Attention allocation to negatively-valenced stimuli in PTSD is associated with reward-related neural pathways.

ABSTRACT:

Background

In a recent eye-tracking study we found a differential dwell time pattern for negatively-valenced and neutral faces among patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), trauma-exposed healthy control (TEHCs), and healthy control (HC) participants. Here, we explored whether these group differences relate to resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) patterns of brain areas previously linked to both attention processes and PTSD. These encompass the amygdala, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC), and nucleus accumbens (NAcc).

Methods

Ten minutes magnetic resonance imaging rsFC scans were recorded in 17 PTSD patients, 21 TEHCs, and 16 HCs. Participants then completed a free-view

SUBMITTER: Suarez-Jimenez B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9715854 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature