White Matter Microstructure in Youths with Conduct Disorder: Effects of Sex and Variation in Callous Traits
2019
Objective: Studies using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to investigate white matter (WM) microstructure in youths with
conduct disorder(CD) have reported disparate findings. We investigated WM alterations in a large sample of youths with CD, and examined the influence of sex and callous-unemotional (CU) traits. Methods: DTI-data were acquired from 124 youths with CD (59 female) and 174 typically-developing (TD) youths (103 female) aged 9-18 years. Tract-based spatial statistics tested for effects of diagnosis and sex-by-diagnosis interactions. Associations with CD symptoms, CU traits, a task measuring impulsivity, and the impact of comorbidity and age- and puberty-related effects were examined. Results: Youths with CD exhibited higher axial-diffusivity in the
corpus callosumand lower radial-diffusivity and mean-diffusivity in the anterior
thalamic radiationrelative to TD youths. Females and males with CD exhibited opposite changes within the
internal capsule,
fornix, posterior
thalamic radiationand
uncinate fasciculus. Within the CD group, CD symptoms and callous traits exerted opposing influences on
corpus callosumaxial-diffusivity, with callous traits identified as the unique clinical feature predicting higher axial-diffusivity and lower radial-diffusivity within the
corpus callosumand anterior
thalamic radiation, respectively. In an exploratory analysis,
corpus callosumaxial-diffusivity partially mediated the association between callous traits and impulsive responses to emotional faces. Results were not influenced by symptoms of comorbid disorders and no age- or puberty-related interactions were observed. Conclusion: WM alterations within the
corpus callosumrepresent a reliable neuroimaging marker of CD. Sex and callous traits are important factors to consider when examining WM in CD.
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