@article {287, title = {Interaction of schizophrenia polygenic risk and cortisol level on pre-adolescent brain structure}, journal = {Psychoneuroendocrinology}, volume = {101}, year = {2019}, pages = {295 - 303}, abstract = {

The etiology of schizophrenia is multi-factorial with early neurodevelopmental antecedents, likely to result from a complex interaction of genetic and environmental risk. However, few studies have examined how schizophrenia polygenic risk scores (PRS) are moderated by environmental factors in shaping neurodevelopmental brain structure, prior to the onset of psychotic symptoms. Here, we examined whether hair cortisol, a quantitative metric of chronic stress, moderated the association between genetic risk for schizophrenia and pre-adolescent brain structure. This study was embedded within the Generation R Study, involving pre-adolescents of European ancestry assessed regarding schizophrenia PRS, hair cortisol, and brain imaging (n\ =\ 498 structural; n\ =\ 526 diffusion tensor imaging). Linear regression was performed to determine the association between schizophrenia PRS, hair cortisol level, and brain imaging outcomes. Although no single measure exceeded the multiple testing threshold, nominally significant interactions were observed for total ventricle volume (Pinteraction = 0.02) and global white matter microstructure (Pinteraction = 0.01) \– two of the most well replicated brain structural findings in schizophrenia. These findings provide suggestive evidence for the joint effects of schizophrenia liability and cortisol levels on brain correlates in the pediatric general population. Given the widely replicated finding of ventricular enlargement and lower white matter integrity among schizophrenia patients, our findings generate novel hypotheses for future research on gene-environment interactions affecting the neurodevelopmental pathophysiology of schizophrenia.

}, keywords = {Diffusion tensor imaging, Gene-environment, Genetic, Neuroimaging, Psychosis, Stress}, issn = {0306-4530}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.12.231}, url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306453018308862}, author = {Koen Bolhuis and Henning Tiemeier and Philip R. Jansen and Ryan L. Muetzel and Alexander Neumann and Manon H.J. Hillegers and Erica T.L. van den Akker and Elisabeth F.C. van Rossum and Vincent W.V. Jaddoe and Meike W. Vernooij and Tonya White and Steven A. Kushner} } @article {284, title = {Prenatal Maternal Stress and Child IQ}, journal = {Child Development}, year = {2018}, month = {10/2018}, abstract = {

The evidence for negative influences of maternal stress during pregnancy on child cognition remains inconclusive. This study tested the association between maternal prenatal stress and child intelligence in 4,251 mother\–child dyads from a multiethnic population-based cohort in the Netherlands. A latent factor of prenatal stress was constructed, and child IQ was tested at age 6\ years. In Dutch and Caribbean participants, prenatal stress was not associated with child IQ after adjustment for maternal IQ and socioeconomic status. In other ethnicities no association was found; only in the Moroccan/Turkish group a small negative association between prenatal stress and child IQ was observed. These results suggest that prenatal stress does not predict child IQ, except in children from less acculturated minority groups.

}, doi = {10.1111/cdev.13177}, url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/cdev.13177}, author = {Cortes Hidalgo, Andrea P. and Alexander Neumann and Marian J Bakermans-Kranenburg and Vincent W.V. Jaddoe and Rijlaarsdam, Jolien and Frank Verhulst and Tonya White and van IJzendoorn, Marinus H. and Henning Tiemeier} } @article {286, title = {Structural Brain Connectivity in Childhood Disruptive Behavior Problems: A Multidimensional Approach}, journal = {Biological PsychiatryBiological Psychiatry}, year = {2018}, month = {08/2018}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND:

Studies of white matter connectivity in children with disruptive behavior have yielded inconsistent results, possibly owing to the trait\&$\#$39;s heterogeneity, which comprises diverse symptoms like physical aggression, irritability, and delinquency. This study examined associations of global and specific white matter connectivity with childhood disruptive behavior problems, while accounting for their complex multidimensionality.

METHODS:

In a large cross-sectional population-based study of 10-year-old preadolescents (n\ = 2567), we assessed four previously described empirically derived dimensions of disruptive behavior problems using the Child Behavior Checklist: physical aggression, irritability, disobedient behavior, and delinquent behavior. Global and specific white matter microstructure was assessed by diffusion tensor imaging.

RESULTS:

Global fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity were not associated with broad measures of disruptive behavior, e.g., Child Behavior Checklist externalizing problems scale. Global fractional anisotropy was negatively associated with delinquent behavior (β\ =\ -.123, pfalse discovery rate adjusted\ = .028) and global mean diffusivity was positively associated with delinquent behavior (β\ = .205, pfalse discovery rate adjusted \< 0.001), suggesting reduced white matter microstructure in preadolescents with higher levels of delinquent behavior. Lower white matter microstructure in the inferior longitudinal fasciculus, superior longitudinal fasciculus, cingulum, and uncinate underlie these associations. Global white matter microstructure was not associated with physical aggression, irritability, or disobedient behavior.

CONCLUSIONS:

Delinquent behavior, a severe manifestation of childhood disruptive behavior, was associated with lower white matter microstructure in tracts connecting frontal and temporal lobes. These brain regions are involved in decision making, reward processing, and emotion regulation. This study demonstrated that incorporating the multidimensional nature of childhood disruptive behavior traits shows promise in advancing the search for elucidating neurobiological correlates of disruptive behavior.

}, isbn = {0006-3223}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2018.07.005}, author = {Koen Bolhuis and Ryan L. Muetzel and Stringaris, Argyris and J.J. Hudziak and Vincent W.V. Jaddoe and Manon H.J. Hillegers and Tonya White and Steven A. Kushner and Henning Tiemeier} }