Maternal Childhood Maltreatment Is Associated With Young Children's White Matter Microstructure; Evidence for Intergenerational Neurobiological Embedding of Early Life Adversity?

Maternal experiences of childhood abuse and neglect are increasingly shown to undermine healthy brain development and increase risk for neuropsychiatric problems in offspring. Emerging work suggests that neurobiological consequences of childhood maltreatment may extend across generations, though the mechanisms remain unclear. We examined associations between maternal report of childhood maltreatment, measured by the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, and offspring white matter (WM) structural connectivity, measured by fractional anisotropy (FA) from diffusion-weighted imaging with a 3T Siemens scanner. Our sample included 58 mothers and their children (ages 4-7, 50% female) from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. Maternal report of child maltreatment was associated with greater FA in offspring WM involving the limbic circuitry (i.e., stria terminalis and cingulum) and lower FA in broader projection fibers related to higher cognitive functions (i.e., posterior corona radiata). Child behavior was also evaluated using the Conners Early Childhood (CEC) Parent Rating Scale, revealing increased behavioral concerns associated with maternal childhood maltreatment. These findings are consistent with prior research emphasizing that caregiving adversity may lead to precocial development of limbic systems and less efficient broader cortical maturation. To our knowledge, this is the first study to explore maternal childhood maltreatment on offspring's early childhood WM integrity.