Authors:

Fairchild, G., Passamonti, L.; Hurford, G., Hagan, C.C., VON DEM HAGEN, E., van Goozen, S.H.M., Goodyer, I.M., CALDER, A.J.

Reference:

Year of publication:

2011

CBU number:

7213

Abstract:

Objective: The developmental taxonomic theory proposes that neurodevelopmental factors play a critical role in the etiology of early-onset Conduct Disorder (CD) whereas adolescence-onset CD arises due to social mimicry of deviant peers. Recent studies have challenged this theory by demonstrating that adolescents with either early-onset or adolescence-onset CD show impaired emotional learning and abnormal neural activation during facial expression processing. The present study extends this work by investigating brain structure in both subtypes of CD. Method: Voxel-based morphometry was used to compare gray matter volumes in four regions of interest (amygdala, insula, anterior cingulate and orbitofrontal cortex) in male adolescents with early-onset CD (n=33) or adolescence-onset CD (n=27) and healthy controls (n=27). Whole-brain structural analyses were also performed. Results: Group effects on gray matter volume were detected in the amygdala, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, and caudate nucleus. Decomposing these effects, the combined CD group displayed gray matter volume reductions in bilateral amygdala extending into insula, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, and caudate nucleus, relative to healthy controls. Separate comparisons between controls and each CD subgroup revealed lower amygdala volume in both subgroups and reduced right insula volume in the adolescence-onset CD subgroup. Regression analyses within the CD subjects revealed a negative correlation between CD symptoms and right insula volume. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that gray matter volume reductions in brain regions involved in processing socio-emotional stimuli are associated with CD, regardless of its age of onset. Brain structural abnormalities may contribute to the emergence of adolescence-onset as well as early-onset CD.

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