White Matter Microstructure in Adolescents and Young Adults With Non-Suicidal Self-Injury

Frontiers in Psychiatry

Dawson Hill¹  Kathryn R. Cullen¹  Kelvin O. Lim¹  Bryon A. Mueller¹  Melinda Westlund Schreiner²  Erin D. Begnel³  Bonnie Klimes-Dougan³  Mark Fiecas⁴ 

[1] Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, United States;Department of Psychiatry, University of Utah, School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, United States;Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts, Minneapolis, MN, United States;Division of Biostatistics, University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Minneapolis, MN, United States;

关键词: non-suicidal self-injury;    neuroimaging;    fractional anisotropy;    uncinate fasciculus;    cingulum;    adolescents;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyt.2019.01019

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundNon-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a growing public health concern that commonly begins in adolescence, and can persist into young adulthood. A promising approach for advancing our understanding of NSSI in youth is to examine white matter microstructure using diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI).MethodThe present study examined whole-brain group differences in structural connectivity (as measured by generalized fractional anisotropy [GFA]) between 28 female adolescents and young adults ages 13–21 years with NSSI and 22 age-matched healthy controls (HC). We also explored the association between clinical characteristics including NSSI severity and duration, impulsivity, emotion regulation and personality traits within the NSSI group and GFA of the uncinate fasciculus and cingulum.ResultsCompared to the HC group, participants with NSSI had lower GFA in several white matter tracts, including the uncinate fasciculus, cingulum, bilateral superior and inferior longitudinal fasciculi, anterior thalamic radiation, callosal body, and corticospinal tract. When controlling for depressive symptoms, the NSSI group showed an association between NSSI duration (time since initiating NSSI behavior) and lower GFA in the left cingulum. Higher levels of attentional impulsivity were related to lower GFA in the left uncinate fasciculus within the NSSI group.ConclusionsWe found evidence suggesting widespread white matter microstructure deficits in adolescents and young adults with NSSI versus HC. We also report inverse associations between white matter integrity and clinical characteristics (duration of NSSI and attentional impulsivity). These white matter microstructural deficits may represent a possible neurobiologically-based vulnerability to developing maladaptive coping mechanisms, such as NSSI. Additionally, results suggest that this white matter disorganization may either worsen with prolonged engagement in NSSI or predict persistent NSSI; thereby highlighting the importance of early intervention targeting this behavior.

【 授权许可】

Unknown