Alterations of gray matter volume and functional connectivity in parents with chronic posttraumatis stress disorder who lost their only child
10.3760/cma.j.cn113661-20200703-00315
- VernacularTitle:失独伴慢性创伤后应激障碍患者脑基于体素形态学及功能连接分析
- Author:
Hui WU
1
;
Yan WANG
;
Jingsong XIAO
;
Hongan TIAN
;
Guobin XU
;
Guangyao WU
Author Information
1. 武汉大学中南医院放射科 430071
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Stress disorders, post-traumatic;
Magnetic resonance imaging;
Losing one′s only child;
Voxel-based morphometry;
Gray matter volume
- From:
Chinese Journal of Psychiatry
2021;54(2):96-103
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective:To investigate the alterations of brain gray matter volume (GMV) and functional connectivity (FC) in parents with chronic posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) who lost their only child. The correlation of the GMV and FC with the severity of CAPS symptoms was also explored.Methods:A total of 19 parents with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD group), 28 parents without PTSD (non-PTSD group), and 27 healthy controls (HCs), admitted in our hospital from October 2017 to May 2019, were recruited in our study. The three groups were matched in age, gender and education level. All the participants were scanned by 3.0T MRI examination, followed by a clinical evaluation with the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) for the PTSD diagnosis and to assess the severity. A whole-brain voxel-based morphometry (VBM) approach was used to characterize the GMV. The brain regions with significant differences in gray matter volume between the PTSD group and the non-PTSD group were used as seed points, and based on the seed points, the whole brain was explored its functional connection. The ANOVA and two sample t-test were used to compare the differences in GMV and FC values among groups. The AlphaSim correction was carried out and P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. The correlations of the GMV and FC values in significant regions with clinical scale scores were also analyzed. Results:Compared to the non-PTSD group, the PTSD patients showed decreased GMV in the left superior frontal gyrus and right precuneus and increased GMV in left fusiform gyrus; compared to the HCs, the non-PTSD group showed increased GMV in right hippocampus, right rolandic operculum and right precuneus. Seed-based FC analyses showed that the PTSD patients had decreased FC in bilateral orbitofrontal gyrus, left cerebellum and left hippocampus, which were positively correlated with the CAPS scores; while increased FC in right insula and right angular gyrus, which were negatively correlated with the CAPS scores (all P<0.01). In the PTSD group, GMV in the left fusiform gyrus was negatively correlated with the avoidance/numbing symptom ( r=-0.555, P=0.014), while positively associated with the time since trauma ( r=0.457, P=0.049). Conclusion:There are alterations of GMV and functional connectivity in multiple brain regions in parents who have lost their only child. Less connectivity in the prefrontal-medial temporal lobe (MTL) circuit and more activation of the key node within fear network may contribute to the development of PTSD, while the structural compensation in brain region associated with visual processing may be an important factor in relieving PTSD symptom and PTSD duration.
