Anomalous gray matter structural networks in recent onset post-traumatic stress disorder

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Network Science

Background:

• Understanding the neural underpinnings of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is crucial for developing effective treatments.
• Structural brain network alterations in recent-onset PTSD, especially following mass trauma, remain incompletely understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate brain structural network organization in recent-onset PTSD patients following a coalmine-flood disaster.
• To identify specific regional and global network differences between PTSD patients and healthy controls.

Main Methods:

• Utilized graph theoretical approaches to analyze cortical networks in 15 recent-onset PTSD patients and 25 healthy controls.
• Constructed and quantified networks by thresholding correlation matrices of 150 cortical regions.
• Examined global network properties (path length, clustering) and nodal measures (degree, betweenness).

Main Results:

• PTSD patients displayed altered global network properties, including shorter path length and higher clustering compared to controls.
• Decreased connectivity was observed in several regions, including the right lingual gyrus, parahippocampal gyrus, and frontal gyri.
• Nodal centrality reductions were prominent in occipital and default-mode regions, while medial temporal lobe and posterior cingulate cortex showed increased centrality.

Conclusions:

• PTSD-related brain networks exhibit less efficient organization and altered regional connectivity.
• Regional connections involving fear-processing and re-experiential-processing cortices may be critical in the maintenance or adaptation of PTSD pathology.
• These findings provide insights into the neurobiological mechanisms underlying PTSD.