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Hinojosa CA, George GC, Ben-Zion Z. Neuroimaging of posttraumatic stress disorder in adults and youth: progress over the last decade on three leading questions of the field. Mol Psychiatry 2024:10.1038/s41380-024-02558-w. [PMID: 38632413 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-024-02558-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2023] [Revised: 04/04/2024] [Accepted: 04/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024]
Abstract
Almost three decades have passed since the first posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) neuroimaging study was published. Since then, the field of clinical neuroscience has made advancements in understanding the neural correlates of PTSD to create more efficacious treatment strategies. While gold-standard psychotherapy options are available, many patients do not respond to them, prematurely drop out, or never initiate treatment. Therefore, elucidating the neurobiological mechanisms that define the disorder can help guide clinician decision-making and develop individualized mechanisms-based treatment options. To this end, this narrative review highlights progress made in the last decade in adult and youth samples on three outstanding questions in PTSD research: (1) Which neural alterations serve as predisposing (pre-exposure) risk factors for PTSD development, and which are acquired (post-exposure) alterations? (2) Which neural alterations can predict treatment outcomes and define clinical improvement? and (3) Can neuroimaging measures be used to define brain-based biotypes of PTSD? While the studies highlighted in this review have made progress in answering the three questions, the field still has much to do before implementing these findings into clinical practice. Overall, to better answer these questions, we suggest that future neuroimaging studies of PTSD should (A) utilize prospective longitudinal designs, collecting brain measures before experiencing trauma and at multiple follow-up time points post-trauma, taking advantage of multi-site collaborations/consortiums; (B) collect two scans to explore changes in brain alterations from pre-to-post treatment and compare changes in neural activation between treatment groups, including longitudinal follow up assessments; and (C) replicate brain-based biotypes of PTSD. By synthesizing recent findings, this narrative review will pave the way for personalized treatment approaches grounded in neurobiological evidence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cecilia A Hinojosa
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.
| | - Grace C George
- Department of Psychiatry, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA
| | - Ziv Ben-Zion
- Department of Comparative Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- US Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for PTSD, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA
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Xia Z, Cao Z, Surento W, Zhang L, Qiu L, Xu Q, Zhang L, Li L, Cao Y, Luo Y, Lu G, Qi R. Relationship between SLC6A2 gene polymorphisms and brain volume in Han Chinese adults who lost their sole child. BMC Psychiatry 2024; 24:11. [PMID: 38166870 PMCID: PMC10763183 DOI: 10.1186/s12888-023-05467-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Norepinephrine transporter (NET) is encoded by the SLC6A2 gene and is a potential target for studying the pathogenesis of PTSD. To the best of our knowledge, no prior investigations have examined SLC6A2 polymorphism-related neuroimaging abnormalities in PTSD patients. METHODS In 218 Han Chinese adults who had lost their sole child, we investigated the association between the T-182 C SLC6A2 genotype and gray matter volume (GMV). Participants included 57 PTSD sufferers and 161 non-PTSD sufferers, and each group was further separated into three subgroups based on each participant's SLC6A2 genotype (TT, CT, and CC). All participants received magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and clinical evaluation. To assess the effects of PTSD diagnosis, genotype, and genotype × diagnosis interaction on GMV, 2 × 3 full factorial designs were used. Pearson's correlations were used to examine the association between GMV and CAPS, HAMD, and HAMA. RESULTS The SLC6A2 genotype showed significant main effects on GMV of the left superior parietal gyrus (SPG) and the bilateral middle cingulate gyrus (MCG). Additionally, impacts of the SLC6A2 genotype-diagnosis interaction were discovered in the left superior frontal gyrus (SFG). The CAPS, HAMA, and HAMD scores, as well as the genotype main effect and diagnostic SLC6A2 interaction, did not significantly correlate with each other. CONCLUSION These findings indicate a modulatory effect that the SLC6A2 polymorphism exerts on the SPG and MCG, irrespective of PTSD diagnosis. We found evidence to suggest that the SLC6A2 genotype-diagnosis interaction on SFG may potentially contribute to PTSD pathogenesis in adults who lost their sole child.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhuoman Xia
- Department of Medical Imaging, Jinling Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210002, China
| | - Zhihong Cao
- Department of Radiology, the Affiliated Yixing Hospital of Jiangsu University, 75 Tongzhenguan Road, Wuxi, Wuxi, 214200, China
| | - Wesley Surento
- Imaging Genetics Center, Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, University of Southern California, Marina del Rey, Los Angeles, CA, 90292, USA
| | - Li Zhang
- Mental Health Institute, the Second Xiangya Hospital, Key Laboratory of Psychiatry and Mental Health of Hunan Province, National Technology Institute of Psychiatry, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, 410011, China
| | - Lianli Qiu
- Department of Medical Imaging, Jinling Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210002, China
| | - Qiang Xu
- Department of Medical Imaging, Jinling Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210002, China
| | - Longjiang Zhang
- Department of Medical Imaging, Jinling Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210002, China
| | - Lingjiang Li
- Mental Health Institute, the Second Xiangya Hospital, Key Laboratory of Psychiatry and Mental Health of Hunan Province, National Technology Institute of Psychiatry, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, 410011, China
| | - Yang Cao
- College of Arts & Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37235, USA
| | - Yifeng Luo
- Department of Radiology, the Affiliated Yixing Hospital of Jiangsu University, 75 Tongzhenguan Road, Wuxi, Wuxi, 214200, China.
| | - Guangming Lu
- Department of Medical Imaging, Jinling Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210002, China.
| | - Rongfeng Qi
- Department of Medical Imaging, Jinling Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210002, China.
