Altered Resting-State functional connectivity in the anterior and posterior hippocampus in Post-traumatic stress disorder: The central role of the anterior hippocampus
Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder can be viewed as a memory disorder, with trauma-related flashbacks being a core symptom. Given the central role of the hippocampus in autobiographical memory, surprisingly, there is mixed evidence concerning altered hippocampal functional connectivity in PT...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-01-01
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| Series: | NeuroImage: Clinical |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213158223001067 |
| _version_ | 1797803945581608960 |
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| author | Mohammad Chaposhloo Andrew A. Nicholson Suzanna Becker Margaret C. McKinnon Ruth Lanius Saurabh Bhaskar Shaw |
| author_facet | Mohammad Chaposhloo Andrew A. Nicholson Suzanna Becker Margaret C. McKinnon Ruth Lanius Saurabh Bhaskar Shaw |
| author_sort | Mohammad Chaposhloo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder can be viewed as a memory disorder, with trauma-related flashbacks being a core symptom. Given the central role of the hippocampus in autobiographical memory, surprisingly, there is mixed evidence concerning altered hippocampal functional connectivity in PTSD. We shed light on this discrepancy by considering the distinct roles of the anterior versus posterior hippocampus and examine how this distinction may map onto whole-brain resting-state functional connectivity patterns among those with and without PTSD. Methods: We first assessed whole-brain between-group differences in the functional connectivity profiles of the anterior and posterior hippocampus within a publicly available data set of resting-state fMRI data from 31 male Vietnam war veterans diagnosed with PTSD (mean age = 67.6 years, sd = 2.3) and 29 age-matched combat-exposed male controls (age = 69.1 years, sd = 3.5). Next, the connectivity patterns of each subject within the PTSD group were correlated with their PTSD symptom scores. Finally, the between-group differences in whole-brain functional connectivity profiles discovered for the anterior and posterior hippocampal seeds were used to prescribe post-hoc ROIs, which were then used to perform ROI-to-ROI functional connectivity and graph-theoretic analyses. Results: The PTSD group showed increased functional connectivity of the anterior hippocampus with affective brain regions (anterior/posterior insula, orbitofrontal cortex, temporal pole) and decreased functional connectivity of the anterior/posterior hippocampus with regions involved in processing bodily self-consciousness (supramarginal gyrus). Notably, decreased anterior hippocampus connectivity with the posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus was associated with increased PTSD symptom severity. The left anterior hippocampus also emerged as a central locus of abnormal functional connectivity, with graph-theoretic measures suggestive of a more central hub-like role for this region in those with PTSD compared to trauma-exposed controls. Conclusions: Our results highlight that the anterior hippocampus plays a critical role in the neurocircuitry underlying PTSD and underscore the importance of the differential roles of hippocampal sub-regions in serving as biomarkers of PTSD. Future studies should investigate whether the differential patterns of functional connectivity stemming from hippocampal sub-regions is observed in PTSD populations other than older war veterans. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T05:28:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ab5f8749576c4f8e98851d9e9d03a84c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2213-1582 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T05:28:40Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | NeuroImage: Clinical |
| spelling | doaj.art-ab5f8749576c4f8e98851d9e9d03a84c2023-06-15T04:55:55ZengElsevierNeuroImage: Clinical2213-15822023-01-0138103417Altered Resting-State functional connectivity in the anterior and posterior hippocampus in Post-traumatic stress disorder: The central role of the anterior hippocampusMohammad Chaposhloo0Andrew A. Nicholson1Suzanna Becker2Margaret C. McKinnon3Ruth Lanius4Saurabh Bhaskar Shaw5Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, CanadaDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; Department of Medical Biophysics, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada; Atlas Institute for Veterans and Families, Institute of Mental Health Research, University of Ottawa, Royal Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; School of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, CanadaDepartment of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; Homewood Research Institute, Guelph, Ontario, Canada; Mood Disorders