Childhood Trauma and Escape Decision Dynamics

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of childhood maltreatment on cognitive and reactive fear.

Detailed Description
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Childhood maltreatment dramatically increases the risk for psychiatric disorders accompanied by profound difficulties in social interactions. However, it is still unclear how childhood maltreatment affects social interactions in adulthood. In this study, we examine how childhood maltreatment may modulate threat sensitivity assessed by the distance at which an individual flees from an approaching threat. While rapid escape decisions rely on reactive fear circuits, slower escape decisions are associated with cognitive fear circuits. Based on previous observations of altered early sensory processing, we expect that childhood maltreatment affects both cognitive and reactive fear circuits.

Official Title
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The Influence of Childhood Maltreatment on Cognitive and Reactive Fear

Conditions
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Child Abuse, Fear

Intervention / Treatment
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* Other: fMRI assessment of cognitive and reactive fear


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Healthy subjects with varying levels of childhood maltreatment Exclusion Criteria: current psychiatric illness current psychiatric medication or psychotherapy MRI contraindication (e.g. metal in body, claustrophobia) pregnancy

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years
Maximum Age: 65 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Non-medicated healthy adults with childhood maltreatment<br>The 25-item retrospective Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) will be administered to assess history of abuse and neglect. The CTQ measures five types of maltreatment: emotional, physical, and sexual abuse and emotional and physical neglect. | Other: fMRI assessment of cognitive and reactive fear<br>* An fMRI paradigm will be used to probe how childhood maltreatment may modulate the defensive survival circuitry that facilitates escape decisions when subjects encounter fast- or slow-attacking threats.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Neural responses in the flight initiation distance (FID) task | Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) will be performed to measure blood-oxygen-level dependent signal in a flight initiation distance (FID) task, involving fast-, medium- and slow-attacking virtual predators that elicit distinct activations in the reactive and cognitive fear circuits. Blood-oxygen-level-dependent signals to different predator velocities will be analyzed. Analyses will focus on regions-of-interest associated with the processing of cognitive fear (ventromedial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, hippocampus, and basolateral amygdala) and reactive fear (midbrain periaqueductal gray, central amygdala, hypothalamus, and the midcingulate cortex). To examine effects of childhood maltreatment, regression analyses with Childhood Trauma Questionnaire scores will be conducted on the second level. | fMRI paradigm with an average duration of 45 minutes | 
| Flight distance in the flight initiation distance (FID) task | Associations between the flight distance in the FID task and childhood maltreatment will be analyzed using regression analyses with Childhood Trauma Questionnaire scores. Behavioral data will be correlated with fMRI data of the FID task. | fMRI paradigm with an average duration of 45 minutes | 
| Difficulty ratings in the flight initiation distance (FID) task | Associations between the difficulty ratings in the FID task and childhood maltreatment will be analyzed using regression analyses with Childhood Trauma Questionnaire scores. Behavioral data will be correlated with fMRI data of the FID task. | fMRI paradigm with an average duration of 45 minutes | 
| Confidence ratings in the flight initiation distance (FID) task | Associations between the confidence ratings in the FID task and childhood maltreatment will be analyzed using regression analyses with Childhood Trauma Questionnaire scores. Behavioral data will be correlated with fMRI data of the FID task. | fMRI paradigm with an average duration of 45 minutes | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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cognitive fear, fMRI, reactive fear