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Updated: Jun 19, 2026

Developing Neuroimaging Phenotypes of the Default Mode Network in PTSD: Integrating the Resting State, Working Memory, and Structural Connectivity
Published on: July 1, 2014
Resting metabolic activity in the cingulate cortex and vulnerability to posttraumatic stress disorder
Lisa M Shin1, Natasha B Lasko, Michael L Macklin
1Department of Psychology, Tufts University, 490 Boston Ave, Medford, MA 02155, USA. lisa.shin@tufts.edu
Context:
Recent neuroimaging research has revealed functional abnormalities in the anterior cingulate cortex, amygdala, and hippocampus in individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Objective:
To determine whether resting functional abnormalities found in PTSD are acquired characteristics or familial risk factors.
Design:
Cross-sectional design including identical twins discordant for trauma exposure.
Setting:
Academic medical center.
Participants:
Combat-exposed veterans with PTSD (n = 14) and their identical co-twins not exposed to combat (n = 14) as well as combat-exposed veterans without PTSD (n = 19) and their identical co-twins not exposed to combat (n = 19).
Main Outcome Measures:
We used positron emission tomography and fluorodeoxyglucose 18 to examine resting regional cerebral metabolic rate for glucose (rCMRglu).
Results:
Veterans with PTSD and their co-twins had significantly higher resting rCMRglu in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex/midcingulate cortex (dACC/MCC) compared with veterans without PTSD and their co-twins. Resting rCMRglu in the dACC/MCC in unexposed co-twins was positively correlated with combat exposure severity, PTSD symptom severity, and alcohol use in their exposed twins.
Conclusions:
Enhanced resting metabolic activity in the dACC/MCC appears to represent a familial risk factor for developing PTSD after exposure to psychological trauma.
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