understood. This study examined how I‐ELT affects the cognitive and neural mechanisms supporting sustained attention. Methods: A total of 66 Veterans (18 with and 48 without a history of I‐ELT) completed a nonemotional sustained attention task during functional MRI. Results: The individuals with I‐ELT showed significant impairments in sustained attention (i.e., higher error rates, greater response variability). This cohort exhibited increased amygdala functional connectivity with the prefrontal cortex and decreased functional connectivity with the parahippocampal gyrus when compared to those without I‐ELT. These connections were significantly correlated with individual differences in sustained attention performance. Notably, classification analyses revealed that the pattern of amygdala connectivity across the whole brain was able to classify I‐ELT status with 70% accuracy. Conclusion: These results provide evidence of a lasting negative impact for those with a history of I‐ELT on sustained attention ability. They also highlight a critical role for amygdala functioning in cognitive control and sustained attention for those with a history of I‐ELT, which may underlie the observed attention deficits in clinical assessments and cognitive tests involving both emotional and nonemotional stimuli. Abstract : While previous studies have shown changes in amygdala functioning that are related to emotional regulation in adults with a history of early life trauma, this is the first study to demonstrate not only clear and specific behavioral deficits in sustained attention ability in individuals with a history of early life trauma, but also reliable changes in patterns of amygdala connectivity that can accurately predict individual differences in exposure to early life trauma. This study definitively confirms that early life trauma, independent of current psychopathology, can impair a fundamental aspect of cognition, sustained attention, and further that this impairment has unique biomarkers identifiable with FC‐MRI at the individual subject level. These results have strong translational potential, as the results reveal dysfunction in cognition that may impact standard treatment, and point toward future diagnostic biomarkers that could serve as targets for novel interventions.