Association between stressful life events and grey matter volume in the medial prefrontal cortex: A 2-year longitudinal study
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Philipps-Universität Marburg
Abstract
Stressful life events (SLEs) in adulthood are a risk factor for various disorders such asdepression, cancer or infections. Part of this risk is mediated through pathways alter-ing brain physiology and structure. There is a lack of longitudinal studies examiningassociations between SLEs and brain structural changes. High-resolution structuralmagnetic resonance imaging data of 212 healthy subjects were acquired at baselineand after 2 years. Voxel-based morphometry was used to identify associationsbetween SLEs using the Life Events Questionnaire and grey matter volume (GMV)changes during the 2-year period in an ROI approach. Furthermore, we assessedadverse childhood experiences as a possible moderator of SLEs-GMV change associ-ations. SLEs were negatively associated with GMV changes in the left medial prefron-tal cortex. This association was stronger when subjects had experienced adversechildhood experiences. The medial prefrontal cortex has previously been associatedwith stress-related disorders. The present findings represent a potential neural basisof the diathesis-stress model of various disorders.