Abnormal Baseline Activity And Neural Networks In The Resting State Brain Of Coal Mine Disaster Related PTSD

Part1Abnormal resting-state brain activity in patients with PTSD measuredby amplitude low frequency fluctuationObjective Little is known about the brain systems that contribute to vulnerability to posttraumatic disorder (PTSD). Comparison of the resting state patterns of intrinsic functionalsynchronization, as measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), betweengroups witn and without PTSD following a traumatic event can help identify the neuralmechanisms of the disorder and targets for intervention. Methods Fifteen PTSD patientsand fifteen matched healthy controls who experienced a coal mine flood disaster wereentered into the study. Each of them were imaged with blood oxygen level dependentfMRI (BOLD-fMRI) and analyzed using the measure of amplitude low frequencyfluctuation (ALFF) during the resting state. Results Compared with the healthy controls,PTSD patients presented enhanced ALFF in the right amygdale, right superior temporalgyrus and bilateral parahippocampals, and reduced ALFF in the left globus pallidus andbilateral thalamus (P<0.001uncorrected, cluster size>15voxel). Conclusion Our findingsshowed that abnormal brain activity exits under resting conditions in PTSD patients whohad been exposed to a coal mine flood disaster. Alterations in the local ALFF of corticalregions are likely to contribute to the neural mechanisms underlying PTSD.Part2Abnormal brain functional connectivity in coal mine disaster related PTSD Objective To investigate the changes of functional connectivity(FC) of the default modenetwork(DMN) in coal mine flood disaster survivors with recent onset posttraumaticstress disorder(PTSD) during the resting state. Methods Fifteen patients with PTSD andfifteen age, gender, year of education-matched healthy volunteers were entered into thestudy. Each of them underwent fMRI examination with a3.0T MRI scanner. All fMRIdata preprocessing and statistical analysis were completed with SPM and REST software,obtained the significantly differences between the two groups. Results Compared with thehealthy controls, significantly increased FC in patients were detected in the bilateralinsular, left middle cingulated cortex, left precentral cortex, right parahippocampal, rightsuperior temporal gryus, right cuneus, right cerebellum. Significantly decreased FC inpatients with PTSD were not found (P<0.001uncorrected, cluster size>15voxel).Conclusion Many abnormal FC exist in PTSD patient’s DMN during the resting state,among which the increased FC in bilateral insular and other regions may be the potentialneuropathological mechanisms of the PTSD.