A biobank for complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD) and PTSD: study protocol for a cross-sectional study

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Genetics

Background:

• Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD) is a severe mental illness with distinct symptoms beyond classic PTSD.
• Emerging evidence suggests unique neurobiological profiles for C-PTSD, necessitating comprehensive investigation.
• Current understanding of C-PTSD neurobiology remains limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the neural mechanisms underlying C-PTSD.
• To identify distinct and shared brain alterations in C-PTSD versus PTSD.
• To establish a multimodal biobank for C-PTSD research.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study comparing C-PTSD, PTSD, and trauma-exposed controls.
• Utilizing structural, diffusion-weighted, resting-state, and task-based fMRI.
• Collecting blood for inflammatory markers and GWAS, psychosocial data, and actigraphy-derived physiological measures.

Main Results:

• Analysis of neuroimaging, inflammatory, genetic, and psychophysiological data is ongoing.
• Comparison of brain alterations between C-PTSD and PTSD groups.
• Identification of potential biomarkers for C-PTSD.

Conclusions:

• This multimodal approach addresses critical gaps in C-PTSD understanding.
• The study aims to identify neurobiological markers for C-PTSD diagnosis and targeted treatments.
• Findings may inform personalized intervention strategies for trauma-related outcomes.