The purpose of this study is to investigate the relations among childhood trauma, trajectories of EEG functional connectivity, and risk for AUD and PTSD in adolescence and young adulthood. Using data from COGA, a multi-site study of extended families densely affected with alcohol-related problems (Agrawal et al., 2023; Meyers et al., 2023), we examined associations between childhood trauma, longitudinal EEGc trajectories, and downstream associations between EEGc and alcohol and trauma-related outcomes (i.e. PTSD symptoms) in COGA's prospective study of adolescent and young adult offspring. We hypothesized that childhood trauma would be associated with differences in frontal alpha EEGc, with the most robust effects observed for those individuals with history of childhood sexual assault. We also expected that these differences in functional connectivity would be associated with increased AUD and PTSD symptoms. We hope findings increase understanding of long-term effects of childhood trauma on neural functioning and psychiatric and behavioral outcomes, enhance knowledge of biological mechanisms by which trauma influences outcomes, and advance work towards novel opportunities for intervention targets.
