TY  - JOUR
A1  - Raschle, Nora Maria
A1  - Menks, Willeke Martine
A1  - Fehlbaum, Lynn Valérie
A1  - Steppan, Martin
A1  - Smaragdi, Areti
A1  - Gonzalez-Madruga, Karen
A1  - Rogers, Jack C.
A1  - Clanton, Roberta
A1  - Kohls, Gregor
A1  - Martinelli, Anne
A1  - Bernhard, Anka
A1  - Konrad, Kerstin
A1  - Herpertz-Dahlmann, Beate
A1  - Freitag, Christine M.
A1  - Fairchild, Graeme
A1  - De Brito, Stéphane A.
A1  - Stadler, Christina
T1  - Callous-unemotional traits and brain structure: Sex-specific effects in anterior insula of typically-developing youths
T2  - NeuroImage: Clinical
N2  - Callous-unemotional traits are characterized by a lack of empathy, a disregard for others' feelings and shallow or deficient affect, such as a lack of remorse or guilt. Neuroanatomical correlates of callous-unemotional traits have been demonstrated in clinical samples (i.e., adolescents with disruptive behavior disorders). However, it is unknown whether callous-unemotional traits are associated with neuroanatomical correlates within normative populations without clinical levels of aggression or antisocial behavior. Here we investigated the relationship between callous-unemotional traits and gray matter volume using voxel-based morphometry in a large sample of typically-developing boys and girls (N = 189). Whole-brain multiple regression analyses controlling for site, total intracranial volume, and age were conducted in the whole sample and in boys and girls individually. Results revealed that sex and callous-unemotional traits interacted to predict gray matter volume when considering the whole sample. This interaction was driven by a significant positive correlation between callous-unemotional traits and bilateral anterior insula volume in boys, but not girls. Insula gray matter volume explained 19% of the variance in callous-unemotional traits for boys. Our results demonstrate that callous-unemotional traits are related to variations in brain structure beyond psychiatric samples. This association was observed for boys only, underlining the importance of considering sex as a factor in future research designs. Future longitudinal studies should determine whether these findings hold over childhood and adolescence, and whether the neuroanatomical correlates of callous-unemotional traits are predictive of future psychiatric vulnerability.
KW  - Callous-unemotional traits
KW  - Insula
KW  - Pediatric neuroimaging
KW  - Sex differences
KW  - Voxel-based morphometry
Y1  - 2017
UR  - http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/54284
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-542840
SN  - 2213-1582
N1  - Under a Creative Commons license
VL  - 17
SP  - 856
EP  - 864
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - [Amsterdam u. a.]
ER  -