Different white matter abnormalities between the first-episode, treatment-naive patients with posttraumatic stress disorder and generalized anxiety disorder without comorbid conditions

Zhang, Li; Zhang, Yan; Li, Lingjiang; Li, Zexuan; Li, Weihui; Ma, Ning; Hou, Cai‐Lan; Zhang, Zhijun; Zhang, Zhiqiang; Wang, Lifeng; Duan, Lian; Lu, Guangming

doi:10.1016/j.jad.2011.03.040

Cited by 68 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…Abe et al (2006) observed increased FA in anterior aspects of the cingulum bundle in individuals with PTSD involved in a sarin attack. Zhang et al (2011) found that participants with PTSD associated with a coal mine accident demonstrated higher FA in white matter tracts by the superior frontal gyrus, as compared with non-psychiatric controls.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…The majority of this research has targeted populations with acute and/or focal trauma, (Abe et al, 2006;Kim et al, 2005Kim et al, , 2006Zhang et al, 2011), which may limit relevance to highly traumatized populations. In addition, given that only two DTI studies of PTSD samples included traumatized controls (TCs) (Abe et al, 2006;Schuff et al, 2011), most studies were not equipped to differentiate trauma vs PTSD-specific effects on white matter architecture.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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White Matter Integrity in Highly Traumatized Adults With and Without Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Fani

King

Jovanović

et al. 2012

Neuropsychopharmacol

112

113

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Prior structural imaging studies of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have observed smaller volumes of the hippocampus and cingulate cortex, yet little is known about the integrity of white matter connections between these structures in PTSD samples. The few published studies using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to measure white matter integrity in PTSD have described individuals with focal trauma rather than chronically stressed individuals, which limits generalization of findings to this population; in addition, these studies have lacked traumatized comparison groups without PTSD. The present DTI study examined microstructural integrity of white matter tracts in a sample of highly traumatized African-American women with (n ¼ 25) and without (n ¼ 26) PTSD using a tract-based spatial statistical approach, with threshold-free cluster enhancement. Our findings indicated that, relative to comparably traumatized controls, decreased integrity (measured by fractional anisotropy) of the posterior cingulum was observed in participants with PTSD (po0.05). These findings indicate that reduced microarchitectural integrity of the cingulum, a white matter fiber that connects the entorhinal and cingulate cortices, appears to be associated with PTSD symptomatology. The role of this pathway in problems that characterize PTSD, such as inadequate extinction of learned fear, as well as attention and explicit memory functions, are discussed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

White Matter Integrity in Highly Traumatized Adults With and Without Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Fani

King

Jovanović

et al. 2012

Neuropsychopharmacol

112

113

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“…For example, according to the quantitative meta-analysis by Daniels and colleagues 18 on whole-brain DTI studies, PTSD was associated with both increased and decreased FA at different locations in the left superior longitudinal fasciculus and at different locations in the bilateral cingulum. These mixed findings may be due to different study designs: patients with PTSD were compared with trauma-exposed 14,[19][20][21] or non-trauma-exposed [22][23][24] controls, although trauma-exposure has been found to alter tract integrity. 25 Additionally, both male and female patients have been included in the same studies, 19,[22][23][24] without specifically investigating or accounting for possible differential effects of sex on tract integrity.…”

Section: J Psychiatry Neurosci 2017;42(5)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These mixed findings may be due to different study designs: patients with PTSD were compared with trauma-exposed 14,[19][20][21] or non-trauma-exposed [22][23][24] controls, although trauma-exposure has been found to alter tract integrity. 25 Additionally, both male and female patients have been included in the same studies, 19,[22][23][24] without specifically investigating or accounting for possible differential effects of sex on tract integrity. 26 Therefore, in the present study, we investigated the integrity of several candidate major white matter tracts (i.e., uncinate fasciculus, cingulum bundle, and temporal and parietal projections of the superior longitudinal fasciculus) in patients with PTSD compared with trauma-exposed controls, including both male and female participants to account for potential sex differences.…”

Section: J Psychiatry Neurosci 2017;42(5)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Decreased uncinate fasciculus tract integrity in male

