Child Abuse, Fear
Conditions
Keywords
cognitive fear, fMRI, reactive fear
Brief summary
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of childhood maltreatment on cognitive and reactive fear.
Detailed description
Childhood maltreatment dramatically increases the risk for psychiatric disorders accompanied by profound difficulties in social interactions. However, it is still unclear how childhood maltreatment affects social interactions in adulthood. In this study, we examine how childhood maltreatment may modulate threat sensitivity assessed by the distance at which an individual flees from an approaching threat. While rapid escape decisions rely on reactive fear circuits, slower escape decisions are associated with cognitive fear circuits. Based on previous observations of altered early sensory processing, we expect that childhood maltreatment affects both cognitive and reactive fear circuits.
Interventions
OTHERfMRI assessment of cognitive and reactive fear
An fMRI paradigm will be used to probe how childhood maltreatment may modulate the defensive survival circuitry that facilitates escape decisions when subjects encounter fast- or slow-attacking threats.
Sponsors
Prof. Dean Mobbs
University Hospital, Bonn
Study design
Observational model
ECOLOGIC_OR_COMMUNITY
Time perspective
CROSS_SECTIONAL
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 65 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Healthy subjects with varying levels of childhood maltreatment
Exclusion criteria
* current psychiatric illness * current psychiatric medication or psychotherapy * MRI contraindication (e.g. metal in body, claustrophobia) * pregnancy
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Neural responses in the flight initiation distance (FID) task | fMRI paradigm with an average duration of 45 minutes | Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) will be performed to measure blood-oxygen-level dependent signal in a flight initiation distance (FID) task, involving fast-, medium- and slow-attacking virtual predators that elicit distinct activations in the reactive and cognitive fear circuits. Blood-oxygen-level-dependent signals to different predator velocities will be analyzed. Analyses will focus on regions-of-interest associated with the processing of cognitive fear (ventromedial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, hippocampus, and basolateral amygdala) and reactive fear (midbrain periaqueductal gray, central amygdala, hypothalamus, and the midcingulate cortex). To examine effects of childhood maltreatment, regression analyses with Childhood Trauma Questionnaire scores will be conducted on the second level. |
| Flight distance in the flight initiation distance (FID) task | fMRI paradigm with an average duration of 45 minutes | Associations between the flight distance in the FID task and childhood maltreatment will be analyzed using regression analyses with Childhood Trauma Questionnaire scores. Behavioral data will be correlated with fMRI data of the FID task. |
| Difficulty ratings in the flight initiation distance (FID) task | fMRI paradigm with an average duration of 45 minutes | Associations between the difficulty ratings in the FID task and childhood maltreatment will be analyzed using regression analyses with Childhood Trauma Questionnaire scores. Behavioral data will be correlated with fMRI data of the FID task. |
| Confidence ratings in the flight initiation distance (FID) task | fMRI paradigm with an average duration of 45 minutes | Associations between the confidence ratings in the FID task and childhood maltreatment will be analyzed using regression analyses with Childhood Trauma Questionnaire scores. Behavioral data will be correlated with fMRI data of the FID task. |
Countries
Germany
Contacts
Primary ContactDirk Scheele, PhD
Outcome results
None listed