ArticlePsychological medicine2017
Effects of early life stress on depression, cognitive performance and brain morphology.
Article in Psychological medicine, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 139 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
139 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Bidirectional Mendelian Randomization and Colocalization Study of Memory B Cells and Major Depressive Disorder.Current medical science · 2026Pooled it
- A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Association Between Childhood Maltreatment and Adult Depression.Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica · 2025Pooled it
- The relationship between childhood interpersonal and non-interpersonal trauma and autobiographical memory: a systematic review.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Pooled it
- "The wrong tools for the right job": a critical meta-analysis of traditional tests to assess behavioural impacts of maternal separation.Psychopharmacology · 2023Pooled it
- Regulatory Role of PFC Corticotropin-Releasing Factor System in Stress-Associated Depression Disorders: A Systematic Review.Cellular and molecular neurobiology · 2023Pooled it
- The effect of adverse childhood experiences on chronic pain and major depression in adulthood: a systematic review and meta-analysis.British journal of anaesthesia · 2023Pooled it
- Depression and episodic memory across the adult lifespan: A meta-analytic review.Psychological bulletin · 2021Pooled it
- Application of a diathesis-stress model to the interplay of cortical structural development and emerging depression in youth.Clinical psychology review · 2020Pooled it
- Trial
- Neurodevelopmental effects of early life stress: PFC and cognition.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2026Review
- Modulation of pain by affective touch: effects of childhood trauma, depression, chronic pain, and spinal segment.The Journal of physiology · 2026Article
- Associations of war-related exposures and early life adversity with late-life cognition.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026Article
- Differential Methylation by Early Life Adversity in the Future of Families Child Wellbeing Study.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Idiopathic Scoliosis as a Conversion Reaction to Stress with the Neural Effect of a "Distorting Mirror".Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Lifelong Impact of Prenatal Stress: Exacerbated Memory Impairments and Gene Expression Changes Under Adult Chronic Stress.Brain and behavior · 2025Article
- Network analysis of relationships among psychopathology, cognitive function, and psychosocial functioning in independent samples of Chinese with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.Psychological medicine · 2025Article
- Treatment Approaches and Growth Parameters in Pediatric ADHD: Examining Differences Across Race.Child psychiatry and human development · 2025Article
- [Prefrontal dysfunction and mismatch negativity in adolescent depression: A multimodal fNIRS-ERP study].Sheng wu yi xue gong cheng xue za zhi = Journal of biomedical engineering = Shengwu yixue gongchengxue zazhi · 2025Article
- Effects of childhood trauma on depression and cognitive function in first-diagnosed, drug-naïve depressed patients: an observational case-control study.BMC psychiatry · 2025Observational
- Anti-Stress Effects ofNutrients · 2025Article
79 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundChildhood early life stress (ELS) increases risk of adulthood major depressive disorder (MDD) and is associated with altered brain structure and function. It is unclear whether specific ELSs affect depression risk, cognitive function and brain structure.
methodThis cross-sectional study included 64 antidepressant-free depressed and 65 never-depressed individuals. Both groups reported a range of ELSs on the Early Life Stress Questionnaire, completed neuropsychological testing and 3T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Neuropsychological testing assessed domains of episodic memory, working memory, processing speed and executive function. MRI measures included cortical thickness and regional gray matter volumes, with a priori focus on the cingulate cortex, orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), amygdala, caudate and hippocampus.
resultsOf 19 ELSs, only emotional abuse, sexual abuse and severe family conflict independently predicted adulthood MDD diagnosis. The effect of total ELS score differed between groups. Greater ELS exposure was associated with slower processing speed and smaller OFC volumes in depressed subjects, but faster speed and larger volumes in non-depressed subjects. In contrast, exposure to ELSs predictive of depression had similar effects in both diagnostic groups. Individuals reporting predictive ELSs exhibited poorer processing speed and working memory performance, smaller volumes of the lateral OFC and caudate, and decreased cortical thickness in multiple areas including the insula bilaterally. Predictive ELS exposure was also associated with smaller left hippocampal volume in depressed subjects.
conclusionsFindings suggest an association between childhood trauma exposure and adulthood cognitive function and brain structure. These relationships appear to differ between individuals who do and do not develop depression.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.