Koch

Zuiden

Nawijn

et al. 2017

JPN

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IntroductionApproximately 10% of trauma-exposed individuals have posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), 1 characterized by intrusions and avoidance of reminders of the traumatic event, altered cognitions and mood, and hyperarousal.2 The prevailing neurocircuitry model of PTSD postulates amygdala hyperactivity and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) hypoactivity.3,4 The amygdala plays a pivotal role in fear expression and salience processing, 5 whereas the vmPFC is important in top-down control over the fear response.6 Additionally, decreased resting-state functional connectivity between the amygdala and vmPFC has been observed in male patients with PTSD, possibly underlying diminished top-down prefrontal control over the fear response. White matter fibres, which make up more than 40% of total brain volume, 8 allow effective communication between (cortical and subcortical) brain areas. White matter integrity can be investigated noninvasively with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), which measures the direction and coherence of water diffusion within myelinated and nonmyelinated tissue. 9 The DTI metrics fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) are predominantly used to quantify white matter integrity: FA reflects the extent to which water diffusion is directionally restricted and represents axonal density and coherence, whereas MD (i.e., magnitude of overall diffusion) is sensitive (but not specific) to membrane integrity. 10,11 In line with the prevailing neurocircuitry model of PTSD, lower white matter integrity of tracts connecting the prefrontal cortex with limbic regions, including the cingulum bundle and uncinate fasciculus, has been associated with PTSD and its development. 12-14 The uncinate fasciculus connects the orbital, medial and lateral prefrontal cortex with rostral temporal areas, including the anterior temporal lobe, parahippocampal Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a disabling psychiatric disorder that has been associated with lower white matter integrity of tracts connecting the prefrontal cortex with limbic regions. However, previous diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) findings have been inconsistent, showing high variability in the exact location and direction of effects. Methods: We performed probabilistic tractography of the bilateral uncinate fasciculus, cingulum and superior longitudinal fasciculus (both temporal and parietal projections) in male and female police officers with and without PTSD. Results: We included 38 (21 men) police officers with and 39 (20 men) without PTSD in our analyses. Compared with trauma-exposed controls, patients with PTSD showed significantly higher mean diffusivity of the right uncinate fasciculus, the major white matter tract connecting the amygdala to the prefrontal cortex (p = 0.012). No other significant between-group or group × sex differences were observed. Mean diffusivity of the right uncinate fasciculus was positively associated with anxiety symptoms (r = 0.410, p = 0.013) in patients with PTSD as well as with amygdala activi...

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“…40 Another study of workers with PTSD after a coal mining accident found an increase of FA values in the left superior frontal gyrus compared with age-matched healthy controls, whereas GAD was associated with elevation of FA in the right postcentral gyrus relative to control levels, and FA was reduced in the right anterior cingulate gyrus of patients with PTSD compared with patients with GAD. 41 In young adults exposed to parental verbal abuse, analysis with TBSS identiˆed 3 white matter tract regions with signiˆcantly reduced FA: the left superior temporal gyrus andˆbers from the arcuate fasciculus, the left fusiform gyrus adjacent to the Decreased or increased FA in the cingulum bundle (33,(40)(41)(42) posterior part of the tail of the hippocampus and bers from the cingulum bundle, and the left body of the fornix. 42 In these areas, FA was strongly associated with the average parental verbal abuse scores and level of maternal verbal abuse.…”

Section: Anxiety Disordersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diffusion Tensor Imaging Analysis for Psychiatric Disorders

2013

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The pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders is complex and cannot be easily assessed by laboratory studies. DiŠusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a magnetic resonance imaging technique increasingly used for noninvasive and quantitative evaluation of abnormalities of the cerebral white matter because it provides exquisite details on tissue microstructures and also can perform sophisticated computer-based analyses. We review basic principles of DTI; methods of diŠusion tensor analysis; recent DTIˆndings in major psychiatric diseases, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, and anxiety disorder; and factors to keep in mind when interpreting the results of DTI analysis. We recommend the frequent use of DTI as a routine clinical protocol to assess white matter abnormalities in patients with psychiatric disorders.

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Different white matter abnormalities between the first-episode, treatment-naive patients with posttraumatic stress disorder and generalized anxiety disorder without comorbid conditions

Cited by 68 publications

References 54 publications

White Matter Integrity in Highly Traumatized Adults With and Without Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

White Matter Integrity in Highly Traumatized Adults With and Without Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Decreased uncinate fasciculus tract integrity in male

Diffusion Tensor Imaging Analysis for Psychiatric Disorders

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