Dataset Information

Recovery from Posttraumatic Stress Requires Dynamic and Sequential Shifts in Amygdalar Connectivities.

ABSTRACT: The neural mechanisms underlying the development and maintenance of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have long been studied. However, little is known about the neural correlates of the recovery process from PTSD. A 5-year longitudinal study was conducted to investigate the trajectory of structural connectivities of the amygdala in disaster survivors with PTSD. Thirty disaster survivors, who were diagnosed with PTSD, and 29 healthy individuals, who were not exposed to trauma, underwent three waves of assessments including neuroimaging scanning over a 5-year period from the time of the disaster at approximately 1.3-year intervals. All disaster survivors showed significant improvements in PTSD symptoms over time. Using diffusion tensor imaging analysis, a 5-year trajectory of amygdalar structural connectivities with key brain regions was assessed. The amygdala-insula connection was initially strengthened and then normalized during recovery, while the amygdala-prefrontal cortex (PFC) connection was at first unaffected, then strengthened, and eventually normalized. The lower tract strength of the amygdala-thalamus connection normalized during recovery, while that of amygdala-hippocampus connection remained low. The greater amygdala-PFC connectivity was associated with less PTSD symptom severity. The present longitudinal study revealed that recovery from PTSD parallels dynamic and sequential shifts in amygdalar connectivities with multiple brain regions, suggesting the expanded view of fear circuitry including the insula and thalamus, beyond the traditional model which primarily involves the amygdala, PFC, and hippocampus.

SUBMITTER: Yoon S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5399230 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Recovery from Posttraumatic Stress Requires Dynamic and Sequential Shifts in Amygdalar Connectivities.

Yoon Sujung S Kim Jieun E JE Hwang Jaeuk J Kang Ilhyang I Jeon Saerom S Im Jooyeon J JJ Kim Bori R BR Lee Sunho S Kim Geon Ha GH Rhim Hyewhon H Lim Soo Mee SM Lyoo In Kyoon IK

Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology 20160727 2

The neural mechanisms underlying the development and maintenance of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have long been studied. However, little is known about the neural correlates of the recovery process from PTSD. A 5-year longitudinal study was conducted to investigate the trajectory of structural connectivities of the amygdala in disaster survivors with PTSD. Thirty disaster survivors, who were diagnosed with PTSD, and 29 healthy individuals, who were not exposed to trauma, underwent three ...[more]

PMID: 27461083

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Project description:Alcohol use disorder (AUD) and anxiety disorders are frequently comorbid and share mechanisms that could be therapeutic targets. To facilitate mechanistic studies, we adapted an inhibitory avoidance-based "2-hit" rat model of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and identified predictors and biomarkers of comorbid alcohol (ethanol)/PTSD-like symptoms in these animals. Stressed Wistar rats received a single footshock on two occasions. The first footshock occurred when rats crossed into the dark chamber of a shuttle box. Forty-eight hours later, rats received the second footshock in a familiar (FAM) or novel (NOV) context. Rats then received 4 weeks of two-bottle choice (2BC) ethanol access. During subsequent abstinence, PTSD-like behavior responses, GABAergic synaptic transmission in the central amygdala (CeA), and circulating cytokine levels were measured. FAM and NOV stress more effectively increased 2BC drinking in males and females, respectively. Stressed male rats, especially drinking-vulnerable individuals (≥0.8 g/kg average 2-h ethanol intake with >50% ethanol preference), showed higher fear overgeneralization in novel contexts, increased GABAergic transmission in the CeA, and a profile of increased G-CSF, GM-CSF, IL-13, IL-6, IL-17a, leptin, and IL-4 that discriminated between stress context (NOV > FAM > Control). However, drinking-resilient males showed the highest G-CSF, IL-13, and leptin levels. Stressed females showed increased acoustic startle and decreased sleep maintenance, indicative of hyperarousal, with increased CeA GABAergic transmission in NOV females. This paradigm promotes key features of PTSD, including hyperarousal, fear generalization, avoidance, and sleep disturbance, with comorbid ethanol intake, in a sex-specific fashion that approximates clinical comorbidities better than existing models, and identifies increased CeA GABAergic signaling and a distinct pro-hematopoietic, proinflammatory, and pro-atopic cytokine profile that may aid in treatment.

Dataset Information

Recovery from Posttraumatic Stress Requires Dynamic and Sequential Shifts in Amygdalar Connectivities.

Publications

Recovery from Posttraumatic Stress Requires Dynamic and Sequential Shifts in Amygdalar Connectivities.

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