Distinct gray matter abnormalities in children/adolescents and adults with history of childhood maltreatment

Gray matter (GM) abnormalities have been reported in both adults and children/adolescents with histories of childhood maltreatment (CM). As maturational and compensatory changes may occur over the life span, a comparison of effects in youth and adulthood may be informative regarding life-span effects of CM. Voxel-wise meta-analyses of whole-brain voxel-based morphometry (VBM) studies were conducted in all datasets and age-based subgroups respectively, followed by a quantitative meta-analytic comparison of the age-based subgroups. Thirty VBM studies (31 datasets) comprising 1264 individuals with CM (1004 adults and 260 children/adolescents) and 1201 non-maltreated controls (962 adults and 239 children/adolescents) were included. Maltreatment-exposed youth showed less GM in the cerebellum, and greater GM in bilateral middle cingulate/paracingulate gyri and bilateral visual cortex than maltreated adults. Opposite GM alterations in bilateral middle cingulate/paracingulate gyri were found in maltreatment-exposed adults (decreased) and children/adolescents (increased). Our findings demonstrate different patterns of GM changes in youth closer to maltreatment events than those seen later in life, suggesting detrimental effects of CM on the developmental trajectory of brain structure.