Acute Posttrauma Resting-State Functional Connectivity of Periaqueductal Gray Prospectively Predicts Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is characterized by hyperarousal, avoidance, and intrusive/re-experiencing symptoms. The periaqueductal gray (PAG), which generates behavioral responses to physical and psychological stressors, is also implicated in threat processing. Distinct regions of the PAG elicit opposing responses to threatening or stressful stimuli; the ventrolateral PAG evokes passive coping strategies (e.g., analgesia), whereas the dorsolateral PAG (dlPAG) promotes active responses (e.g., fight or flight). We investigated whether altered PAG resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) prospectively predicted PTSD symptoms.

Methods

A total of 48 trauma-exposed individuals underwent an RSFC scan 2 weeks posttraumatic injury. Self-report measures, inclu

SUBMITTER: Webb EK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7483700 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature