The influence of recent stressful life events on brain structure

Introduction According to the vulnerability-stress model stressful life events (SLEs) in adulthood can trigger mental disorders, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and others. The underlying neurobiological mechanisms are unclear.

Methods In this VBM study the association between grey matter volume, measured with 3 T MRI, and the total event score of the Life Events Questionnaire (LEQ) of 807 healthy subjects from the FOR2107 Cohort (Kircher et al., 2019) was examined. LEQ is an 82-item questionnaire in which subjects mark life events which occurred during the past six months and rate the subjective impact of the event on a 4-point scale. The sum of the impacts of all experienced events is the total event score.

Results There was a negative correlation between the total event score and grey matter volume in a cluster in the left mPFC (gyrus rectus and medial orbital gyrus) and, if corrected for subclinical depressive symptoms with BDI, in a second cluster in the right angular gyrus. Furthermore, the total event score was positively correlated with the scales PSS (chronic stress), CTQ (childhood abuse), STAIS (state anxiety) and negatively correlated with age and MWTB (IQ). After correcting for those factors the negative correlation between gray matter volume and total event score in both brain clusters remained significant.

Conclusion A previous study with a smaller sample size also found a negative correlation between the number of negative SLEs in the past year and grey matter volume in the mPFC and right insula (Ansell et al., 2012). SLEs are correlated with the grey matter volume in these regions and thereby might increase the vulnerability for mental disorders.