title: White matter microstructural changes as vulnerability factors and acquired signs of post-earthquake distress.
abstract: Many survivors of severe disasters need psychological support, even those not suffering post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The critical issue in understanding the psychological response after experiencing severe disasters is to distinguish neurological microstructural underpinnings as vulnerability factors from signs of emotional distress acquired soon after the stressful life event. We collected diffusion-tensor magnetic resonance imaging (DTI) data from a group of healthy adolescents before the Great East Japan Earthquake and re-examined the DTIs and anxiety levels of 30 non-PTSD subjects from this group 3-4 months after the earthquake using voxel-based analyses in a longitudinal DTI study before and after the earthquake. We found that the state anxiety level after the earthquake was negatively associated with fractional anisotropy (FA) in the right anterior cingulum (Cg) before the earthquake (r = -0.61, voxel level p<0.0025, cluster level p<0.05 corrected), and positively associated with increased FA changes from before to after the earthquake in the left anterior Cg (r = 0.70, voxel level p<0.0025, cluster level p<0.05 corrected) and uncinate fasciculus (Uf) (r = 0.65, voxel level p<0.0025, cluster level p<0.05 corrected). The results demonstrated that lower FA in the right anterior Cg was a vulnerability factor and increased FA in the left anterior Cg and Uf was an acquired sign of state anxiety after the earthquake. We postulate that subjects with dysfunctions in processing fear and anxiety before the disaster were likely to have higher anxiety levels requiring frequent emotional regulation after the disaster. These findings provide new evidence of psychophysiological responses at the neural network level soon after a stressful life event and might contribute to the development of effective methods to prevent PTSD.
authors.affiliation: Division of Medical Neuroimage Analysis, Department of Community Medical Supports, Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan ; Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer (IDAC), Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sekiguchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer (IDAC), Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan ; International Research Institute of Disaster Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: Motoaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sugiura
authors.affiliation: Division of Medical Neuroimage Analysis, Department of Community Medical Supports, Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan ; Division of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, IDAC, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan ; Department of Nuclear Medicine and Radiology, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasuyuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Taki
authors.affiliation: Department of Advanced Brain Science, Smart Ageing International Research Center, IDAC, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kotozaki
authors.affiliation: International Research Institute of Disaster Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan ; Department of Advanced Brain Science, Smart Ageing International Research Center, IDAC, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan ; Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nouchi
authors.affiliation: Division of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, IDAC, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: Hikaru
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takeuchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Advanced Brain Science, Smart Ageing International Research Center, IDAC, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: Tsuyoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Araki
authors.affiliation: Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer (IDAC), Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: Sugiko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hanawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer (IDAC), Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: Seishu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakagawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer (IDAC), Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan ; Graduate Schools for Law and Politics, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Carlos Makoto
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Miyauchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer (IDAC), Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan ; Department of Psychiatry, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sakuma
authors.affiliation: Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer (IDAC), Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan ; Division of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, IDAC, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan ; Department of Advanced Brain Science, Smart Ageing International Research Center, IDAC, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: Ryuta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kawashima
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D055866:Earthquakes; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult