Effects of sensitivity to life stress on uncinate fasciculus segments in early adolescence.

ABSTRACT: Previous research suggests that exposure to early life stress (ELS) affects the structural integrity of the uncinate fasciculus (UF), a frontolimbic white matter tract that undergoes protracted development throughout adolescence. Adolescence is an important transitional period characterized by the emergence of internalizing psychopathology such as anxiety, particularly in individuals with high levels of stress sensitivity. We examined the relations among sensitivity to ELS, structural integrity of the UF, and anxiety symptoms in 104 early adolescents. We conducted structured interviews to assess exposure to ELS and obtained subjective and objective ratings of stress severity, from which we derived an index of ELS sensitivity. We also acquired diffusion MRI and conducted deterministic tract

SUBMITTER: Ho TC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5629927 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature