The impact of childhood maltreatment experiences on the structural covariance network of amygdala subregions in adolescents with major depressive disorder.

Background Childhood maltreatment (CM) and the amygdala are pivotal in the etiology of adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD), but the neurobiological processes linking them remain ambiguous. Methods This study employed voxel based morphometry to quantify gray matter volume and examined the structural covariance networks (SCN) of amygdala subregions in 92 adolescents with MDD and 81 healthy controls (HCs), concurrently administering the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF) to evaluate experiences of CM. Results The results demonstrated that, in contrast to healthy controls, adolescents with major depressive disorder displayed heightened developmental synchrony between the amygdala subregions and the parietal cortex. Moreover, CM may influence the top down regulation of the frontal cortex over the limbic system, which could contribute to atypical maturation of neural circuits and increase susceptibility to MDD. Conclusions This research demonstrates the influence of CM on brain development and mental health, highlighting the need for specific therapies for adolescents with a history of CM. Trial registration Prospective Registration, Chinese Clinical Trial Registry.