Cited by 220Child Welfare and AdoptionChild Abuse and TraumaStress Responses and Cortisol

Duration of early adversity and structural brain development in post-institutionalized adolescents

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Hodel, Amanda S., Hunt, Ruskin H., Cowell, Raquel A., Van Den Heuvel, Sara E., Gunnar, Megan R., Thomas, Kathleen M.·2015·NeuroImage

Abstract

For children reared in institutions for orphaned or abandoned children, multiple aspects of the early environment deviate from species-typical experiences, which may lead to alterations in neurobehavioral development. Although the effects of early deprivation and early life stress have been studied extensively in animal models, less is known about implications for human brain development. This structural neuroimaging study examined the long-term neural correlates of early adverse rearing environments in a large sample of 12-14 year old children (N = 110) who were internationally adopted from institutional care as young children (median age at adoption = 12 months) relative to a same age, comparison group reared with their biological families in the United States. History of institutional rearing was associated with broad changes in cortical volume even after controlling for variability in head size. Results suggested that prefrontal cortex was especially susceptible to early adversity, with significant reductions in volume (driven primarily by differences in surface area rather than cortical thickness) in post-institutionalized youth. Hippocampal volumes showed an association with duration of institutional care, with later-adopted children showing the smallest volumes relative to non-adopted controls. Larger amygdala volumes were not detected in this sample of post-institutionalized children. These data suggest that this temporally discrete period of early deprivation is associated with persisting alterations in brain morphology even years after exposure. Furthermore, these alterations are not completely ameliorated by subsequent environmental enrichment by early adolescence.

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Authors
Hodel, A. S., Hunt, R. H., Cowell, R. A., Van Den Heuvel, S. E., Gunnar, M. R., & Thomas, K. M.
Affiliations
University of Minnesota (US)
Corresponding author
Hodel, Amanda S.
Venue
NeuroImage
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2015-01
Volume
105
Pages
112-119
ISSN
1053-8119 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W1982357879
Cited by
220
References
79
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 48 · 2019: 35 · 2018: 23 · 2017: 18 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 6
FWCI
34.45
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • NeuroImage (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • NIMH Center (P50-MH079513)
  • University of Minnesota's Center for Cognitive Sciences (T32-HD007151)
  • University of Minnesota Graduate School Fellowships
  • University of Minnesota's Center for Neurobehavioral Development (T32-MH73129)
  • College of Liberal Arts and the Minnesota Medical Foundation
  • University of Minnesota's Center for Magnetic Resonance Research (P41-RR008079, P41-EB015894, P30-NS076408)
  • Supercomputing Institute
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Safety Research › Child Welfare and Adoption
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
Keywords
institutional upbringing, childhood adversity, early life stress, early deprivation, international adoption, prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, amygdala, cortical volume, brain structure, orphaned and abandoned children, neurobehavioral development
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Brain, Child, Female, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Stress, Psychological, Orphanages, Child, Orphaned

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