TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2014//
TI  - Precuneal and amygdala spontaneous activity and functional connectivity in war-zone-related PTSD
JO  - Psychiatry research
A1  - Yan, Xiaodan
A1  - Lazar, Mariana
A1  - Shalev, Arieh Y.
A1  - Neylan, Thomas C.
A1  - Wolkowitz, Owen M.
A1  - Brown, Adam D.
A1  - Henn-Haase, Clare
A1  - Yehuda, Rachel
A1  - Flory, Janine D.
A1  - Abu-Amara, Duna
A1  - Sodickson, Daniel K.
A1  - Marmar, Charles R.
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - Abnormality in the "fear circuitry" has been known as a major neural characteristic of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Recent studies also revealed decreased functional connectivity in the default mode network in PTSD. The present study aims to investigate, in war-zone-related PTSD, the spontaneous activity and functional connectivity of the amygdala and the precuneus, which are two representative brain regions of the two networks, respectively. Two groups of 52 male US Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) veterans (PTSD vs. controls), well matched on age and ethnicity, were clinically assessed and then studied in a resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) procedure. Functional connectivity analysis was conducted on the resting state fMRI data with the amygdala and precuneus as seeds. Compared with controls, veterans with PTSD had lower functional connectivity in the default mode network, as well as lower amygdala-frontal functional connectivity. Both the PTSD and the control group had a significant positive precuneal-amygdala functional connectivity without a significant group difference. The magnitudes of spontaneous activity of the amygdala and the precuneus were negatively correlated in the PTSD group and showed significant quadratic relationships with the amount of emotional abuse in early life trauma. These findings may improve our understanding about the relationships between fear circuitry and the default mode network in the context of war-zone-related PTSD.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0165-1781
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pscychresns.2014.12.001
ID  - ref1
ER  -