Program, St. Joseph’s Healthcare, Hamilton, Ontario, CanadaDepartment of Psychiatry, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada; Department of Neuroscience, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada; Imaging Division, Lawson Health Research Institute, London, Ontario, CanadaVector Institute for Artificial Intelligence, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Homewood Research Institute, Guelph, Ontario, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada; Corresponding author at: Department of Psychiatry, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder can be viewed as a memory disorder, with trauma-related flashbacks being a core symptom. Given the central role of the hippocampus in autobiographical memory, surprisingly, there is mixed evidence concerning altered hippocampal functional connectivity in PTSD. We shed light on this discrepancy by considering the distinct roles of the anterior versus posterior hippocampus and examine how this distinction may map onto whole-brain resting-state functional connectivity patterns among those with and without PTSD. Methods: We first assessed whole-brain between-group differences in the functional connectivity profiles of the anterior and posterior hippocampus within a publicly available data set of resting-state fMRI data from 31 male Vietnam war veterans diagnosed with PTSD (mean age = 67.6 years, sd = 2.3) and 29 age-matched combat-exposed male controls (age = 69.1 years, sd = 3.5). Next, the connectivity patterns of each subject within the PTSD group were correlated with their PTSD symptom scores. Finally, the between-group differences in whole-brain functional connectivity profiles discovered for the anterior and posterior hippocampal seeds were used to prescribe post-hoc ROIs, which were then used to perform ROI-to-ROI functional connectivity and graph-theoretic analyses. Results: The PTSD group showed increased functional connectivity of the anterior hippocampus with affective brain regions (anterior/posterior insula, orbitofrontal cortex, temporal pole) and decreased functional connectivity of the anterior/posterior hippocampus with regions involved in processing bodily self-consciousness (supramarginal gyrus). Notably, decreased anterior hippocampus connectivity with the posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus was associated with increased PTSD symptom severity. The left anterior hippocampus also emerged as a central locus of abnormal functional connectivity, with graph-theoretic measures suggestive of a more central hub-like role for this region in those with PTSD compared to trauma-exposed controls. Conclusions: Our results highlight that the anterior hippocampus plays a critical role in the neurocircuitry underlying PTSD and underscore the importance of the differential roles of hippocampal sub-regions in serving as biomarkers of PTSD. Future studies should investigate whether the differential patterns of functional connectivity stemming from hippocampal sub-regions is observed in PTSD populations other than older war veterans.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213158223001067PTSDHippocampusFunctional connectivityResting-state fMRIGraph theoryHub |
| spellingShingle | Mohammad Chaposhloo Andrew A. Nicholson Suzanna Becker Margaret C. McKinnon Ruth Lanius Saurabh Bhaskar Shaw Altered Resting-State functional connectivity in the anterior and posterior hippocampus in Post-traumatic stress disorder: The central role of the anterior hippocampus NeuroImage: Clinical PTSD Hippocampus Functional connectivity Resting-state fMRI Graph theory Hub |
| title | Altered Resting-State functional connectivity in the anterior and posterior hippocampus in Post-traumatic stress disorder: The central role of the anterior hippocampus |
| title_full | Altered Resting-State functional connectivity in the anterior and posterior hippocampus in Post-traumatic stress disorder: The central role of the anterior hippocampus |
| title_fullStr | Altered Resting-State functional connectivity in the anterior and posterior hippocampus in Post-traumatic stress disorder: The central role of the anterior hippocampus |
| title_full_unstemmed | Altered Resting-State functional connectivity in the anterior and posterior hippocampus in Post-traumatic stress disorder: The central role of the anterior hippocampus |
| title_short | Altered Resting-State functional connectivity in the anterior and posterior hippocampus in Post-traumatic stress disorder: The central role of the anterior hippocampus |
| title_sort | altered resting state functional connectivity in the anterior and posterior hippocampus in post traumatic stress disorder the central role of the anterior hippocampus |
| topic | PTSD Hippocampus Functional connectivity Resting-state fMRI Graph theory Hub |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213158223001067 |
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