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Published Version (Advanced Access)CC BY V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Adolescent Brain Development Following Early Life Stress: A Systematic Review of White Matter Alterations from Diffusion Tensor Imaging Studies
Adolescent Research Review, Vol.10, pp.593-640
2025
Appears in Thompson Institute Research Collection
Abstract
Experiences of early life stress are associated with long-term socioemotional, cognitive and mental health challenges. Despite the growing interest in elucidating the neurobiological consequences of early life stress, relatively little is known about its specific impacts on adolescent white matter maturation. The objective of this systematic review was to consolidate the current literature on neuroimaging studies utilizing diffusion tensor imaging to investigate white matter correlates of early life stress experiences in adolescents (10–25 years). A comprehensive search of online databases identified 546 studies, with 22 studies meeting the inclusion criteria. Early life stress was consistently associated with alterations across several white matter pathways, across Association, Projection and Commissural tracts. Compared to healthy controls, perturbed white matter integrity was observed in adolescents with early life stress exposure, as indexed by both increased and decreased fractional anisotropy. Compromised white matter integrity can have extensive impacts on adolescent development and associated functioning, including emotional dysregulation, mood instability, executive dysfunction, and sensorimotor impairments. Limitations of the current evidence base include the inconsistencies in the measurement of early life stress exposure and the lack of longitudinal research. Future investigations should track developmental trajectories of early life stress exposure and determine how this impacts adolescent neural connectivity.
Details
- Title
- Adolescent Brain Development Following Early Life Stress: A Systematic Review of White Matter Alterations from Diffusion Tensor Imaging Studies
- Authors
- Nikini Gunatilake (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Thompson InstituteAmanda Boyes (Contributor) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Thompson InstituteRosiel Elwyn (Contributor) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Thompson InstituteAlain Brunet (Contributor) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Thompson InstituteDaniel Hermens (Contributor) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Thompson InstituteChristina Driver (Contributor) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Thompson Institute
- Publication details
- Adolescent Research Review, Vol.10, pp.593-640
- Publisher
- Springer
- Date published
- 2025
- DOI
- 10.1007/s40894-025-00263-5
- ISSN
- 2363-8354; 2363-8346
- Copyright note
- This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
- Data Availability
- Data is contained within the article. No datasets were generated or analyzed during the current review.
- Grant note
- NG was supported by the Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship. This work was supported by the Australian Commonwealth Government’s “Prioritizing Mental Health Initiative.”
- Organisation Unit
- Thompson Institute
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991125306102621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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