The relationship between recent PTSD secondary to sexual assault, hippocampal volume and resting state functional connectivity in adolescent girls
Year: 2022
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Improved understanding of the time course of neural changes associated with adolescent PTSD would elucidate the development of the disorder and could inform approaches to treatment. We compared hippocampal volumes and resting state functional connectivity (RSFC) in adolescent girls with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) secondary to sexual assault, within six months of onset and age- and gender-matched, non-trauma exposed healthy controls (HCs) in São Paulo, Brazil. We also examined the relationship between pre- and post-treatment PTSD symptoms and RSFC. We collected brain structure, RSFC, and PTSD symptoms in 30 adolescents with PTSD (mean age: 15.7 ± 1.04 years) and 21 HCs (mean age: 16.2 ± 1.21 years) at baseline. We collected repeated measures in 21 participants with PTSD following treatment; 9 participants dropped out. Hippocampal volume and RSFC from hippocampal and default mode network (DMN) seeds were compared between participants with PTSD and HCs. We examined associations between within-subject changes in RSFC and PTSD symptoms following treatment. No hippocampal volumetric differences between groups were found. Compared to HCs, adolescents with recent PTSD had reduced RSFC between hippocampus and the lateral parietal node of the DMN, encompassing the angular gyrus, peak coordinates: −38, −54, 16; 116 voxels; peak F1,47 = 31.76; FDR corrected p = 0.038. Improvements in PTSD symptoms were associated with increased RSFC between hippocampus and part of the lateral parietal node of the DMN, peak coordinates: −38, −84, 38; 316 voxels; peak F1,47 = 40.28; FDR corrected p < 0.001. Adolescents with recent PTSD had reduced hippocampal-DMN RSFC, while no group differences in hippocampal volume were found, suggesting that hippocampal function, but not structure, is altered early in the course of PSTD. Following treatment, hippocampal-DMN RSFC increased with symptom improvement and may indicate an important neural mechanism related to successful PTSD treatment.
Source: Neurobiology of Stress
Authors: Tamara J. Sussman, Jonathan Posner, Andrea Parolin Jackowski, Adriana Correa, Elis Viviane Hoffmann, Fernanda Porto de Oliveira Peruzzi, Fernando Rodrigues Grecco, Samara Hipolito Nitzsche, Maria Eugenia Mesquita, Bernd Uwe Foester, Felipe Benatti di Cillo, Marcelo Feijo Mello, Ana Carolina Coelho Milani
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,390
Awards: Maternal adversity, inflammation, and neurodevelopment: How intergenerational processes perpetuate disadvantage in a low-resource setting, Posttraumatic stress disorder and neuroprogression: new approaches to understand the effects of violence on mental functioning, A longitudinal study of Puerto Rican children and the impact of adverse childhood experiences on the development of cognitive control and risk for substance use disorders, G5581379163, G8262246763, G8325359474
OpenAlex ID: W4214560099