Alternation of psychological resilience may moderate mentalization toward mental health conditions from macro- and microstructure aspects

Yun-Hsuan Chang; Meng-Heng Yang; Cheng-Ta Yang; Joshua Goh; Sheng-Hsiang Lin; Shulan Hsieh

NeuroImage (Oct 2024)

Alternation of psychological resilience may moderate mentalization toward mental health conditions from macro- and microstructure aspects

Yun-Hsuan Chang,
Meng-Heng Yang,
Cheng-Ta Yang,
Joshua Goh,
Sheng-Hsiang Lin,
Shulan Hsieh

Affiliations

Yun-Hsuan Chang: Institute of Gerontology, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; Institute of Behavioral Medicine, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; Department of Psychology, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; Department of Psychiatry, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Douliu Branch, Yunlin, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Genomics and Bioinformatics, College of Life Sciences, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan; Corresponding authors.
Meng-Heng Yang: Department of Psychology, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
Cheng-Ta Yang: Department of Psychology, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; Institute of Allied Health Sciences, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; Department of Education and Humanities in Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
Joshua Goh: Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
Sheng-Hsiang Lin: Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; Department of Public Health, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; Biostatistics Consulting Center, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
Shulan Hsieh: Department of Psychology, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; Institute of Allied Health Sciences, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; Department of Public Health, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; Corresponding authors.

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 299
p. 120810

Abstract

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Objective: We aim to investigate the interplay between mentalization, brain microstructure, and psychological resilience as potential protective factors against mental illness. Method: Four hundred and twenty-six participants (mean age 40.12±16.95; 202 males, 224 females), without psychiatric or neurological history, completed assessments: Dissociative Process Scale (DPS), Peace of Mind (PoM), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Resilience Scale for Adults (RSA), and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) structures with selected regions of interest, and Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) maps from various tracts in the right hemisphere and connection to the frontal areas, including anterior thalamic radiation (ATR), Cingulum (hippocampus) (CH), Corticospinal tract (CST), Superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), Inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF), and Uncinate fasciculus (UF) were analyzed. Results: Two clusters, representing hypomentalization (HypoM) and hypermentalization (HyperM), were identified based on DPS, CPSS, and RFQ responses. One-way ANOVA showed no significant age or gender differences between clusters. The HypoM group exhibited lower PoM scores, higher BDI and BAI scores, and lower RSA scores (ps< 0.05). Structural brain metric comparison showed significant differences in GMV in the right caudal middle frontal gyrus (rcMFG), right superior frontal gyrus (rsFG), and right frontal pole (rFP) between groups. In addition, the HyperM individuals with a higher risk of depression and a higher ratio of intrapersonal to interpersonal factors of resilience were found with reduced GMV on the rcMFG. Additionally, analyses of DTI metrics revealed significant differences between two groups in rATR and rSLF in terms of fractional anisotropy (FA) values; rATR, rCST, rUF, rSLF, rCH and rIFOF in terms of mean diffusivity (MD) values, and radial diffusivity (RD) (corrected p = 0.05). Moreover, the positive correlation between different domains of resilience and white matter (WM) integrity implied further enhancement of intrapersonal or interpersonal resilience factors that are different for people with different mentalization. Conclusions: The findings underscore the importance of considering both intrapersonal and interpersonal factors in understanding the interactions between psychological resilience and mental health conditions relevant to brain mechanisms.

Published in NeuroImage

ISSN: 1053-8119 (Print); 1095-9572 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United States
LCC subjects: Medicine: Internal medicine: Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry
Website: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/neuroimage

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