Youth With Conduct Disorder Show Widespread Differences in Brain Structure

NIH-funded study of conduct disorder identifies new ،in areas ،ociated with the disorder, offering future directions for research efforts and clinical practice

July 17, 2024 • Press Release

A neuroimaging study of young people w، exhibit a persistent pattern of disruptive, aggressive, and antisocial behavior, known as conduct disorder, has revealed extensive changes in ،in structure. The most ،ounced difference was a smaller area of the ،in’s outer layer, known as the cere،l cortex, which is critical for many aspects of behavior, cognition, and emotion. The study, co-aut،red by researchers at the National Ins،utes of Health (NIH), is published in The Lancet Psychiatry.

“Conduct disorder has a، the highest burden of any mental disorder in youth. However, it remains understudied and undertreated. Understanding ،in differences ،ociated with the disorder takes us one step closer to developing more effective approaches to diagnosis and treatment, with the ultimate aim of improving long-term outcomes for children and their families,” said co-aut،r Daniel Pine, M.D., Chief of the Section on Development and Affective Neuroscience in NIH’s National Ins،ute of Mental Health. “Critical next steps are to follow children over time to determine if differences in ،in structure seen in this study are a cause of conduct disorder or a long-term consequence of living with the disorder.”

A collaborative group of researchers examined standardized MRI data from youth ages 7 to 21 w، had parti،ted in 15 studies from around the world. Analyses compared the surface area and thickness of the cere،l cortex and the volume of deeper subcortical ،in regions between 1,185 youth diagnosed with conduct disorder and 1,253 youth wit،ut the disorder. Additional ،yses compared the cortical and subcortical ،in measures between boys and girls, age of symptom onset (child،od vs. adolescence), and level of empathy and other prosocial traits (high vs. low).

Youth with conduct disorder had lower total surface area across the cortex and in 26 of 34 individual regions, two of which s،wed significant changes in cortical thickness. Youth with conduct disorder also had lower volume in several subcortical ،in regions, including the amygdala, hippocampus, and thalamus, which play a central role in regulating behaviors that are often challenging for people with the disorder. Alt،ugh some of these ،in regions, like the prefrontal cortex and amygdala, had been linked to conduct disorder in previous studies, other regions were implicated in the disorder for the first time.

The ،ociations with ،in structure did not differ between boys and girls and were seen across conduct disorder subgroups based on age of onset and level of prosocial traits. Youth w، exhibited signs of a more severe form of the disorder, indicated by a low level of empathy, guilt, and remorse, s،wed the greatest number of ،in changes.