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Xiao Q, Wang X, Yi X, Fu Y, Ding J, Jiang F, Wang J, Han Z, Chen BT. Alteration of surface morphology and core features in adolescents with borderline personality disorder. J Affect Disord 2023; 333:86-93. [PMID: 37080498 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2023.04.055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2022] [Revised: 04/03/2023] [Accepted: 04/14/2023] [Indexed: 04/22/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Accurate early diagnosis of adolescent borderline personality disorder (BPD) is critical for prompt treatment. The aim of this study was to assess the alteration of brain surface morphology and to evaluate its relationship with core features in adolescent BPD. METHODS A total of 52 adolescents with BPD aged 12-17 years and 39 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HCs) were prospectively enrolled into the study. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was obtained with both 3D-T1 weighted structural sequence and resting-state functional data. The structural data was analyzed for surface morphology parameters including the local gyrification index (LGI), mean curvature and surface area. The functional MRI data was analyzed for seed-based functional connectivity (FC). Correlative analysis of surface morphology and core features of adolescent BPD was performed. RESULTS Adolescents with BPD showed the following altered surface morphology in the limbic-cortical circuit when compared to the HCs: (1) reduced LGI in the left fusiform and right superior temporal gyrus; (2) reduced mean curvature in the left precentral gyrus and right rostral anterior cingulate cortex, and increased mean curvature in the bilateral pericalcarine; and (3) reduced surface area in the left paracentral gyrus, left pars triangularis, right insula and right lateral orbitofrontal gyrus (P < 0.05, FWE correction). In addition, these brain regions with altered surface morphology were significantly correlated with several core features including the mood instability, self-identity problems, and non-suicidal self-injury behavior in adolescents with BPD (P < 0.05). Furthermore, there was enhanced functional connectivity among these altered brain regions within the limbic-cortical circuit (voxel P < 0.001, cluster P < 0.05, FWE corrected). CONCLUSIONS Adolescents with BPD had significant alterations of brain surface morphology in the limbic-cortical circuit, which was correlated with core BPD features. These results implicated the surface morphology parameters and FC alterations may potentially serve as neuroimaging biomarkers for adolescents with BPD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qian Xiao
- Mental Health Center of Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, Hunan, PR China; National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders (Xiangya Hospital), Central South University, Changsha 410008, Hunan, PR China
| | - Xueying Wang
- National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders (Xiangya Hospital), Central South University, Changsha 410008, Hunan, PR China; Department of Radiology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, Hunan, PR China
| | - Xiaoping Yi
- Department of Radiology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, Hunan, PR China; National Engineering Research Center of Personalized Diagnostic and Therapeutic Technology, Xiangya Hospital, Changsha 410008, Hunan, PR China; Hunan Key Laboratory of Skin Cancer and Psoriasis, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, Hunan, PR China; Hunan Engineering Research Center of Skin Health and Disease, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, Hunan, PR China; Department of Dermatology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, Hunan, PR China.
| | - Yan Fu
- National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders (Xiangya Hospital), Central South University, Changsha 410008, Hunan, PR China; Department of Radiology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, Hunan, PR China
| | - Jun Ding
- Department of Public Health, Shenzhen Mental Health Center, Shenzhen Kangning Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong, PR China
| | - Furong Jiang
- Mental Health Center of Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, Hunan, PR China
| | - Jing Wang
- Department of Neurology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, Hunan, PR China
| | - Zaide Han
- Department of Radiology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, Hunan, PR China
| | - Bihong T Chen
- Department of Diagnostic Radiology, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA 91010, USA
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Schiffer F. Dual-Brain Psychology: A novel theory and treatment based on cerebral laterality and psychopathology. Front Psychol 2022; 13:986374. [DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.986374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2022] [Accepted: 08/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Dual-Brain Psychology is a theory and its clinical applications that come out of the author's clinical observations and from the Split-brain Studies. The theory posits, based on decades of rigorous, peer-reviewed experiments and clinical reports, that, in most patients, one brain's cerebral hemisphere (either left or right) when stimulated by simple lateral visual field stimulation, or unilateral transcranial photobiomodulation, reveals a dramatic change in personality such that stimulating one hemisphere evokes, as a trait, a personality that is more childlike and more presently affected by childhood maltreatments that are usually not presently appreciated but are the proximal cause of the patient's symptoms. The personality associated with the other hemisphere is much more mature, less affected by the traumas, and less symptomatic. The theory can be applied to in-depth psychotherapy in which the focus is on helping the troubled side to bear and process the traumas with the help of the therapist and the healthier personality. A person's symptoms can be evoked to aid the psychotherapy with hemispheric stimulation and the relationship between the dual personalities can be transformed from conflicted and sabotaging to cooperating toward overall health. Stimulating the positive hemisphere in most therapy patients rapidly relieves symptoms such as anxiety, depression, or substance cravings. Two randomized controlled trials used unilateral transcranial photobiomodulation to the positive hemisphere as a stand-alone treatment for opioid cravings and both revealed high effect sizes. The theory is supported by brain imaging and rTMS studies. It is the first psychological theory and application that comes out of and is supported by rigorous peer-reviewed experimentation.
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