Functional and structural brain abnormalities in posttraumatic stress disorder: A multimodal meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Meta-analysis of cross-sectional case-control observational neuroimaging studies
PubMed 36029627 · doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2022.08.010
What was done
The authors conducted a coordinate-based multimodal meta-analysis of whole-brain neuroimaging studies evaluating resting-state functional activity and structural brain alterations in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) across different languages. Functional activity was assessed via amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) across 15 studies (19 datasets; 577 PTSD patients and 499 healthy controls). Structural changes were assessed via voxel-based morphometry (VBM) across 27 studies (31 datasets; 539 PTSD patients and 693 healthy controls). Analyses were conducted using Seed-based d Mapping with Permutation of Subject Images (SDM-PSI).
What was found
PTSD patients displayed decreased ALFF in the left amygdala compared to healthy controls. Structural VBM meta-analysis demonstrated reduced grey matter volume in the bilateral anterior cingulate cortex/medial prefrontal cortex (ACC/mPFC), striatum, insula, superior temporal gyrus, left postcentral gyrus, and occipital gyrus. Quantitative effect sizes, coordinates, and variance metrics were not reported in the abstract.
Why it matters
This meta-analysis demonstrates consistent convergent functional and structural abnormalities in the amygdala, along with structural deficits in fronto-striatal, insular, and sensory networks, across multi-linguistic cohorts with PTSD.
Limits
The abstract reports no numerical effect sizes or statistical values. Because the underlying primary studies are cross-sectional case-control designs, causal relationships between trauma, brain alterations, and PTSD development cannot be established. Potential confounding from trauma exposure type, psychiatric comorbidities, medication use, illness duration, and neuroimaging acquisition differences were not detailed in the abstract.
Cited by
- supports Severe psychological trauma causes physiological changes to subsequent brain function.