Clin Psychopharmacol Neurosci.
2023 Aug;21(3):559-571. 10.9758/cpn.22.1019.
Effects of Parental Verbal Abuse Experience on the Glutamate Response to Swear Words in the Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex: A Functional 1 H-magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Study
- Affiliations
-
- 1Department of Psychiatry, Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea
- 2Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Korea
- 3School of Electrical Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Korea
- 4Department of Radiology, Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- 5Department of Psychiatry, Dankook University College of Medicine, Cheonan, Korea
- 6KAIST Institute for Health Science and Technology and KI for Artificial Intelligence, KAIST, Daejeon, Korea
- KMID: 2545815
- DOI: http://doi.org/10.9758/cpn.22.1019
Abstract
Objective
Several lines of evidence indicate verbal abuse (VA) critically impacts the developing brain; however, whether VA results in changes in brain neurochemistry has not been established. Here, we hypothesized that exposure to recurrent parental VA elicits heightened glutamate (Glu) responses during the presentation of swear words, which can be measured with functional magnetic resonance spectroscopy (fMRS).
Methods
During an emotional Stroop task consisting of blocks of color and swear words, metabolite concentration changes were measured in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and the left amygdalohippocampal region (AMHC) of healthy adults (14 F/27 M, 23 ± 4 years old) using fMRS. The dynamic changes in Glu and their associations with the emotional state of the participants were finally evaluated based on 36 datasets from the vmPFC and 30 from the AMHC.
Results
A repeated-measures analysis of covariance revealed a modest effect of parental VA severity on Glu changes in the vmPFC. The total score on the Verbal Abuse Questionnaire by parents (pVAQ) was associated with the Glu response to swear words (ΔGluSwe ). The interaction term of ΔGluSwe and baseline N-acetyl aspartate (NAA) level in the vmPFC could be used to predict state-trait anxiety level and depressive mood. We could not find any significant associations between ΔGluSwe in the AMHC and either pVAQ or emotional states.
Conclusion
Parental VA exposure in individuals is associated with a greater Glu response towards VA-related stimuli in the vmPFC and that the accompanying low NAA level may be associated with anxiety level or depressive mood.
- Full Text Links
-
- Actions
-
Cited
- CITED
-
- Close
- Share
-
- Similar articles
-
- Altered Function of Ventrolateral Prefrontal Cortex in Adolescents with Peer Verbal Abuse History
- Two-channel Near-infrared Spectroscopic Analysis of Association of Paranoia Symptoms with Prefrontal Activation
- Prefrontal hemodynamic responses and the degree of flow experience among occupational therapy students during their performance of a cognitive task
- Increased Ventrolateral Prefrontal Cortex Activation during Accurate Eyewitness Memory Retrieval: An Exploratory Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study
- Functional MR Imaging of Working Memory in the Human Brain
