Multimodal canonical correlation reveals converging neural circuitry across trauma-related disorders of affect and cognition.

Trauma-related disorders of affect and cognition (TRACs) are associated with a high degree of diagnostic comorbidity, which may suggest that these disorders share a set of underlying neural mechanisms. TRACs are characterized by aberrations in functional and structural circuits subserving verbal memory and affective anticipation. Yet, it remains unknown how the neural circuitry underlying these multiple mechanisms contribute to TRACs.

In-Home Sleep Recordings in Military Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Reveal Less REM and Deep Sleep <1 Hz.

Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) often report suboptimal sleep quality, often described as lack of restfulness for unknown reasons. These experiences are sometimes difficult to objectively quantify in sleep lab assessments. Here, we used a streamlined sleep assessment tool to record in-home 2-channel electroencephalogram (EEG) with concurrent collection of electrodermal activity (EDA) and acceleration.

A randomized controlled trial of gabapentin for chronic low back pain with and without a radiating component.

Gabapentin is prescribed for analgesia in chronic low back pain, yet there are no controlled trials supporting this practice. This randomized, 2-arm, 12-week, parallel group study compared gabapentin (forced titration up to 3600 mg daily) with inert placebo. The primary efficacy measure was change in pain intensity from baseline to the last week on treatment measured by the Descriptor Differential Scale; the secondary outcome was disability (Oswestry Disability Index).

Clusters of Low (18)F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Uptake Voxels in Combat Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injury and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Individuals with mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) show diminished metabolic activity when studied with positron emission tomography (PET) with (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG). Since blast injury may not be localized in the same specific anatomical areas in every patient or may be diffuse, significance probability mapping may be vulnerable to false-negative detection of abnormalities. To address this problem, we used an anatomically independent measure to assess PET scans: increased numbers of contiguous voxels that are 2 standard deviations below values found in an uninjured control group.

Combat veterans with comorbid PTSD and mild TBI exhibit a greater inhibitory processing ERP from the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is common among combat personnel with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). While patients with either PTSD or mTBI share abnormal activation of multiple frontal brain areas, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) activity during inhibitory processing may be particularly affected by PTSD. To further test this hypothesis, we recorded electroencephalography from 32 combat veterans with mTBI-17 of whom were also comorbid for PTSD (mTBI+PTSD) and 15 without PTSD (mTBI-only).

Validation of the Modified Fatigue Impact Scale in mild to moderate traumatic brain injury.

Objective: To evaluate the validity of the Modified Fatigue Impact Scale (MFIS) in veterans with a history of mild to moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Participants: Veterans (N = 106) with mild (92%) or moderate (8%) TBI.

Setting: Veterans Administration Health System.

Combat veterans with PTSD after mild TBI exhibit greater ERPs from posterior-medial cortical areas while appraising facial features.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) worsens prognosis following mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Combat personnel with histories of mTBI exhibit abnormal activation of distributed brain networks-including emotion processing and default mode networks. How developing PTSD further affects these abnormalities has not been directly examined.

Diffusion tensor imaging evidence of white matter disruption associated with loss versus alteration of consciousness in warfighters exposed to combat in Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom.

The effects on the human brain of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), which is defined as a brief alteration (AOC) or loss of consciousness (LOC), are incompletely understood. Major psychiatric illnesses such as major depressive disorder (MDD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are common after mTBI. Prior research suggests that individuals who develop MDD after blast-related mTBI versus those who do not show significant white matter disruption and higher rates of LOC, suggesting that LOC might be uniquely associated with brain changes that increase the risk of developing mental illness after neurotrauma.

The effects of temporal unpredictability in anticipation of negative events in combat veterans with PTSD.

Background: Exposure to psychological stress during combat can lead to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Anticipation of aversive events is often associated with an intense emotional state in individuals with PTSD. Both the valence (i.

Altered insula activation during pain anticipation in individuals recovered from anorexia nervosa: evidence of interoceptive dysregulation.

Objective: Recent evidence raises the possibility that symptoms of anorexia nervosa (AN) could be related to impaired interoception. Pain is an interoceptive process with well-characterized neuroanatomical pathways that may overlap to a large degree with neural systems that may be dysregulated in individuals with AN, such as the insula.

Method: Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to assess neural substrates of pain anticipation and processing in 10 healthy control women (CW) and 12 individuals recovered from AN (REC AN) in order to avoid the confounding effects of malnutrition.

High versus low level of response to alcohol: evidence of differential reactivity to emotional stimuli.

Background: The low level of response (LR) or sensitivity to alcohol is genetically influenced and predicts heavy drinking and alcohol problems. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies using cognitive tasks suggest that subjects with a low-LR process cognitive information differently after placebo and alcohol than those with a high LR, but no studies have evaluated whether similar LR group differences are seen during an emotional processing task.

Methods: The fMRI data were gathered from 116 nonalcoholic subjects (60 women) after oral placebo or approximately .

The parametric, psychological, neuropsychological, and neuroanatomical properties of self and world evaluation.

