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Cited by 52Posttraumatic Stress Disorder ResearchAdvanced Neuroimaging Techniques and ApplicationsTraumatic Brain Injury Research

Disruption of white matter structural integrity and connectivity in posttraumatic stress disorder: A TBSS and tractography study: O lson et al .

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Olson, Elizabeth A., Cui, Jiaolong, Fukunaga, Rena, Nickerson, Lisa D., Rauch, Scott L., Rosso, Isabelle M.·2017·Depression and Anxiety
DOI 10.1002/da.22615PMC PMC5407943
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Most studies of brain white matter (WM) in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have focused on combat trauma, and often were confounded by neurological and substance dependence comorbidity. This study used tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) and probabilistic tractography to characterize WM microstructure in a mixed-sex community sample of PTSD patients exposed to diverse and multiple traumas, and in trauma-exposed normal comparison (TENC) subjects. METHODS: TBSS compared diffusion measures between 20 adults with DSM-IV PTSD and 17 TENC, using a whole-brain voxel-wise approach. Probabilistic tractography using Freesurfer's TRACULA was employed to measure diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) metrics within anatomically defined pathways. DTI metrics were compared between groups and correlated with PTSD symptom severity and trauma load. RESULTS: Controlling for age, sex, and motion, PTSD subjects had significantly reduced fractional anisotropy (FA) in a left frontal lobe cluster compared with TENC, at p < .05, family-wise error corrected. Tractography identified significant group differences in the inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF), including lower FA and higher radial diffusivity in PTSD compared with TENC. Within the PTSD group, FA values were not correlated with symptom severity or trauma load. Results remained significant after removing participants using psychotropic medication or those with comorbid major depression. CONCLUSIONS: PTSD patients had reduced WM integrity in left hemisphere frontal WM and temporal-occipital WM tracts, compared to trauma-exposed controls. Reduced frontal FA is consistent with compromised top-down attentional control and emotion regulation in PTSD, while reduced ILF FA may be related to sensory processing and gating abnormalities in this disorder.

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  • In noncombat PTSD sufferers, reduced FA was found in cingulate white matter just above the genu.

    “A recent study of noncombat PTSD sufferers, found reduced FA in cingulate white matter just above the genu (Olson et al., 2017).”

    From The cingulum bundle: Anatomy, function, and dysfunction (2018) · cites this paper as Olson et al., 2017

    The Results (§3.1; page unavailable) report significantly lower FA in PTSD patients than in trauma-exposed controls in a left frontal cluster involving cingulate-gyrus fibers. The Discussion (§4; page unavailable) places the fibers near the rostral anterior cingulate cortex. The copy does not specify that the cluster was just above the genu, so that more precise location is not established. (LLM, conf=0.78)

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Olson, E. A., Cui, J., Fukunaga, R., Nickerson, L. D., Rauch, S. L., & Rosso, I. M.
Affiliations
  • Harvard University (US)
  • Center for Depression; Anxiety and Stress Research; McLean Hospital; Belmont MA USA
Corresponding author
Rosso, Isabelle M.
ORCID
Venue
Depression and Anxiety
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2017-03-15
Volume
34
Issue
5
Pages
437-445
ISSN
1091-4269 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1002/da.22615
PMC
PMC5407943
OpenAlex
W2609362298
Cited by
52
References
12
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 8
FWCI
8.48
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Depression and Anxiety (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • Dana Foundation
  • National Institute of Mental Health (5R01MH096987)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Advanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Traumatic Brain Injury Research
Keywords
post-traumatic stress disorder, white matter integrity, fractional anisotropy, inferior longitudinal fasciculus, radial diffusivity, frontal lobe white matter, symptom severity, attentional control, emotion regulation, sensory processing
MeSH terms
Psychological Trauma, Adult, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, Diffusion Tensor Imaging, White Matter

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