Early Life Stress-Related Elevations in Reaction Time Variability Are Associated with Brain Volume Reductions in HIV+ Adults.
Title | Early Life Stress-Related Elevations in Reaction Time Variability Are Associated with Brain Volume Reductions in HIV+ Adults. |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2018 |
Authors | Clark, US, RenterĂa, MArce, Hegde, RR, Morgello, S |
Journal | Front Behav Neurosci |
Volume | 12 |
Pagination | 6 |
Date Published | 2018 |
ISSN | 1662-5153 |
Abstract | There is burgeoning evidence that, among HIV+ adults, exposure to high levels of early life stress (ELS) is associated with increased cognitive impairment as well as brain volume abnormalities and elevated neuropsychiatric symptoms. Currently, we have a limited understanding of the degree to which cognitive difficulties observed in HIV+ High-ELS samples reflect underlying neural abnormalities rather than increases in neuropsychiatric symptoms. Here, we utilized a behavioral marker of cognitive function, reaction time intra-individual variability (RT-IIV), which is sensitive to both brain volume reductions and neuropsychiatric symptoms, to elucidate the unique contributions of brain volume abnormalities and neuropsychiatric symptoms to cognitive difficulties in HIV+ High-ELS adults. We assessed the relation of RT-IIV to neuropsychiatric symptom levels and total gray and white matter volumes in 44 HIV+ adults (26 with high ELS). RT-IIV was examined during a working memory task. Self-report measures assessed current neuropsychiatric symptoms (depression, stress, post-traumatic stress disorder). Magnetic resonance imaging was used to quantify total gray and white matter volumes. Compared to Low-ELS participants, High-ELS participants exhibited elevated RT-IIV, elevated neuropsychiatric symptoms, and reduced gray and white matter volumes. Across the entire sample, RT-IIV was significantly associated with gray and white matter volumes, whereas significant associations with neuropsychiatric symptoms were not observed. In the High-ELS group, despite the presence of elevated neuropsychiatric symptom levels, brain volume reductions explained more than 13% of the variance in RT-IIV, whereas neuropsychiatric symptoms explained less than 1%. Collectively, these data provide evidence that, in HIV+ High-ELS adults, ELS-related cognitive difficulties (as indexed by RT-IIV) exhibit strong associations with global brain volumes, whereas ELS-related elevations in neuropsychiatric symptoms appear to contribute minimally to these cognitive difficulties. Such findings support a growing body of evidence indicating that high ELS exposure is a significant risk factor for neurocognitive dysfunction in HIV+ adults. Further, these data highlight the need to better understand how ELS-related pathophysiological mechanisms contribute to volumetric and other neural abnormalities in HIV+ individuals. |
DOI | 10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00006 |
Alternate Journal | Front Behav Neurosci |
PubMed ID | 29441001 |
PubMed Central ID | PMC5797588 |
Grant List | L30 AG032932 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States U24 MH100931 / MH / NIMH NIH HHS / United States R25 MH083635 / MH / NIMH NIH HHS / United States P30 DA027827 / DA / NIDA NIH HHS / United States K23 MH096628 / MH / NIMH NIH HHS / United States R25 MH080663 / MH / NIMH NIH HHS / United States L60 MD006658 / MD / NIMHD NIH HHS / United States UL1 TR000067 / TR / NCATS NIH HHS / United States |