Reactive attachment disorder (RAD) is associated with childhood maltreatment and affects approximately 1% of the general population. Recent data suggest that childhood maltreatment is associated with brain alterations in white and gray matter. However, the neural mechanisms of RAD-related brain alterations remain unknown. Herein, we evaluated the white matter pathways and gray matter volumes in 31 and 41 age-matched children with RAD and typical development (TD), respectively, by analyzing T1- and diffusion-weighted images. An increased fractional anisotropy (FA) and axial diffusivity in the anterior thalamic radiations (ATR) and an increased volume in the bilateral pallidum and right thalamus were observed in children with RAD compared with those with TD. Moreover, the volume of the thalamus was associated with increased ATR FA in children with RAD. Our study confirmed the existence of atypical neurodevelopment processes in the thalamus, pallidum, and ATR in children with RAD and highlighted an interdependent relationship between the alterations in the thalamus and ATR. These findings may help to improve our understanding of the comprehensive neural mechanisms of RAD.

中文翻译：

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丘脑容积与反应性依恋障碍儿童的丘脑前部辐射增加有关。

反应性依恋障碍 (RAD) 与儿童期虐待有关，影响了大约 1% 的普通人群。最近的数据表明，童年虐待与大脑白质和灰质的改变有关。然而，RAD 相关大脑改变的神经机制仍然未知。在此，我们通过分析 T1 和扩散加权图像分别评估了 31 和 41 名年龄匹配的 RAD 和典型发育 (TD) 儿童的白质通路和灰质体积。与 TD 儿童相比，RAD 儿童的前丘脑辐射 (ATR) 的分数各向异性 (FA) 和轴向扩散率增加，双侧苍白球和右侧丘脑的体积增加。而且，丘脑的体积与 RAD 儿童的 ATR FA 增加有关。我们的研究证实了 RAD 儿童丘脑、苍白球和 ATR 中存在非典型神经发育过程，并强调了丘脑和 ATR 变化之间的相互依赖关系。这些发现可能有助于提高我们对 RAD 综合神经机制的理解。