Structures of the Ventral Striatum Influence Adolescent Anxiety and Depression

• Rachel Spera, Neuroscience, High Point University

• Mary Dozier, Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of Delaware

The quality of children’s relationships influences their developing neural structures and circuitry. Insecure attachment has been associated with structural differences in regions of the ventral striatum, including the amygdala, hippocampus, and nucleus accumbens (NAcc). For example, a sample of young adults had larger bilateral amygdala volumes and smaller right hippocampal volumes following affective loss than individuals who did not experience affective loss. Larger right NAcc volumes were also seen in men who experienced affective loss within the same study. Disorganized attachment in infancy has been associated with increased amygdala volume in adulthood. The purpose of this study was to assess relationships between a child’s perception of attachment security in middle childhood and their internalizing symptoms of anxiety and depression assessed in adolescence. The study also examined the mediating role of volumetric alterations in regions of the ventral striatum: amygdala, hippocampus, and NAcc. 97 participants filled out questionnaires on their perception of attachment security at age 9, underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans at age 13, and completed self-reported anxiety symptoms at age 14. Results from this study did not show the same significant associations between attachment and brain region volumes as seen in previous studies, and there was not significant support for the expected mediational model. No significant associations were found between volumes of the NAcc, amygdala, or hippocampus at 13 and attachment security at 9. There were also no significant associations between volumes of the NAcc and hippocampus and anxiety or depression at 14. Trends were observed between anxiety scores and volume of the amygdala in both the left hemisphere (r = -0.15, p = .151) and right hemisphere (r = -0.20, p = .061). These differences in findings may be due to the self-reporting questionnaires, the adolescent sample, or various external factors that impact neurodevelopment.