Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) represent a strong influence on the developing brain and profoundly affect corticolimbic circuits, thereby contributing to vulnerability for mental disorders. Indi Show more
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) represent a strong influence on the developing brain and profoundly affect corticolimbic circuits, thereby contributing to vulnerability for mental disorders. Individual differences in resilience-related behavior, such as physical activity, may mitigate these effects. This retrospective study examined whether self-reported lifetime physical activity (LPA) modulates the relationship between ACEs and resting-state functional connectivity (rs-FC) of key limbic regions among 75 adults (mean age = 31.8 years, 82.7% female). Interaction models (ACE × LPA) were constructed for seed-to-voxel analyses, using the amygdala, hippocampus, and anterior cingulate cortex as seeds. Significant clusters were extracted and subjected to moderation analyses, and the Johnson-Neyman technique was used to determine sample-specific LPA ranges where the association between ACEs and connectivity became statistically significant. Significant ACE × LPA interactions were observed across all 3 seed regions, with robust clusters located in subcortical-cerebellar, visual association, and motor networks. Across clusters, greater ACE exposure was associated with reduced connectivity at lower LPA levels but increased connectivity at high levels, indicating a crossover moderation pattern. The Johnson-Neyman technique identified LPA ranges (∼150-390 min/wk) where ACE effects on connectivity were statistically significant. LPA moderated the association between ACEs and rs-FC within emotion- and sensorimotor-related networks. Higher activity levels were linked to connectivity profiles consistent with potential neural resilience to early adversity. These findings highlight physical activity as a modifiable lifestyle factor associated with neurobiological adaptation following early adversity. Show less
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can cause morphological brain alterations across the lifespan, contributing to increased vulnerability to mental and physical disorders. Despite extensive research Show more
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can cause morphological brain alterations across the lifespan, contributing to increased vulnerability to mental and physical disorders. Despite extensive research on ACEs-related brain alterations, the protective or augmenting role of modifiable lifestyle factors such as physical activity has been largely underexplored, representing a key gap in our understanding of trauma-related neuroplasticity. To close this gap, we aimed to investigate how lifetime physical activity (LPA) influences the relationship between ACEs and morphological brain alterations. Moderation analyses using Hayes' PROCESS macro examined the interaction between ACEs and LPA on the volume of limbic system-related regions - hippocampus, amygdala, anterior cingulate cortex ( While LPA showed no moderating effect on hippocampal or anterior cingulate volume, the model concerning the volume of the amygdala was significant. This model explained 8.1% of the variance in amygdala volume ( Our findings underscore the behavioral dependency of the structural adaptations of the amygdala following childhood adversities. These results emphasize the therapeutic potential of incorporating physical activity into interventions for trauma-exposed individuals, offering a behavioral approach to mitigating stress-related neurobiological changes. Show less