Gray matter correlates of childhood maltreatment lack replicability in a multi-cohort brain-wide association study
Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Childhood maltreatment effects on cerebral gray matter have been frequently discussed as a neurobiological pathway for depression. However, localizations are highly heterogeneous, and recent reports have questioned the replicability of mental health neuroimaging findings. Here, we investigate the replicability of gray matter correlates of maltreatment, measured retrospectively via the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, across three large adult cohorts (total N = 3225). Pooling cohorts yields maltreatment-related gray matter reductions, with most extensive effects when not controlling for depression diagnosis (maximum partial R 2 = .022). However, none of these effects significantly replicate across cohorts. Non-replicability is consistent across a variety of maltreatment subtypes and operationalizations, as well as subgroup analyses with and without depression, and stratified by sex. Results are furthermore consistent across a variety of gray matter operationalizations, including voxel-based morphometry and parcellation-based cortical and subcortical measures. In this work, we show that there is little evidence for the replicability of gray matter correlates of childhood maltreatment, when adequately controlling for psychopathology. This underscores the need to focus on replicability research in mental health neuroimaging.
Source: Nature Communications
Authors: Janik Goltermann, Nils R. Winter, Susanne Meinert, Dominik Grotegerd, Anna Kraus, Kira Flinkenflügel, Luisa Altegoer, Judith Krieger, Elisabeth J. Leehr, Joscha Böhnlein, Linda M. Bonnekoh, Maike Richter, Tim Hahn, Lukas Fisch, Marius Gruber, Marco Hermesdorf, Klaus Berger, Volker Arolt, Katharina Brosch, Frederike Stein, Florian Thomas-Odenthal, Paula Usemann, Lea Teutenberg, Vincent Hammes, Hamidreza Jamalabadi, Nina Alexander, Benjamin Straube, Andreas Jansen, Igor Nenadić, Tilo Kircher, Nils Opel, Udo Dannlowski
Institutions: University of Münster, University Hospital Münster, Stiftung Charité, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Goethe University Frankfurt, University Hospital Frankfurt, Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Philipps University of Marburg, Deutsches Zentrum für Psychische Gesundheit, Bielefeld University
Language: English
Topic: Child Abuse and Trauma
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $6,990
Awards: G1116979012, G1438067556, G1779957684, G179444772, G235093469, G238323396, G2511155013, G3265249946, G3434867832, G3762292575, G3832253069, Die bidirektionale Analyse der Beziehung zwischen subklinischer Arteriosklerose und der Depression (BiDirect), G4588023527, G470186339, G5417235735, G6335375501, G648958512, G6733821374, Analyse der Beziehung zwischen subklinischer Arteriosklerose und der Depression (BiDirect) (Anschlussvorhaben), Clinician Scientist CareerS Münster, G7578079922, G8087705, Geschlechtsunterschiede im alternden Gehirn - Muster, Mechanismen und Auswirkungen, G8819810260
OpenAlex ID: W4414242547