Gray Matter Changes in the Orbitofrontal-Paralimbic Cortex in Male Youths With Non-comorbid Conduct Disorder

Abstract

Conduct disorder is one of the most common developmental psychiatric disorders which is characterized by persistent aggressive and antisocial behaviors during childhood or adolescence. Previous neuroimaging studies have investigated the neural correlates underlying CD and demonstrated several constructive findings. However, Individuals with CD are at high risk for comorbidities, which might give rise to the inconsistencies of existed findings. It remains unclear which neuroanatomical abnormalities are specifically related to CD without comorbidities. Using structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) data of 69 CD and 69 typically developing (TD) male youths (aged 14-17 years), the present study aims at investigating gray matter volume alterations of non-comorbid CD (i.e., not comorbid with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, substance abuse disorder, anxiety or depression). We also examined how regional gray matter volumes were related to callous-unemotional (CU) traits and conduct problems in the CD group. The whole-brain analysis revealed decreased gray matter volumes in the right pre-postcentral cortex, supramarginal gyrus and right putamen in CD youths compared with TD youths. The region-of-interest analyses showed increased gray matter volumes in the superior temporal gyrus (STG) and right orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) in CD youths. Correlation analysis found that gray matter volume in the left amygdala was negatively correlated with CU traits in CD participants. These results demonstrated that gray matter volume in the orbitofrontal-paralimbic cortex, including OFC, STG and amygdala, might characterize the male youths with non-comorbid CD and might contribute to different severe forms and trajectories of CD.

Larger left hippocampal presubiculum is associated with lower risk of antisocial behavior in healthy adults with childhood conduct history

“…CD may accompany many psycho-developmental issues such as substance abuse, depression, anger problems, and in some instances, the lack of empathy, which is the hallmark of callous-unemotional (CU) traits. CD is also a major risk factor for developing antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) 2 , 4 . The behavioral hallmarks of the ASPD are the same as CD, and it also follows the same gender difference: it is more prevalent in males.…”

“…Structural MRI studies also supported a lack of social cognition and emotion in CD subjects. There is evidence of decreased gray matter in various parts of the brain associated with such responses, including lower volumes of the left amygdala, right insula, left medial superior frontal gyrus, and left fusiform gyrus in CD patients 4 , 12 . On the other hand, some studies observed increased gray matter of the orbitofrontal cortex while others reported reduced volume comparing CD adults with healthy subjects 13 , 14 .…”

Reduced Grey Matter Volume in Adolescents with Conduct Disorder: A Region-of-Interest Analysis Using Multivariate Generalized Linear Modeling

“…Previously, structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) has been used to investigate the anatomical brain changes underlying CD, reflected by various morphometry parameters, including grey matter volume (GMV; i.e., cortical and subcortical volume [CV/SCV]). While a clear and consistent picture of the structural brain alterations seen in patients with CD remains lacking, two meta-analyses (each based on over 10 studies) of youth with CD, oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), or conduct problems concluded these conditions were associated with reductions in volume in cortical (ventrolateral, medial prefrontal, middle temporal, superior temporal, and anterior insular cortices) and subcortical (amygdala, caudate and putamen) regions [ 11 12 ] though it should be noted that there have been several reports of both increased GMV in participants with CD relative to the controls in many of these regions since these meta-analyses were published [ 13 – 15 ] and a lack of group differences in GMV [ 16 – 19 ]. Within the pathology of CD, recent longitudinal studies suggested that higher CD-related symptomatology was associated with accelerated age-related cortical thinning [ 20 21 ].…”

Childhood Conduct History is Linked to Amygdalohippocampal Changes in Healthy Adults: A Neuroimaging Behavioral Study

“…CD may accompany many psycho-developmental issues such as substance abuse, depression, anger problems, and lack of empathy, which is the hallmark for callous-unemotional (CU) traits. It is also a major risk factor for developing antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) [2, 3].…”

“…Structural MRI studies also supported a lack of social cognition and emotion in CD subjects. There is evidence of decreased gray matter in various parts of the brain associated with such responses, including lower volumes of left amygdala, right insula, left medial superior frontal gyrus, and left fusiform gyrus in CD patients [3, 6]. On the other hand, some studies observed increased gray matter of the orbitofrontal cortex while the others reported reduced volume comparing CD adults with healthy subjects [7, 8].…”