Early maltreatment experience increases resting-state functional connectivity in thetheory of mind (ToM) network

Abstract

BackgroundEarly life stressful events, such as childhood maltreatment, significantly increase risk for the development of psychopathology and are associated with impairments in socio-cognitive skills including theory-of-mind (ToM). However, to date, no study has examined the resting-state activity of the ToM network in adults with maltreatment history.\n\nMethodsThirty-five women with a history of childhood maltreatment and 31 unaffected women completed a resting-state scan and a ToM localizer task. The peak coordinates from the localizer were used as the seed regions for the resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) analyses (temporoparietal junction, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, middle temporal gyrus and precuneus).\n\nResultsChild abuse was associated with increased RSFC between various ToM regions including the precuneus and the brainstem suggesting altered hierarchical processing in ToM regions. In addition, RSFC was also changed between the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and the cerebellum.\n\nLimitationsA small and heterogeneous sample.\n\nConclusionsThe data indicate a lasting influence of early life stress on neural networks involved in social processing and may underlie the social difficulties reported by maltreated individuals.