Second, because this study is cross-sectional, we are unable to establish chronological relationships which could be leveraged to inform whether blunted reward-related VS reactivity predates early life adversity exposure or whether this exposure may have long-lasting effects on VS development and function. Thus, it is important to note that although mediational models may suggest a direction of effect, due to the cross-sectional design of the current study we are unable to determine if variability on one variable precedes variability in another. Notably, we did not observe a direct association between ELS and VS reactivity to reward (left VS: p = 0.31; right VS: p = 0.84; bilateral VS: p = 0.72), which is inconsistent with prior literature showing direct associations between early life adversity and blunted neural response to reward (e.g. Dillon et al. 2009; Mehta et al. 2010). This inconsistency may arise from the experience of less extreme trauma in the present sample as well as different imaging tasks and regions of interest.
