Co-Planar Stereotaxic Atlas of the Human Brain—3-Dimensional Proportional System: An Approach to Cerebral Imaging, J. Talairach, P. Tournoux. Georg Thieme Verlag, New York (1988), 122 pp., 130 figs. DM 268

https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736(08)61706-7.pdf

Burden and consequences of child maltreatment in high-income countries

Vulnerable periods during the development of the nervous system are sensitive to environmental insults because they are dependent on the temporal and regional emergence of critical developmental processes (i.e., proliferation, migration, differentiation, synaptogenesis, myelination, and apoptosis). Evidence from numerous sources demonstrates that neural development extends from the embryonic period through adolescence. In general, the sequence of events is comparable among species, although the time scales are considerably different. Developmental exposure of animals or humans to numerous agents (e.g., X-ray irradiation, methylazoxymethanol, ethanol, lead, methyl mercury, or chlorpyrifos) demonstrates that interference with one or more of these developmental processes can lead to developmental neurotoxicity. Different behavioral domains (e.g., sensory, motor, and various cognitive functions) are subserved by different brain areas. Although there are important differences between the rodent and human brain, analogous structures can be identified. Moreover, the ontogeny of specific behaviors can be used to draw inferences regarding the maturation of specific brain structures or neural circuits in rodents and primates, including humans. Furthermore, various clinical disorders in humans (e.g., schizophrenia, dyslexia, epilepsy, and autism) may also be the result of interference with normal ontogeny of developmental processes in the nervous system. Of critical concern is the possibility that developmental exposure to neurotoxicants may result in an acceleration of age-related decline in function. This concern is compounded by the fact that developmental neurotoxicity that results in small effects can have a profound societal impact when amortized across the entire population and across the life span of humans.

Critical periods of vulnerability for the developing nervous system: evidence from humans and animal models.

Background: Influential studies have cast doubt on the validity of retrospective reports by adults of their own adverse experiences in childhood. Accordingly, many researchers view retrospective reports with scepticism.

Method:  A computer-based search, supplemented by hand searches, was used to identify studies reported between 1980 and 2001 in which there was a quantified assessment of the validity of retrospective recall of sexual abuse, physical abuse, physical/emotional neglect or family discord, using samples of at least 40. Validity was assessed by means of comparisons with contemporaneous, prospectively obtained, court or clinic or research records; by agreement between retrospective reports of two siblings; and by the examination of possible bias with respect to differences between retrospective and prospective reports in their correlates and consequences. Medium- to long-term reliability of retrospective recall was determined from studies in which the test–retest period extended over at least 6 months.

Results:  Retrospective reports in adulthood of major adverse experiences in childhood, even when these are of a kind that allow reasonable operationalisation, involve a substantial rate of false negatives, and substantial measurement error. On the other hand, although less easily quantified, false positive reports are probably rare. Several studies have shown some bias in retrospective reports. However, such bias is not sufficiently great to invalidate retrospective case-control studies of major adversities of an easily defined kind. Nevertheless, the findings suggest that little weight can be placed on the retrospective reports of details of early experiences or on reports of experiences that rely heavily on judgement or interpretation.

Conclusion:  Retrospective studies have a worthwhile place in research, but further research is needed to examine possible biases in reporting.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2004.00218.x

Validity of adult retrospective reports of adverse childhood experiences: review of the evidence.

Brain injury in premature infants is of enormous public health importance because of the large number of such infants who survive with serious neurodevelopmental disability, including major cognitive deficits and motor disability. This type of brain injury is generally thought to consist primarily of periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), a distinctive form of cerebral white matter injury. Important new work shows that PVL is frequently accompanied by neuronal/axonal disease, affecting the cerebral white matter, thalamus, basal ganglia, cerebral cortex, brain stem, and cerebellum. This constellation of PVL and neuronal/axonal disease is sufficiently distinctive to be termed "encephalopathy of prematurity". The thesis of this Review is that the encephalopathy of prematurity is a complex amalgam of primary destructive disease and secondary maturational and trophic disturbances. This Review integrates the fascinating confluence of new insights into both brain injury and brain development during the human premature period.

/pdf/brain-injury-in-premature-infants-a-complex-amalgam-of-44m95zo04a.pdf

Brain injury in premature infants: a complex amalgam of destructive and developmental disturbances

Background Very preterm infants are at high risk for adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been proposed as a means of predicting neurodevelopmental outcomes in this population. Methods We studied 167 very preterm infants (gestational age at birth, 30 weeks or less) to assess the associations between qualitatively defined white-matter and gray-matter abnormalities on MRI at term equivalent (gestational age of 40 weeks) and the risks of severe cognitive delay, severe psychomotor delay, cerebral palsy, and neurosensory (hearing or visual) impairment at 2 years of age (corrected for prematurity). Results At two years of age, 17 percent of infants had severe cognitive delay, 10 percent had severe psychomotor delay, 10 percent had cerebral palsy, and 11 percent had neurosensory impairment. Moderate-to-severe cerebral white-matter abnormalities present in 21 percent of infants at term equivalent were predictive of the following adverse outcomes at two years of age: cognitive ...

https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJMoa053792

Neonatal MRI to Predict Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Preterm Infants

