Biology subjects

Hildebrand, A.

Publications and source records attributed to Hildebrand, A..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Secure Attachment despite Childhood Maltreatment: Behavioral and Neural Correlates of Interpersonal Resilience

BackgroundChildhood maltreatment is a traumatic interpersonal stressor that increases vulnerability for depression in adulthood. However, some individuals show secure attachment despite childhood maltreatment, a pattern that can be described as interpersonal resilience. The present study examined the behavioral and neural correlates of interpersonal resilience, defined as secure attachment in adults exposed to childhood maltreatment. MethodsWe analyzed structural 3T MRI data from 1,317 adults, including healthy participants and individuals with partially or fully remitted major depression. Gray matter volume was estimated from structural MRI data using voxel-based morphometry. Attachment style and childhood maltreatment were assessed using the Relationship Scales Questionnaire and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, respectively. A 2x2 design (childhood maltreatment by attachment style) tested main and interaction effects on behavioral outcomes and brain structure. ResultsInterpersonally resilient individuals with secure attachment and maltreatment reported significantly better mental health outcomes compared to insecurely attached adults with maltreatment. Differences included lower self-reported and rater-based depressive symptoms, lower global symptom severity, and higher global functioning. In the neuroimaging analyses, we identified a significant childhood maltreatment by attachment style interaction in the left supramarginal gyrus, with larger gray matter volume in resilient individuals compared to all other groups. This effect remained robust across multiple sensitivity analyses, controlling for medication load, antidepressant intake, diagnosis group, as well as in a complementary dimensional analysis. ConclusionsThe results identify a potential neural correlate of interpersonal resilience. Larger gray matter volume in the left supramarginal gyrus, a region previously implicated in perspective taking and self-other distinction among other functions, may be relevant to more adaptive interpersonal functioning after early adversity. Together with the robust behavioral effects, these findings are consistent with secure attachment as a protective factor that may be associated with attenuated effects of childhood maltreatment on mental health.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2021

Immediate Impact of Yogic Breathing on Pulsatile Cerebrospinal Fluid Dynamics

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), a clear fluid bathing the central nervous system (CNS), undergoes pulsatile movements, and plays a critical role for the removal of waste products from the brain including amyloid beta, a protein associated with Alzheimers disease. Regulation of CSF dynamics is critical for maintaining CNS health, and increased pulsatile CSF dynamics may alter brains waste clearance due to increased mixing and diffusion. As such, understanding the mechanisms driving CSF movement, and interventions that influence its resultant removal of wastes from the brain is of high scientific and clinical impact. Since pulsatile CSF dynamics is sensitive and synchronous to respiratory movements, we are interested in identifying potential integrative therapies such as yogic breathing to regulate and enhance CSF dynamics, which has not been reported before. Here, we investigated the pre-intervention baseline data from our ongoing randomized controlled trial, and examined whether yogic breathing immediately impacts pulsatile CSF dynamics compared to spontaneous breathing. We utilized our previously established non-invasive real-time phase contrast magnetic resonance imaging (RT-PCMRI) approach using a 3T MRI instrument, and computed and rigorously tested differences in CSF velocities (instantaneous, respiratory, cardiac 1st and 2nd harmonics) at the level of foramen magnum during spontaneous versus four yogic breathing patterns. In examinations of 18 healthy participants (eight females, ten males; mean age 34.9 {+/-} 14 (SD) years; age range: 18-61 years), we discovered immediate increase in cranially-directed velocities of instantaneous-CSF 16% - 28% and respiratory-CSF 60% - 118% during yogic versus spontaneous breathing, with most statistically significant changes during deep abdominal breathing (28%, p=0.0008, and 118%, p=0.0001, respectively). Further, cardiac pulsation was the primary source of pulsatile CSF during all breathing conditions except during deep abdominal breathing, when there was a comparable contribution of respiratory and cardiac 1st harmonic power [0.59 {+/-} 0.78], demonstrating respiration can be the primary regulator of CSF depending on individual differences in breath depth and location. Further work is needed to investigate the impact of sustained training yogic breathing on increased pulsatile CSF dynamics and brain waste clearance for CNS health.

neuroscience↗