OBJECTIVE Childhood maltreatment is a major risk factor for psychopathology associated with interpersonal problems in adulthood, but the etiological pathways involved are still unclear. The authors propose that childhood maltreatment confers risk for dysfunctional behavior in social interactions by altering interpersonal distance preference and the processing of social touch. METHODS Ninety-two medication-free adults (64 of them female) with low, medium, and high levels of childhood maltreatment were tested with an interpersonal distance paradigm and subsequently underwent a social touch functional MRI task during which they rated the perceived comfort of slow touch (C-tactile [CT] optimal speed; 5 cm/s) and fast touch (non-CT-optimal speed; 20 cm/s). RESULTS Participants with high childhood maltreatment levels preferred a larger interpersonal distance and experienced fast touch as less comforting compared with participants with no or moderate childhood maltreatment experiences. On the neural level, participants with severe childhood maltreatment exhibited exaggerated responses to fast touch in the right somatosensory and posterior insular cortex, which correlated with lower comfort ratings. Severe childhood maltreatment was associated with decreased activation in the right hippocampus in response to slow touch. This response pattern was not moderated or mediated by childhood maltreatment-associated region-specific reductions in gray matter volume. CONCLUSIONS The study findings suggest that higher childhood maltreatment levels are associated with hypersensitivity characterized by a preference for larger interpersonal distance and discomfort of fast touch. These dysregulations were manifested in a sensory cortical hyperreactivity and limbic CT-related hypoactivation. These results may shed light on why individuals with severe childhood maltreatment exhibit an increased susceptibility to interpersonal dysfunctions and psychiatric disorders in adulthood.

中文翻译：

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儿童期虐待与成人时期人际距离和社交触觉偏好的关联。

目的儿童期虐待是与成年期人际问题相关的心理病理的主要危险因素，但所涉及的病因学途径仍不清楚。作者提出，儿童期虐待会通过改变人际距离偏好和社交触觉的处理而在社交互动中带来机能障碍行为的风险。方法采用人际距离范式测试了92名患有低，中和高儿童期虐待的无药成人（其中64名是女性），并采用了人际距离范式进行了测试，随后接受了社交触摸功能MRI任务，在此过程中他们对感觉缓慢的人进行了评估触摸（C触觉[CT]最佳速度； 5厘米/秒）和快速触摸（非CT最佳速度； 20厘米/秒）。结果与没有或有中度儿童虐待经历的参与者相比，儿童时期虐待程度较高的参与者更喜欢较大的人际距离并体验快速的触摸，因为舒适感较差。在神经水平上，患有严重儿童期虐待的参与者对右侧体感和后岛叶皮层的快速触摸表现出夸大的反应，这与较低的舒适度相关。严重的儿童期虐待与对缓慢触摸的反应导致右海马区激活减少有关。这种反应模式并未因儿童期虐待相关的灰质物质量的区域特异性减少而减慢或介导。结论研究发现表明，儿童期虐待程度较高与超敏反应有关，超敏反应以人际距离较大和快速触摸不适为特征。这些失调表现为感觉皮层反应过度和边缘CT相关的过度激活。这些结果可能说明为什么在儿童时期受到严重虐待的人在成年后对人际功能障碍和精神疾病的敏感性增加。