Associations between parental rearing style and amygdala and hippocampal subfield abnormalities in drug-naive females with anorexia nervosa.

Background: Altered volumes in the hippocampus and amygdala have been linked to anorexia nervosa (AN). This study aimed to investigate amygdala and hippocampal subfields volume abnormalities in AN patients, and their associations with parental rearing practices and clinical psychological characteristics.

Methods: This study included twenty-nine drug-naive females with AN from West China Hospital of Sichuan University, China, and fifty-nine age- and gender-matched healthy controls (HCs) recruited through advertisement. All participants underwent T1-weighted imaging. Amygdala and hippocampal subfields volume was calculated using FreeSurfer 7.0. The Core Self-Evaluation Scale (CSES) and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) were used to assess the psychological characteristics of AN patients. The Egna Minnen av Barndoms Uppfostran (EMBU) was employed to evaluate parental rearing practices. Group differences in brain volumes were analyzed with covariates like age and total intracranial volume (TIV). Partial correlation analysis explored the correlations between brain region volumes and clinical psychological characteristics.

Results: AN patients exhibited lower RSES and CSES scores, and more adverse parental rearing style than healthy norms. After adjusting for covariates, AN patients showed decreased gray matter volume (GMV) in the left medial (Me) and cortical (Co) nucleus, as well as in the right hippocampal-amygdala transition area (HATA). GMV in the left Me was correlated with years of education among HCs but not among AN patients. GMV in the right HATA was positively correlated with paternal penalty and severity, as well as maternal overinterference.

Conclusion: This study supports structure abnormalities in amygdala and hippocampus in AN patients and suggests that parental rearing practices may be associated with hippocampal abnormalities, potentially contributing to the pathophysiology of AN. Addressing appropriate parental rearing styles may offer a positive impact on AN.