How the body remembers: Examining the default mode and sensorimotor networks during moral injury autobiographical memory retrieval in PTSD

Kearney, Breanne E.; Terpou, Braeden A.; Densmore, Maria; Shaw, Saurabh Bhaskar; Théberge, Jean; Jetly, Rakesh; McKinnon, Margaret C.; Lanius, Ruth A.

doi:10.1016/j.nicl.2023.103426

Cited by 12 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 181 publications

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“…When controlling for spurious results using permutations and multiple comparisons, we found a set of hyper-colocalized regions belonging to occipital (visual), auditory, and motor cortices. These results mirror recent findings showing a hyper-connected somatomotor network in adults with PTSD while recalling morally injurious memories compared to controls who had experienced a potentially morally injurious event ( Kearney et al. 2023 ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

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The multiscale topological organization of the functional brain network in adolescent PTSD

Corredor,

Segobin,

Hinault

et al. 2024

Cerebral Cortex

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The experience of an extremely aversive event can produce enduring deleterious behavioral, and neural consequences, among which posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a representative example. Although adolescence is a period of great exposure to potentially traumatic events, the effects of trauma during adolescence remain understudied in clinical neuroscience. In this exploratory work, we aim to study the whole-cortex functional organization of 14 adolescents with PTSD using a data-driven method tailored to our population of interest. To do so, we built on the network neuroscience framework and specifically on multilayer (multisubject) community analysis to study the functional connectivity of the brain. We show, across different topological scales (the number of communities composing the cortex), a hyper-colocalization between regions belonging to occipital and pericentral regions and hypo-colocalization in middle temporal, posterior–anterior medial, and frontal cortices in the adolescent PTSD group compared to a nontrauma exposed group of adolescents. These preliminary results raise the question of an altered large-scale cortical organization in adolescent PTSD, opening an interesting line of research for future investigations.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

“…Because of the small sample size in the present work, it is unwise to speculate about the potential underlying psychopathological implication of our results. However, in line with Kearney et al. (2023) and other investigations presenting the relevance of the somatomotor cortices in PTSD ( Bao et al.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

The multiscale topological organization of the functional brain network in adolescent PTSD

Corredor,

Segobin,

Hinault

et al. 2024

Cerebral Cortex

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“…86,87 Greater engagement and connectivity of default mode network regions (specifically, the precuneus) has also been associated with internalizing symptoms including anger, rumination, and reliving of traumatic memories. [88][89][90] These processes are recognized as a common adaptation to repeated racial discrimination, 6 whereby perseverative thoughts about discrimination-related events can enhance vigilance for similar potential events in the future as a strategy for avoidance of this threat. Internalizing symptoms have been previously linked to the acceleration of epigenetic aging in cross-sectional studies of children and adolescents.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Racial Discrimination, Neural Connectivity, and Epigenetic Aging Among Black Women

Elbasheir,

Katrinli,

Kearney

et al. 2024

JAMA Netw Open

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ImportanceRacial discrimination increases the risk of adverse brain health outcomes, potentially via neuroplastic changes in emotion processing networks. The involvement of deep brain regions (brainstem and midbrain) in these responses is unknown. Potential associations of racial discrimination with alterations in deep brain functional connectivity and accelerated epigenetic aging, a process that substantially increases vulnerability to health problems, are also unknown.ObjectiveTo examine associations of racial discrimination with brainstem and midbrain resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) and DNA methylation age acceleration (DMAA) among Black women in the US.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis cohort study was conducted between January 1, 2012, and February 28, 2015, and included a community-based sample of Black women (aged ≥18 years) recruited as part of the Grady Trauma Project. Self-reported racial discrimination was examined in association with seed-to-voxel brain connectivity, including the locus coeruleus (LC), periaqueductal gray (PAG), and superior colliculus (SC); an index of DMAA (Horvath clock) was also evaluated. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), trauma exposure, and age were used as covariates in statistical models to isolate racial discrimination–related variance. Data analysis was conducted between January 10 and October 30, 2023.ExposureVarying levels of racial discrimination exposure, other trauma exposure, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).Main Outcomes and MeasuresRacial discrimination frequency was assessed with the Experiences of Discrimination Scale, other trauma exposure was evaluated with the Traumatic Events Inventory, and current PTSD was evaluated with the PTSD Symptom Scale. Seed-to-voxel functional connectivity analyses were conducted with LC, PAG, and SC seeds. To assess DMAA, the Methylation EPIC BeadChip assay (Illumina) was conducted with whole-blood samples from a subset of 49 participants.ResultsThis study included 90 Black women, with a mean (SD) age of 38.5 (11.3) years. Greater racial discrimination was associated with greater left LC RSFC to the bilateral precuneus (a region within the default mode network implicated in rumination and reliving of past events; cluster size k = 228; t85 = 4.78; P &lt; .001, false discovery rate-corrected). Significant indirect effects were observed for the left LC-precuneus RSFC on the association between racial discrimination and DMAA (β [SE] = 0.45 [0.16]; 95% CI, 0.12-0.77).Conclusions and RelevanceIn this study, more frequent racial discrimination was associated with proportionately greater RSFC of the LC to the precuneus, and these connectivity alterations were associated with DMAA. These findings suggest that racial discrimination contributes to accelerated biological aging via altered connectivity between the LC and default mode network, increasing vulnerability for brain health problems.

