Neural correlates of script-driven imagery in adolescents with interpersonal traumatic experiences: A pilot study

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Developmental Psychology

Background:

• Trauma imagery is established for studying psychological trauma processing in adults.
• Research on adolescent trauma processing using neuroimaging tasks is limited, with mixed results for other paradigms.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a trauma imagery paradigm with control scripts for assessing neural correlates of traumatic experiences in adolescents.
• To investigate the feasibility and specificity of this task for youth.

Main Methods:

• Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used in 15 adolescents with a history of interpersonal trauma and clinical symptoms.
• Participants listened to individualized trauma scripts and control scripts (positive/negative) during the fMRI scan.
• Parametric contrast analysis (trauma > negative > positive) was performed on imagery phases.

Main Results:

• The trauma imagery task revealed significant brain activity in the thalamus, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, cuneus, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, and amygdala.
• Amygdala activity positively correlated with depression symptom severity.
• Activated networks were specific to trauma imagery compared to other emotional situations.

Conclusions:

• fMRI during a trauma imagery task is feasible in adolescents, offering a method to investigate neural networks related to hyperarousal.
• This paradigm can specifically target trauma-related neural correlates and may be useful for evaluating treatment effects in adolescents, particularly for hyperarousal symptoms.