PTSD and cognitive symptoms relate to inhibition-related prefrontal activation and functional connectivity
Year: 2017
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with reduced executive functioning and verbal memory performance, as well as abnormal task-specific activity in prefrontal cortex (PFC) and anterior cingulate cortices (ACC). The current study examined how PTSD symptoms and neuropsychological performance in combat veterans relates to (1) medial PFC and ACC activity during cognitive inhibition, and (2) task-independent PFC functional connectivity. METHODS: Thirty-nine male combat veterans with varying levels of PTSD symptoms completed the multisource interference task during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Robust regression analyses were used to assess relationships between percent signal change (PSC: incongruent-congruent) and both PTSD severity and neuropsychological performance. Analyses were conducted voxel-wise and for PSC extracted from medial PFC and ACC regions of interest. Resting-state scans were available for veterans with PTSD. Regions identified via task-based analyses were used as seeds for resting-state connectivity analyses. RESULTS: Worse PTSD severity and neuropsychological performance related to less medial PFC and rostral ACC activity during interference processing, driven partly by increased activation to congruent trials. Worse PTSD severity related to reduced functional connectivity between these regions and bilateral, lateral PFC (Brodmann area 10). Worse neuropsychological performance related to reduced functional connectivity between these regions and the inferior frontal gyrus. CONCLUSIONS: PTSD and associated neuropsychological deficits may result from difficulties regulating medial PFC regions associated with "default mode," or self-referential processing. Further clarification of functional coupling deficits between default mode and executive control networks in PTSD may enhance understanding of neuropsychological and emotional symptoms and provide novel treatment targets.
Source: Depression and Anxiety
DOI: 10.1002/da.22613
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funders: American Cancer Society, University of Missouri, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Mental Health, National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Center for Research Resources, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences
Awards: (PQA3) NEURAL PREDICTORS OF SELF-REGULATION OF SMOKING URGES AT A STRESSFUL MOMEN, G5900277370, University of Kansas Alzheimer's Disease Core Centers, Approach-Avoidance Conflict-a multi-level predictor for exposure therapy response, Heartland Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, Neuroimaging studies of reward, impulsivity, and adherence to an exercise program, Siemens Magnetom Verio MRI Scanner
OpenAlex ID: W2600286291