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“…In this regard, the superior parietal lobule shares functional overlap with the temporal gyrus/TPJ in contributing to body part localization ( Felician et al, 2004 ), bodily self-consciousness ( Tsakiris et al, 2007 ), and representing one’s peripersonal space ( Lloyd et al, 2006 ; Gallivan et al, 2011 ), processes which are often altered in PTSD ( Rabellino et al, 2016 , 2020 ; Rabellino et al, 2018a ). During a memory retrieval paradigm, participants with PTSD showed hyperconnectivity between the posterior DMN and several sensorimotor network hubs ( Kearney et al, 2023 ), including the left superior parietal lobule. This may reflect the integration of trauma-related sensorimotor imprints with autobiographical memory, thereby contributing to the vividness of reexperiencing and/or reliving of symptoms ( van der Kolk and Fisler, 1995 ; Brewin et al, 1996 ; Kearney and Lanius, 2022 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A tale of two targets: examining the differential effects of posterior cingulate cortex- and amygdala-targeted fMRI-neurofeedback in a PTSD pilot study

Lieberman,

Rabellino,

Densmore

et al. 2023

Front. Neurosci.

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IntroductionReal-time fMRI-based neurofeedback (rt-fMRI-NFB) is a non-invasive technology that enables individuals to self-regulate brain activity linked to neuropsychiatric symptoms, including those associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Selecting the target brain region for neurofeedback-mediated regulation is primarily informed by the neurobiological characteristics of the participant population. There is a strong link between PTSD symptoms and multiple functional disruptions in the brain, including hyperactivity within both the amygdala and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) during trauma-related processing. As such, previous rt-fMRI-NFB studies have focused on these two target regions when training individuals with PTSD to regulate neural activity. However, the differential effects of neurofeedback target selection on PTSD-related neural activity and clinical outcomes have not previously been investigated.MethodsHere, we compared whole-brain activation and changes in PTSD symptoms between PTSD participants (n = 28) that trained to downregulate activity within either the amygdala (n = 14) or the PCC (n = 14) while viewing personalized trauma words.ResultsFor the PCC as compared to the amygdala group, we observed decreased neural activity in several regions implicated in PTSD psychopathology – namely, the bilateral cuneus/precuneus/primary visual cortex, the left superior parietal lobule, the left occipital pole, and the right superior temporal gyrus/temporoparietal junction (TPJ) – during target region downregulation using rt-fMRI-NFB. Conversely, for the amygdala as compared to the PCC group, there were no unique (i.e., over and above that of the PCC group) decreases in neural activity. Importantly, amygdala downregulation was not associated with significantly improved PTSD symptoms, whereas PCC downregulation was associated with reduced reliving and distress symptoms over the course of this single training session. In this pilot analysis, we did not detect significant between-group differences in state PTSD symptoms during neurofeedback. As a critical control, the PCC and amygdala groups did not differ in their ability to downregulate activity within their respective target brain regions. This indicates that subsequent whole-brain neural activation results can be attributed to the effects of the neurofeedback target region selection in terms of neurophysiological function, rather than as a result of group differences in regulatory success.ConclusionIn this study, neurofeedback-mediated downregulation of the PCC was differentially associated with reduced state PTSD symptoms and simultaneous decreases in PTSD-associated brain activity during a single training session. This novel analysis may guide researchers in choosing a neurofeedback target region in future rt-fMRI-NFB studies and help to establish the clinical efficacy of specific neurofeedback targets for PTSD. A future multi-session clinical trial of rt-fMRI-NFB that directly compares between PCC and amygdala target regions is warranted.

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How the body remembers: Examining the default mode and sensorimotor networks during moral injury autobiographical memory retrieval in PTSD

Cited by 12 publications

References 181 publications

The multiscale topological organization of the functional brain network in adolescent PTSD

The multiscale topological organization of the functional brain network in adolescent PTSD

Racial Discrimination, Neural Connectivity, and Epigenetic Aging Among Black Women

A tale of two targets: examining the differential effects of posterior cingulate cortex- and amygdala-targeted fMRI-neurofeedback in a PTSD pilot study

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