Title:Atypical Interpersonal Problem-Solving and Resting-state Functional
Connectivity in Adolescents with Maltreatment Experience
Volume: 22
Issue: 2
Author(s): Mattia I. Gerin*, Essi Viding, Vanessa B. Puetz, Diana J.N. Armbruster-Genc, Georgia Rankin and Eamon J. McCrory
Affiliation:
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London, UK
- Anna Freud National
Centre for Children and Families, London, UK
Keywords:
Childhood maltreatment, childhood trauma, social functioning, interpersonal problem-solving, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC), default mode network (DMN), medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC).
Abstract:
Background: Childhood maltreatment is associated with altered neurocognitive functioning,
which is thought to reflect, in part, adaptation to early adverse environmental experiences. However,
we continue to lack a precise mechanistic understanding linking atypical neurocognitive processing
with social functioning and psychiatric outcomes following early adversity.
Objective: The present work investigated interpersonal problem-solving, resting-state functional connectivity
(rsFC), and mental health symptoms in adolescents with documented maltreatment experience
and explored whether altered neural function contributes in part to poorer social functioning.
Methods: Forty adolescents (aged 12-17) with documented experiences of abuse or neglect and a carefully
matched group of 42 non-maltreated peers participated in this study that measured task-based interpersonal
problem-solving skills and rsFC.
Results: Adolescents with maltreatment experience showed poorer interpersonal problem-solving performance,
which partly accounted for their elevated mental health symptoms. Resting-state seed-based
analyses revealed that adolescents with maltreatment experience showed a significant increase in rsFC
between medial Default Mode Network (DMN) hubs, the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), with a
posterior cluster, including the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), precuneus (PCu), retrosplenial cortex
(RSC), and lingual gyrus (LG). Moderation analyses revealed that maltreatment-related increased
DMN rsFC partly accounted for poorer performance in interpersonal problem-solving.
Conclusion: Poorer interpersonal problem-solving, partly accounted for by atypical coupling between
DMN medial hubs, was associated with maltreatment exposure. Interventions tailored to enhance interpersonal
problem-solving represents a promising avenue to promote resilience and reduce the likelihood
of mental health disorder following maltreatment experience.