A coordinate‐based meta‐analytic model of trauma processing in posttraumatic stress disorder

Abstract

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has a well-defined set of symptoms that can be elicited during traumatic imagery tasks. For this reason, trauma imagery tasks are often employed in functional neuroimaging studies. Here, coordinate-based meta-analysis (CBM) was used to pool eight studies applying traumatic imagery tasks to identify sites of task-induced activation in 170 PTSD patients and 104 healthy controls. In this way, right anterior cingulate (ACC), right posterior cingulate (PCC) and left precuneus (Pcun) were identified as regions uniquely active in PTSD patients relative to healthy controls. To further characterize these regions, their normal interactions, and their typical functional roles, meta-analytic connectivity modeling (MACM) with behavioral filtering was applied. MACM indicated that the PCC and Pcun regions were frequently co-active and associated with processing of cognitive information, particularly in explicit memory tasks. Emotional processing was particularly associated with co-activity of the ACC and PCC, as mediated by the thalamus. By narrowing the regions of interest to those commonly active across multiple studies (using CBM), and developing a priori hypotheses about directed probabilistic dependencies amongst these regions, this proposed model – when applied in the context of graphical and causal modeling – should improve model fit and thereby increase statistical power for detecting differences between subject groups and between treatments in neuroimaging studies of PTSD.

Elevated stress is associated with prefrontal cortex dysfunction during a verbal memory task in women with HIV

“…Consistent with our findings, studies in individuals with PTSD or other stress-related disorders demonstrate hypoactivity in the medial PFC and posterior cingulate cortex during cognitive tasks (Bremner, 2007; Bremner et al , 1999; Patel et al , 2012; Ramage et al , 2013; Shin et al , 2006). In contrast to studies of individuals with PTSD (Bremner, 2007; Chen et al , 2009; Geuze et al , 2008; Shin et al , 2004), we did not find stress-related differences during recognition in the medial temporal lobe or in other PFC regions including the dorsolateral PFC, inferior frontal gyrus, and anterior cingulate.…”

Neuroscience-Informed Cognitive-Affective Training Interventions for Mood and Anxiety Disorders

“…Similarly in patients with BD, hyperactivation is observed in the amygdala/hippocampus complex, the putamen, and the thalamus, with hypoactivation in lateral PFC regions [54]. A similar pattern of increased limbic hyperactivation with prefrontal underengagement has been reported across anxiety disorders [55][56][57].…”

“…Regardless of condition, individuals with MDD demonstrate hyperactivity notably in the thalamus, the amygdala/hippocampal complex, and the ventral striatum [52][53][54][55]. In contrast, concurrent hypoactivity has been observed in lateral PFC structures, particularly during the processing of affective information [56]; this is believed to contribute to the impaired cognitive control and perseverative thinking symptoms observed. Similarly in patients with BD, hyperactivation is observed in the amygdala/hippocampus complex, the putamen, and the thalamus, with hypoactivation in lateral PFC regions [54].…”

Early life stress predicts thalamic hyperconnectivity: A transdiagnostic study of global connectivity

“…Altered thalamic connectivity has also been found in PTSD. Ramage et al (2013) conducted a meta-analysis of trauma processing in PTSD and found important thalamic mediation of emotional processing in PTSD. Zhong et al (2014) found increased localized subcortical connectivity inclusive of the thalamus, and Lanius et al (2005) reported increased connectivity between the ventrolateral thalamus and frontal regions, and between the DMN and insular cortex, during PTSD-related dissociation symptoms.…”