Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37283956›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in behavioral neuroscience2023

Association of age of adverse childhood experiences with thalamic volumes and post-traumatic stress disorder in adulthood.

Nickelas Huffman, Chia-Hao Shih, Andrew S Cotton, Terrence J Lewis, Stephen Grider, John T Wall, Xin Wang, Hong Xie

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
3.1field-weighted citation impact, top 9% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 10 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Optimizing Symptom Surveys with Machine Learning to Predict PTSD One Year Post-trauma....IEEE...International Conference on Connected Health: Applications, Systems and Engineering Technologies. IEEE International Conference on Connected Health: Applications, Systems and Engineering Technologies · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Minimizing Survey Questions for PTSD Prediction Following Acute Trauma.Artificial intelligence in medicine. Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Medicine (2005- ) · 2024
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Nickelas HuffmanDepartment of Emergency Medicine, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, United States.
Chia-Hao ShihDepartment of Emergency Medicine, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, United States.
Andrew S CottonDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, United States.
Terrence J LewisDepartment of Radiology, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, United States.
Stephen GriderDepartment of Emergency Medicine, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, United States.
John T WallDepartment of Neurosciences, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, United States.
Xin WangDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, United States.
Hong XieDepartment of Neurosciences, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, United States.
University of Toledo · US

Funding

Study of early brain alterations that predict development of chronic PTSDR01MH110483 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO HEALTH SCI CAMPUS · PI WANG, XIN · 2016 to 2021
$3.8M
NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH110483
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been linked to brain development and mental disorders, however, the impact of the age of occurrence of ACEs on thalamic volume and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after adult trauma remains unclear. This study assessed associations between ACEs at different ages to thalamic volumes and PTSD development following acute adult trauma. Methods: Seventy-nine adult trauma survivors were recruited immediately after trauma. Within 2 weeks of the traumatic event, participants completed the PTSD Checklist (PCL) to assess PTSD symptoms, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and Childhood Age Range Stress Scale (CARSS) to evaluate ACEs and perceived stress level at preschool (<6 years old) and school (6-13 years old) ages, and structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) to measure thalamic volumes. Participants were divided into three groups: those who experienced no childhood trauma or stress (non-ACEs), those who experienced childhood trauma and stress onset at preschool ages (Presch-ACEs), and those who experienced childhood trauma and stress onset at school ages (Sch-ACEs). At 3 months, participants underwent PTSD symptom evaluation using the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS). Results: Adult trauma survivors in the Presch-ACEs group had higher CTQ and CAPS scores. In addition, survivors in the Presch-ACEs group had smaller thalamic volume compared to survivors in the non-ACEs and Sch-ACEs groups. Furthermore, smaller thalamic volume moderated a positive association between post-trauma 2-week PCL and subsequent 3-month CAPS scores. Discussion: Earlier occurrence of ACEs was associated with smaller thalamic volume, which appears to moderate a positive association between early posttraumatic stress symptom severity and PTSD development after adult trauma. This raises the possibility that early occurrence of ACEs may impact thalamic structure, specifically a reduction in thalamic volume, and that smaller thalamic volume may contribute to susceptibility to PTSD development after adult trauma.

Indexed as

adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)Childhood Age Range Stress Scale (CARSS)post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)structural MRIthalamus

Identifiers

PMID37283956
PMCPMC10239841
OpenAlexW4377205832

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.