Complex post-traumatic stress disorder moderates functional connectivity in people with psychosis

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Altered functional connectivity in default mode (DMN), salience (SAL), and central executive (CEN) networks is observed in psychosis.
• Traumatic life experiences influence functional connectivity in psychosis.
• Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (cPTSD) is associated with trauma histories in psychosis, but its impact on functional dysconnectivity is unexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate functional connectivity differences in schizophrenia spectrum disorders with and without comorbid cPTSD.
• To explore the relationship between cPTSD symptom severity and network connectivity.

Main Methods:

• Resting-state fMRI was used to compare functional connectivity in schizophrenia patients with (N=106) and without comorbid cPTSD.
• Connectivity was assessed within and between the DMN, SAL, and CEN.
• Correlations examined the link between cPTSD symptom severity and connectivity.

Main Results:

• The cPTSD group showed reduced intra-network connectivity (DMN, SAL, CEN) and increased anti-correlation between SAL and CEN.
• The control group exhibited decreased connectivity between DMN, SAL, and CEN.
• PTSD symptoms correlated with intra-SAL and DMN-SAL connectivity, while DSO symptoms related to intra-SAL and DMN-CEN connectivity.

Conclusions:

• Findings support the tripartite network model of psychopathology involving DMN, SAL, and CEN dysconnectivity.
• Intra-network dysconnectivity in psychosis may be linked to post-traumatic sequelae.
• Inter-network dysconnectivity might be more characteristic of trauma-unrelated psychoses.