Extended functional connectivity of convergent structural alterations among individuals with PTSD: a neuroimaging meta-analysis
Open Access
- 13 September 2022
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Behavioral and Brain Functions
- Vol. 18 (1), 1-16
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s12993-022-00196-2
Abstract
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating disorder defined by the onset of intrusive, avoidant, negative cognitive or affective, and/or hyperarousal symptoms after witnessing or experiencing a traumatic event. Previous voxel-based morphometry studies have provided insight into structural brain alterations associated with PTSD with notable heterogeneity across these studies. Furthermore, how structural alterations may be associated with brain function, as measured by task-free and task-based functional connectivity, remains to be elucidated. Using emergent meta-analytic techniques, we sought to first identify a consensus of structural alterations in PTSD using the anatomical likelihood estimation (ALE) approach. Next, we generated functional profiles of identified convergent structural regions utilizing resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) and meta-analytic co-activation modeling (MACM) methods. Finally, we performed functional decoding to examine mental functions associated with our ALE, rsFC, and MACM brain characterizations. We observed convergent structural alterations in a single region located in the medial prefrontal cortex. The resultant rsFC and MACM maps identified functional connectivity across a widespread, whole-brain network that included frontoparietal and limbic regions. Functional decoding revealed overlapping associations with attention, memory, and emotion processes. Consensus-based functional connectivity was observed in regions of the default mode, salience, and central executive networks, which play a role in the tripartite model of psychopathology. Taken together, these findings have important implications for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms associated with PTSD.Keywords
Funding Information
- National Institutes of Health (R01 DA041353, U01 DA041156)
- National Science Foundation (1631325)
This publication has 101 references indexed in Scilit:
- Activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis revisitedNeuroImage, 2012
- Large-scale automated synthesis of human functional neuroimaging dataNature Methods, 2011
- Comparison of the disparity between Talairach and MNI coordinates in functional neuroimaging data: Validation of the Lancaster transformNeuroImage, 2010
- Saliency, switching, attention and control: a network model of insula functionBrain Structure and Function, 2010
- Meta-analysis of neuroimaging data: A comparison of image-based and coordinate-based pooling of studiesNeuroImage, 2009
- Coordinate‐based activation likelihood estimation meta‐analysis of neuroimaging data: A random‐effects approach based on empirical estimates of spatial uncertaintyHuman Brain Mapping, 2009
- Evidence for Acquired Pregenual Anterior Cingulate Gray Matter Loss from a Twin Study of Combat-Related Posttraumatic Stress DisorderBiological Psychiatry, 2008
- Functional Neuroimaging of Anxiety: A Meta-Analysis of Emotional Processing in PTSD, Social Anxiety Disorder, and Specific PhobiaAmerican Journal of Psychiatry, 2007
- Distinct brain networks for adaptive and stable task control in humansProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2007
- Bias between MNI and Talairach coordinates analyzed using the ICBM‐152 brain templateHuman Brain Mapping, 2007