Amygdala functional connectivity in the acute aftermath of trauma prospectively predicts severity of posttraumatic stress symptoms

Understanding neural mechanisms that confer risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is critical for earlier intervention, yet longitudinal work has been sparse. The amygdala is part of a core network consistently implicated in PTSD symptomology. Most neural models of PTSD have focused on the a...

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Main Authors: Emily L. Belleau, Lauren E. Ehret, Jessica L. Hanson, Karen J. Brasel, Christine L. Larson, Terri A. deRoon-Cassini
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2020-05-01
Series:Neurobiology of Stress
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352289520300072
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author Emily L. Belleau
Lauren E. Ehret
Jessica L. Hanson
Karen J. Brasel
Christine L. Larson
Terri A. deRoon-Cassini
author_facet Emily L. Belleau
Lauren E. Ehret
Jessica L. Hanson
Karen J. Brasel
Christine L. Larson
Terri A. deRoon-Cassini
author_sort Emily L. Belleau
collection DOAJ
description Understanding neural mechanisms that confer risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is critical for earlier intervention, yet longitudinal work has been sparse. The amygdala is part of a core network consistently implicated in PTSD symptomology. Most neural models of PTSD have focused on the amygdala's interactions with the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and hippocampus. However, an increasing number of studies have linked PTSD symptoms to aberrations in amygdala functional connections with other brain regions involved in emotional information processing, self-referential processing, somatosensory processing, visual processing, and motor control. In the current study, trauma-exposed individuals (N = 54) recruited from the emergency department completed a resting state fMRI scan as well as a script-driven trauma recall fMRI task scan two-weeks post-trauma along with demographic, PTSD, and other clinical symptom questionnaires two-weeks and six-months post-trauma. We examined whether amygdala-whole brain functional connectivity (FC) during rest and task could predict six-month post-trauma PTSD symptoms. More negative amygdala-cerebellum and amygdala-postcentral gyrus FC during rest as well as more negative amygdala-postcentral gyrus and amygdala-midcingulate cortex during recall of the trauma memory predicted six-month post-trauma PTSD after controlling for scanner type. Follow-up multiple regression sensitivity analyses controlling for several other relevant predictors of PTSD symptoms, revealed that amygdala-cerebellum FC during rest and amygdala-postcentral gyrus FC during trauma recall were particularly robust predictors of six-month PTSD symptoms. The results extend cross-sectional studies implicating abnormal FC of the amygdala with other brain regions involved in somatosensory processing, motor control, and emotional information processing in PTSD, to the prospective prediction of risk for chronic PTSD. This work may contribute to earlier identification of at-risk individuals and elucidate potential intervention targets.
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spelling doaj.art-69717ff998624b6384c53670cfda216c2022-12-22T01:08:34ZengElsevierNeurobiology of Stress2352-28952020-05-0112Amygdala functional connectivity in the acute aftermath of trauma prospectively predicts severity of posttraumatic stress symptomsEmily L. Belleau0Lauren E. Ehret1Jessica L. Hanson2Karen J. Brasel3Christine L. Larson4Terri A. deRoon-Cassini5McLean Hospital, Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Research, Belmont, MA, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Corresponding author. Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, 115 Mill Street, de Marneffe Building, Room 233A, Belmont, MA, 02478.Rogers Behavioral Health, Minneapolis, MN, USAUniversity of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Department of Psychology, Milwaukee, WI, USAOregon Health and Science University, Department of Surgery, Portland, OR, USAUniversity of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Department of Psychology, Milwaukee, WI, USAMedical College of Wisconsin, Department of Surgery, Division of Trauma & Acute Care Surgery, Milwaukee, WI, USAUnderstanding neural mechanisms that confer risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is critical for earlier intervention, yet longitudinal work has been sparse. The amygdala is part of a core network consistently implicated in PTSD symptomology. Most neural models of PTSD have focused on the amygdala's interactions with the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and hippocampus. However, an increasing number of studies have linked PTSD symptoms to aberrations in amygdala functional connections with other brain regions involved in emotional information processing, self-referential processing, somatosensory processing, visual processing, and motor control. In the current study, trauma-exposed individuals (N = 54) recruited from the emergency department completed a resting state fMRI scan as well as a script-driven trauma recall fMRI task scan two-weeks post-trauma along with demographic, PTSD, and other clinical symptom questionnaires two-weeks and six-months post-trauma. We examined whether amygdala-whole brain functional connectivity (FC) during rest and task could predict six-month post-trauma PTSD symptoms. More negative amygdala-cerebellum and amygdala-postcentral gyrus FC during rest as well as more negative amygdala-postcentral gyrus and amygdala-midcingulate cortex during recall of the trauma memory predicted six-month post-trauma PTSD after controlling for scanner type. Follow-up multiple regression sensitivity analyses controlling for several other relevant predictors of PTSD symptoms, revealed that amygdala-cerebellum FC during rest and amygdala-postcentral gyrus FC during trauma recall were particularly robust predictors of six-month PTSD symptoms. The results extend cross-sectional studies implicating abnormal FC of the amygdala with other brain regions involved in somatosensory processing, motor control, and emotional information processing in PTSD, to the prospective prediction of risk for chronic PTSD. This work may contribute to earlier identification of at-risk individuals and elucidate potential intervention targets.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352289520300072AmygdalaPosttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)Functional connectivityTraumaLongitudinal study
spellingShingle Emily L. Belleau
Lauren E. Ehret
Jessica L. Hanson
Karen J. Brasel
Christine L. Larson
Terri A. deRoon-Cassini
Amygdala functional connectivity in the acute aftermath of trauma prospectively predicts severity of posttraumatic stress symptoms
Neurobiology of Stress
Amygdala
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Functional connectivity
Trauma
Longitudinal study
title Amygdala functional connectivity in the acute aftermath of trauma prospectively predicts severity of posttraumatic stress symptoms
title_full Amygdala functional connectivity in the acute aftermath of trauma prospectively predicts severity of posttraumatic stress symptoms
title_fullStr Amygdala functional connectivity in the acute aftermath of trauma prospectively predicts severity of posttraumatic stress symptoms
title_full_unstemmed Amygdala functional connectivity in the acute aftermath of trauma prospectively predicts severity of posttraumatic stress symptoms
title_short Amygdala functional connectivity in the acute aftermath of trauma prospectively predicts severity of posttraumatic stress symptoms
title_sort amygdala functional connectivity in the acute aftermath of trauma prospectively predicts severity of posttraumatic stress symptoms
topic Amygdala
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Functional connectivity
Trauma
Longitudinal study
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352289520300072
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