BACKGROUND: This study used longitudinal data to examine the extent to which young people with depression in mid adolescence (ages 14-16) were at increased riskof adverse psychosocial outcomes in later adolescence and young adulthood (ages 16-21). METHODS: Data were gathered during a 21-year longitudinal studyof a birth cohort of 1265 children. Measures included assessments of DSM-III-R major depression (at age 14-16); psychiatric disorders, educational achievement, and social functioning (at age 16-21); social, familial, and individual factors; and comorbid disorders. RESULTS: Thirteen percentof the cohort developed depression between ages 14 and 16. Young people with depression in adolescence were at significantly (P<.05) increased riskof later major depression, anxiety disorders, nicotine dependence, alcohol abuse or dependence, suicide attempt, educational underachievement, unemployment, and early parenthood. These associations were similar for girls and boys. The results suggested the presenceof 2 major pathways linking early depression to later outcomes. First, there was a direct linkage between early depression and increased riskof later major depression or anxiety disorders. Second, the associations between early depression and other outcomes were explained by the presenceof confounding social, familial, and individual factors. CONCLUSIONS: Young people having early depression were at increased risk of later adverse psychosocial outcomes. There was a direct linkage in which early depression was associated with increased risk of later major depression and anxiety disorders. Linkages between early depression and other outcomes appeared to reflect the effectsof confounding factors Language: en

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/articlepdf/206141/yoa20394.pdf

Mental health, educational, and social role outcomes of adolescents with depression

Objective This study examined associations between the extent of anxiety disorder in adolescence (14–16 years) and young people's later risks of a range of mental health, educational, and social role outcomes (16–21 years). Method Data were gathered over the course of a 21-year longitudinal study of a birth cohort of 1,265 New Zealand children. Measures collected included (1) an assessment of DSM-III-R anxiety disorders between the ages of 14 and 16 years; (2) assessments of mental health, educational achievement, and social functioning between the ages of 16 and 21 years; and (3) measures of potentially confounding social, family, and individual factors. Results Significant linear associations were found between the number of anxiety disorders reported in adolescence and later risks of anxiety disorder; major depression; nicotine, alcohol, and illicit drug dependence; suicidal behavior; educational underachievement; and early parenthood. Associations between the extent of adolescent anxiety disorder and later risks of anxiety disorder, depression, illicit drug dependence, and failure to attend university were shown to persist after statistical control for the confounding effects of sociofamilial and individual factors. Conclusions Findings suggest that adolescents with anxiety disorders are at an increased risk of subsequent anxiety, depression, illicit drug dependence, and educational underachievement as young adults. Clinical and research implications are considered.

Life course outcomes of young people with anxiety disorders in adolescence.

BACKGROUND: This study examined associations between childhood circumstances, adolescent mental health and life events, and the development of suicidal behaviour in young people aged between 15 and 21 years. METHOD: Data were gathered over the course of a 21-year longitudinal study of a birth cohort of 1265 children born in New Zealand. The measures collected included: (1) patterns of suicidal behaviour (ideation, attempt) (15-21 years); (2) social background, family functioning, parental and individual adjustment during childhood (0-16 years); and (3) time dynamics of mental health and stressful life events during adolescence and early adulthood (15-21 years). RESULTS: By the age of 21 years, 28.8% of the sample reported having thought about killing themselves and 7.5% reported having made a suicide attempt. The childhood profile of those at greatest risk of suicidal behaviour was that of a young person reared in a family environment characterized by socio-economic adversity, marital disruption, poor parent-child attachment and exposure to sexual abuse, and who as a young adolescent showed high rates of neuroticism and novelty seeking. With the exception of the socio-economic and personality measures, the effects of childhood factors were largely mediated by mental health problems and exposure to stressful life events during adolescence and early adulthood. Mental health problems including depression, anxiety disorders, substance use disorder, and to some extent conduct disorder, in addition to exposure to adverse life events, were significantly associated with the onset of suicidal behaviours. CONCLUSIONS: Findings support a life course model of the aetiology of suicidal behaviour in which risk of developing suicidal behaviour depends on accumulative exposure to a series of social, family, personality and mental health factors. Language: en

https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/7118B504F32920C4D0545039EC40BD80/S003329179900135Xa.pdf/div-class-title-risk-factors-and-life-processes-associated-with-the-onset-of-suicidal-behaviour-during-adolescence-and-early-adulthood-div.pdf

Risk factors and life processes associated with the onset of suicidal behaviour during adolescence and early adulthood.

Background. The aims of this study were to use longitudinal report data on physical and sexual abuse to examine the stability and consistency of abuse reports.Methods. The study was based on the birth cohort of young people studied in the Christchurch Health and Development Study. At ages 18 and 21 years, these young people were questioned about their childhood exposure to physical punishment and sexual abuse. Concurrent with these assessments, sample members were also assessed on measures of psychiatric disorder and suicidal behaviour.Results. Reports of childhood sexual abuse and physical punishment were relatively unstable and the values of kappa for test–retests of abuse reporting were in the region of 0·45. Inconsistencies in reporting were unrelated to the subject's psychiatric state. Latent class analyses suggested that: (a) those not abused did not falsely report being abused; and (b) those who were abused provided unreliable reports in which the probability of a false negative response was in the region of 50%. Different approaches to classifying subjects as abused led to wide variations in the estimated prevalence of abuse but estimates of the relative risk of psychiatric adjustment problems conditional on abuse exposure remained relatively stable.Conclusions. There was substantial unreliability in the reporting of child abuse. This unreliability arose because those who were subject to abuse often provided false negative reports. The consequences of errors in reports appear to be: (a) that estimates of abuse prevalence based on a single report are likely to seriously underestimate the true prevalence of abuse; while (b) estimates of the relative risk of psychiatric adjustment problems conditional on abuse appear to be robust to the effects of reporting errors.

Lianne J. Woodward

Papers

Neonatal MRI to Predict Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Preterm Infants

Mental health, educational, and social role outcomes of adolescents with depression

Life course outcomes of young people with anxiety disorders in adolescence.

Risk factors and life processes associated with the onset of suicidal behaviour during adolescence and early adulthood.

The stability of child abuse reports: a longitudinal study of the reporting behaviour of young adults