Neurocircuitry models of posttraumatic stress disorder and beyond: a meta-analysis of functional neuroimaging studies.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Meta-analysis of cross-sectional/case-control functional neuroimaging studies.
PubMed 22766141 · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2012.06.003
What was done
An activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis was performed on functional neuroimaging studies of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The analysis synthesized brain activation data across studies using either non-trauma controls (20 studies) or trauma-exposed controls (19 studies) to test traditional neurocircuitry and large-scale "triple network" models of PTSD.
What was found
The abstract reports no exact effect sizes, cluster coordinates, or participant counts. Directionally, PTSD was associated with hyperactive amygdala and hippocampal regions alongside hypoactive medial prefrontal regions. Broader functional alterations mapped onto the salience network, central executive network, and default mode network. Substantial heterogeneity was observed across models and depending on whether trauma-exposed or non-trauma comparison groups were used.
Why it matters
This synthesis supports classical frontolimbic models of PTSD while providing evidence that neural dysfunction extends to distributed large-scale brain networks.
Limits
The abstract provides no numerical test statistics, sample sizes for total participants, or effect sizes. Meta-analytic findings showed significant heterogeneity across studies and varied substantially based on the control group used (trauma-exposed versus non-trauma-exposed).
Cited by
- supports Individuals experiencing post-traumatic stress have an overactive fear center in the amygdala.