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Associations between childhood maltreatment and brain structure, function, and network architecture in apparently healthy adults
Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2025.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
2025
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| _version_ | 1867613972714225664 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Hendrikse, Chanelle Juanita |
| author2 | Du Plessis, Stefan |
| author_browse | Du Plessis, Stefan Hendrikse, Chanelle Juanita |
| author_facet | Du Plessis, Stefan Hendrikse, Chanelle Juanita |
| author_sort | Hendrikse, Chanelle Juanita |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | Stellenbosch University |
| description | Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2025. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/134236 |
| institution | Stellenbosch University (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:44:38.662Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| publisherStr | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| spelling | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/134236 Associations between childhood maltreatment and brain structure, function, and network architecture in apparently healthy adults Hendrikse, Chanelle Juanita Du Plessis, Stefan Seedat, Soraya Emsley, Robin Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Dept. of Psychiatry. Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2025. Hendrikse, C. J. 2025. Associations between childhood maltreatment and brain structure, function, and network architecture in apparently healthy adults. Unpublished doctoral thesis. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University [online]. Available: https://scholar.sun.ac.za/items/9a253c20-09ac-467e-9163-d2b2fcdaec78 Childhood maltreatment, or trauma, including abuse and neglect, is prevalent globally and increases the risk of adverse physical and mental health outcomes. The neurobiological mechanisms underlying these negative outcomes have been widely studied, with evidence showing associations between childhood trauma exposure and altered brain structure and function. However, prior studies have often included participants with psychiatric disorders, which may be associated with brain changes in the absence of childhood trauma. Therefore, the unique associations between childhood trauma exposure and brain changes in psychiatrically healthy adults remain unclear. Moreover, the differential impact of distinct childhood trauma dimensions and subtypes has often not been examined. This study investigated the associations between childhood trauma exposure, including dimensions and subtypes of threat or abuse and deprivation or neglect, and brain function, structure, and aging in psychiatrically healthy adults. Multimodal neuroimaging and clinical data from the healthy control cohort of a cross-sectional study conducted in Cape Town, South Africa, were used. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) was used to measure exposure to physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, and physical and emotional neglect. The reward circuit is an important subcomponent of the corticostriatal-limbic network and plays a fundamental role in human behaviour and complex decision-making. The first investigation (n = 114; Chapter 2) used task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine the associations between childhood trauma exposure and reward anticipation- and outcome-related activation of key reward circuitry regions, namely the ventral striatum and orbitofrontal cortex. The second investigation (n = 69; Chapter 3) used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to examine childhood trauma associations with fractional anisotropy (FA) of six fronto-striatal-limbic white matter tracts, which may subserve reward processing functions. The third investigation (n = 164; Chapter 4) used T1-weighted structural MRI (sMRI) to investigate the associations between childhood trauma exposure and morphology of corticostriatal-limbic regions known to play a role in reward processing. The final investigation (n = 153; Chapter 5) shifted towards a global brain approach, investigating the associations between childhood trauma and brain age, as estimated from T1-weighted sMRI scans using a machine learning algorithm. Distinct childhood trauma dimensions and subtypes were differentially associated with brain outcomes. Overall abuse (sum of the CTQ abuse-specific subscales) was positively associated with ventral striatum activation during reward anticipation, whereas overall deprivation (sum of the CTQ emotional abuse and neglect-specific subscales) was associated with lower FA of the anterior limb of the internal capsule, an important tract thought to carry fronto-striatal limbic connections. Moreover, physical abuse exposure was associated with altered morphology of the inferior frontal gyrus, whereas deprivation-related traumas were associated with widespread prefrontal cortical changes, as well as smaller subcortical volumes. Finally, sexual abuse exposure was associated with a greater brain age of 3.2 years. This work demonstrates that distinct dimensions and subtypes of childhood trauma are uniquely associated with alterations in corticostriatal-limbic structure and function, as well as accentuated brain aging. These findings highlight the lasting neurobiological impact of childhood trauma exposure, even in the absence of psychiatric illness, and emphasize the importance of considering childhood trauma as a risk factor in studies of brain structural and functional development. Doctoral 2025-10-27T06:37:44Z 2025-10-27T06:37:44Z 2025-03 Thesis https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/134236 en Stellenbosch University 135 pages : ill. application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| spellingShingle | Hendrikse, Chanelle Juanita Associations between childhood maltreatment and brain structure, function, and network architecture in apparently healthy adults |
| title | Associations between childhood maltreatment and brain structure, function, and network architecture in apparently healthy adults |
| title_full | Associations between childhood maltreatment and brain structure, function, and network architecture in apparently healthy adults |
| title_fullStr | Associations between childhood maltreatment and brain structure, function, and network architecture in apparently healthy adults |
| title_full_unstemmed | Associations between childhood maltreatment and brain structure, function, and network architecture in apparently healthy adults |
| title_short | Associations between childhood maltreatment and brain structure, function, and network architecture in apparently healthy adults |
| title_sort | associations between childhood maltreatment and brain structure function and network architecture in apparently healthy adults |
| url | https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/134236 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hendriksechanellejuanita associationsbetweenchildhoodmaltreatmentandbrainstructurefunctionandnetworkarchitectureinapparentlyhealthyadults |