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Structural Connectivity of the Posterior Cingulum Is Related to Reexperiencing Symptoms in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Authors :
Carissa N. Weis
Emily L. Belleau
Walker S. Pedersen
Tara A. Miskovich
Christine L. Larson
Source :
Chronic Stress, Vol 2 (2018)
Publication Year :
2018
Publisher :
SAGE Publishing, 2018.

Abstract

Posttraumatic stress disorder is a heterogeneous disorder with disturbances in hyperarousal or avoidance behaviors and intrusive or reexperiencing thoughts. The uncinate fasciculus and cingulum bundle are white matter pathways implicated in stress and trauma pathophysiology, yet their structural integrity related to posttraumatic stress disorder symptom domains is yet to be understood. Forty-four trauma-exposed young adults underwent structural and diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging. Stress and trauma exposure indices and severity of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms were collected and used to predict current integrity of the uncinate fasciculus and cingulum bundle. Severity of reexperiencing posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms was significantly related to increased fractional anisotropy ( r = .469 p 0.05) or avoidance ( p ’s > 0.2) posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms. The posterior cingulum connects medial temporal lobe structures with visual areas in the occipital lobe and has been implicated in visual memory and self-referential thought. Increased structural connectivity along this pathway may therefore explain the emergence of reexperiencing posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms. This along with the lack of results with respect to stress exposure suggests that structural aberrations in white matter pathways are more strongly linked with the actual experience of stress-related psychological symptoms than just exposure to stress.

Subjects

Subjects :
Psychiatry
RC435-571

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
24705470
Volume :
2
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Chronic Stress
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.9de18a9094854797a84bade3f864bdc9
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1177/2470547018807134