Background: As an individual moves from adolescence to adulthood, they need to form a new sense of self as their environment changes from a limited to a more expansive structure. During this critical stage in development the last dramatic steps of neural development occur and numerous psychiatric conditions begin to manifest. Currently, there is no measure that aids in the quantification of how the individual is adapting to, and conceptualizing their role in, these new structures.

Altered insula activation in anticipation of changing emotional states: neural mechanisms underlying cognitive flexibility in Special Operations Forces personnel.

Individuals who perform optimally in extreme conditions, such as elite military warriors, can provide valuable insight into the neurobehavioral mechanisms underlying extraordinary performance. In the current study, we examined the degree to which Navy SEALs, when compared with healthy volunteers, could show more right anterior insula activation when shifting from anticipating one emotion to another during functional MRI. Consistent with our hypothesis, SEALs showed attenuated insula activation to negative image relative to positive image anticipation and greater right anterior insula activation during affective set-shifting.

fMRI differences between subjects with low and high responses to alcohol during a stop signal task.

Background: A low level of response (i.e., a low LR) to alcohol is a genetically influenced phenotype that predicts later alcoholism.

Alcohol attenuates activation in the bilateral anterior insula during an emotional processing task: a pilot study.

Aims: Alcohol acutely reduces agitation and is widely used in social situations, but the neural substrates of emotion processing during its intoxication are not well understood. We examine whether alcohol's social stress dampening effect may be via reduced activity in the cortical systems that subserve awareness of bodily sensations, and are associated with affective distress.

Methods: Blood oxygen level-dependent activation was measured through 24 functional magnetic resonance imaging sessions in 12 healthy volunteers during an emotional face-processing task following ingestion of a moderate dose of alcohol and a placebo beverage.

Neural circuitry of PTSD with or without mild traumatic brain injury: a meta-analysis.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) often occur together. Parsing out the unique and overlapping effects of these conditions on the brain, can inform the selection of appropriate treatments. Although recent studies indicate that warfighters in Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom are at a high risk for PTSD and mTBI, there is a dearth of research directly comparing their neural correlates.

Altered amygdala activation during face processing in Iraqi and Afghanistani war veterans.

Background: Exposure to combat can have a significant impact across a wide array of domains, and may manifest as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a debilitating mental illness that is associated with neural and affective sequelae. This study tested the hypothesis that combat-exposed individuals with and without PTSD, relative to healthy control subjects with no history of PTSD or combat exposure, would show amygdala hyperactivity during performance of a well-validated face processing task. We further hypothesized that differences in the prefrontal cortex would best differentiate the combat-exposed groups with and without PTSD.

The relationship between amygdala activation and passive exposure time to an aversive cue during a continuous performance task.

The allocation of attention modulates negative emotional processing in the amygdala. However, the role of passive exposure time to emotional signals in the modulation of amygdala activity during active task performance has not been examined. In two functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) experiments conducted in two different groups of healthy human subjects, we examined activation in the amygdala due to cued anticipation of painful stimuli while subjects performed a simple continuous performance task (CPT) with either a fixed or a parametrically varied trial duration.

Neural correlates of altered pain response in women with posttraumatic stress disorder from intimate partner violence.

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is one of the most common causes of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in women. Women with IPV-related PTSD often experience comorbid chronic pain and pain-related disability. Despite the high comorbidity between PTSD and chronic pain, recent evidence suggests that male veterans with combat-related PTSD report decreased sensitivity to experimental pain.

Acute ethanol effects on brain activation in low- and high-level responders to alcohol.

Background: A low level of response (LR) to alcohol is an important endophenotype associated with an increased risk of alcoholism. However, little is known about how neural functioning may differ between individuals with low and high LRs to alcohol. This study examined whether LR group effects on neural activity varied as a function of acute alcohol consumption.

A multimodal imaging study in U.S. veterans of Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom with and without major depression after blast-related concussion.

Although the exact number of affected individuals is unknown, it has been estimated that approximately 20% of U.S. veterans of Operations Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Iraqi Freedom (OIF) have experienced mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) (i.

Escitalopram attenuates posterior cingulate activity during self-evaluation in healthy volunteers.

Medial cortex is critically involved in self-referential processing. Little is known about how selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) affect medial cortical activity during self-assessment. We hypothesized that a 3-week oral course of escitalopram,10 mg/day, would alter activity related to self-referential processing in medial cortex.

A factor analysis of different temperament domains in a border region in rural Southern California.

Background: Temperament has been described as an oligogenic model that confers attributes to individuals in their daily functioning. Understanding of these temperaments can help understanding psychiatric status and therapeutic needs of a patient population. As the Latino population grows providers need to become more familiar with their psychiatric status.

Adolescents with major depression demonstrate increased amygdala activation.

Objective: Functional neuroimaging studies have led to a significantly deeper understanding of the underlying neural correlates and the development of several mature models of depression in adults. In contrast, our current understanding of the underlying neural substrates of adolescent depression is very limited. Although numerous studies have consistently demonstrated a hyperactive amygdala in depressed adults, the few published pediatric studies have reported opposite results in the amygdala.