Prenatal origins of temperament: fetal growth, brain structure, and inhibitory control in adolescence

Individual differences in the temperamental dimension of effortful control are constitutionally based and have been associated with an adverse prenatal developmental environment, with structural brain alterations presenting a potential mechanism. We investigated this hypothesis for anatomically defi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	PloS one 2014-05, Vol.9 (5), p.e96715-e96715
Main Authors:	Schlotz, Wolff, Godfrey, Keith M, Phillips, David I
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Adolescence Adolescent Adolescents Age Amygdala Anatomy Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder Automation Biology and Life Sciences Birth Weight Brain Brain - anatomy & histology Brain architecture Brain research Cerebral Cortex - anatomy & histology Child development Childbirth & labor Children & youth Cognition & reasoning Cognitive ability Cohort Studies Control methods Cortex (frontal) Epidemiology Female Fetal Development Fetus Fetuses Frontal gyrus Gestational Age Growth Humans Hyperactivity Impulsivity Internal-External Control Longitudinal Studies Magnetic Resonance Imaging Male Motor task performance Neostriatum Origins Pregnant women Social Sciences Studies Surface area Surveys and Questionnaires Teenagers Temperament
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Summary:	Individual differences in the temperamental dimension of effortful control are constitutionally based and have been associated with an adverse prenatal developmental environment, with structural brain alterations presenting a potential mechanism. We investigated this hypothesis for anatomically defined brain regions implicated in cognitive and inhibitory motor control. Twenty-seven 15-16 year old participants with low, medium, or high fetal growth were selected from a longitudinal birth cohort to maximize variation and represent the full normal spectrum of fetal growth. Outcome measures were parent ratings of attention and inhibitory control, thickness and surface area of the orbitofrontal cortex (lateral (LOFC) and medial (MOFC)) and right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG), and volumetric measures of the striatum and amygdala. Lower birth weight was associated with lower inhibitory control, smaller surface area of LOFC, MOFC and rIFG, lower caudate volume, and thicker MOFC. A mediation model found a significant indirect effect of birth weight on inhibitory control via caudate volume. Our findings support a neuroanatomical mechanism underlying potential long-term consequences of an adverse fetal developmental environment for behavioral inhibitory control in adolescence and have implications for understanding putative prenatal developmental origins of externalizing behavioral problems and self-control.
ISSN:	1932-6203 1932-6203