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Neuroimaging genetic approaches to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

ABSTRACT: Neuroimaging genetic studies that associate genetic and epigenetic variation with neural activity or structure provide an opportunity to link genes to psychiatric disorders, often before psychopathology is discernable in behavior. Here we review neuroimaging genetics studies with participants who have Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Results show that genes related to the physiological stress response (e.g., glucocorticoid receptor and activity, neuroendocrine release), learning and memory (e.g., plasticity), mood, and pain perception are tied to neural intermediate phenotypes associated with PTSD. These genes are associated with and sometimes predict neural structure and function in areas involved in attention, executive function, memory, decision-making, emotion regulation, salience of potential threats, and pain perception. Evidence suggests these risk polymorphisms and neural intermediate phenotypes are vulnerabilities toward developing PTSD in the aftermath of trauma, or vulnerabilities toward particular symptoms once PTSD has developed. Work distinguishing between the re-experiencing and dissociative sub-types of PTSD, and examining other PTSD symptom clusters in addition to the re-experiencing and hyperarousal symptoms, will further clarify neurobiological mechanisms and inconsistent findings. Furthermore, an exciting possibility is that genetic associations with PTSD may eventually be understood through differential intermediate phenotypes of neural circuit structure and function, possibly underlying the different symptom clusters seen within PTSD.

SUBMITTER: Lebois LAM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5056798 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Neuroimaging genetic approaches to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

Lebois Lauren A M LAM Wolff Jonathan D JD Ressler Kerry J KJ

Experimental neurology 20160422 Pt B

Neuroimaging genetic studies that associate genetic and epigenetic variation with neural activity or structure provide an opportunity to link genes to psychiatric disorders, often before psychopathology is discernable in behavior. Here we review neuroimaging genetics studies with participants who have Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Results show that genes related to the physiological stress response (e.g., glucocorticoid receptor and activity, neuroendocrine release), learning and memory ...[more]

PMID: 27109180

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Project description:BackgroundComorbidity between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) has been commonly overlooked by studies examining resting-state functional connectivity patterns in PTSD. The current study used a data-driven approach to identify resting-state functional connectivity biomarkers to 1) differentiate individuals with PTSD (with or without MDD) from trauma-exposed healthy control subjects (TEHCs), 2) compare individuals with PTSD alone with those with comorbid PTSD+MDD, and 3) explore the clinical utility of the identified biomarkers by testing their associations with clinical symptoms and treatment response.MethodsResting-state magnetic resonance images were obtained from 51 individuals with PTSD alone, 52 individuals with PTSD+MDD, and 76 TEHCs. Of the 103 individuals with PTSD, 55 were enrolled in prolonged exposure treatment. A support vector machine model was used to identify resting-state functional connectivity biomarkers differentiating individuals with PTSD (with or without MDD) from TEHCs and differentiating individuals with PTSD alone from those with PTSD+MDD. The associations between the identified features and symptomatology were tested with Pearson correlations.ResultsThe support vector machine model achieved 70.6% accuracy in discriminating between individuals with PTSD and TEHCs and achieved 76.7% accuracy in discriminating between individuals with PTSD alone and those with PTSD+MDD for out-of-sample prediction. Within-network connectivity in the executive control network, prefrontal network, and salience network discriminated individuals with PTSD from TEHCs. The basal ganglia network played an important role in differentiating individuals with PTSD alone from those with PTSD+MDD. PTSD scores were inversely correlated with within-executive control network connectivity (p < .001), and executive control network connectivity was positively correlated with treatment response (p < .001).ConclusionsResults suggest that unique brain-based abnormalities differentiate individuals with PTSD from TEHCs, differentiate individuals with PTSD from those with PTSD+MDD, and demonstrate clinical utility in predicting levels of symptomatology and treatment response.

Project description:In depression, brain and behavioral correlates of decision-making differ between individuals with and without suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Though promising, it remains unknown if these potential biomarkers of suicidality will generalize to other high-risk clinical populations. To preliminarily assess whether brain structure or function tracked suicidality in individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), we measured resting-state functional connectivity and cortical thickness in two functional networks involved in decision-making, a ventral fronto-striatal reward network and a lateral frontal cognitive control network. Neuroimaging data and self-reported suicidality ratings, and suicide-related hospitalization data were obtained from 50 outpatients with PTSD and also from 15 healthy controls, and all were subjected to seed-based resting-state functional connectivity and cortical thickness analyses using a priori seeds from reward and cognitive control networks. First, general linear models (GLM) were used to evaluate whether ROI-to-ROI functional connectivity was predictive of self-reported suicidality after false discovery rate (FDR)-correction for multiple comparisons and covariance of age and depression symptoms. Next, regional cortical thickness statistics were included as predictors of ROI-to-ROI functional connectivity in follow-up GLMs evaluating structure-function relationships. Functional connectivity between reward regions was positively correlated with suicidality (p-FDR ≤ 0.05). Functional connectivity of the lateral pars orbitalis to anterior cingulate/paracingulate control regions also tracked suicidality (p-FDR ≤ 0.05). Furthermore, cortical thickness in anterior cingulate/paracingulate was associated with functional correlates of suicidality in the control network (p-FDR < 0.05). These results provide a preliminary demonstration that biomarkers of suicidality in decision-making networks observed in depression may generalize to PTSD and highlight the promise of these circuits as transdiagnostic biomarkers of suicidality.

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Neuroimaging genetic approaches to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

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Neuroimaging genetic approaches to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

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