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White matter microstructure of the extended limbic system in male and female youth with conduct disorder

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 January 2019

Karen González-Madruga Open the ORCID record for Karen González-Madruga [Opens in a new window] ,
Jack Rogers ,
Nicola Toschi ,
Roberta Riccelli ,
Areti Smaragdi ,
Ignazio Puzzo ,
Roberta Clanton ,
Jesper Andersson ,
Sarah Baumann  and
Gregor Kohls
...Show all authors
Karen González-Madruga*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
Jack Rogers
Affiliation:
School of Psychology and Birmingham University Imaging Centre, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
Nicola Toschi
Affiliation:
Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome ‘Tor Vergata’, Rome, Italy
Roberta Riccelli
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
Areti Smaragdi
Affiliation:
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada
Ignazio Puzzo
Affiliation:
West London Mental Health Trust, Broadmoor High Secure Hospital, London, UK
Roberta Clanton
Affiliation:
School of Psychology and Birmingham University Imaging Centre, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
Jesper Andersson
Affiliation:
FMRIB, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Sarah Baumann
Affiliation:
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Child Neuropsychology Section, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany
Gregor Kohls
Affiliation:
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Child Neuropsychology Section, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany
Nora Raschle
Affiliation:
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychiatric University Clinics and University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
Lynn Fehlbaum
Affiliation:
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychiatric University Clinics and University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
Willeke Menks
Affiliation:
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychiatric University Clinics and University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
Christina Stadler
Affiliation:
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychiatric University Clinics and University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
Kerstin Konrad
Affiliation:
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Child Neuropsychology Section, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany
Christine M. Freitag
Affiliation:
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Frankfurt, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Stephane A. De Brito
Affiliation:
School of Psychology and Birmingham University Imaging Centre, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
Edmund Sonuga-Barke
Affiliation:
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Kings College London, London, UK
Graeme Fairchild
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK
*
Author for correspondence: Karen González-Madruga, E-mail: Karen.gonzalez.madruga@gmail.com
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Abstract

Background

Previous studies of conduct disorder (CD) have reported structural and functional alterations in the limbic system. However, the white matter tracts that connect limbic regions have not been comprehensively studied. The uncinate fasciculus (UF), a tract connecting limbic to prefrontal regions, has been implicated in CD. However, CD-related alterations in other limbic tracts, such as the cingulum and the fornix, have not been investigated. Furthermore, few studies have examined the influence of sex and none have been adequately powered to test whether the relationship between CD and structural connectivity differs by sex. We examined whether adolescent males and females with CD exhibit differences in structural connectivity compared with typically developing controls.

Methods

We acquired diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging data from 101 adolescents with CD (52 females) and 99 controls (50 females). Data were processed for deterministic spherical deconvolution tractography. Virtual dissections of the UF, the three subdivisions of the cingulum [retrosplenial cingulum (RSC), parahippocampal and subgenual cingulum], and the fornix were performed and measures of fractional anisotropy (FA) and hindrance-modulated orientational anisotropy (HMOA) were analysed.

Results

The CD group had lower FA and HMOA in the right RSC tract relative to controls. Importantly, these effects were moderated by sex – males with CD significantly lower FA compared to male controls, whereas CD and control females did not differ.

Conclusions

Our results highlight the importance of considering sex when studying the neurobiological basis of CD. Sex differences in RSC connectivity may contribute to sex differences in the clinical presentation of CD.

Keywords

ADHDcallous-unemotional traitsconduct disorderdiffusion tensor imagingsex differencesspherical deconvolutiontractographywhite matter
Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 50 , Issue 1 , January 2020 , pp. 58 - 67
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019 

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