title: Long-term effects of postearthquake distress on brain microstructural changes.
abstract: Stressful events can have both short- and long-term effects on the brain. Our recent investigation identified short-term white matter integrity (WMI) changes in 30 subjects soon after the Japanese earthquake. Our findings suggested that lower WMI in the right anterior cingulum (Cg) was a pre-existing vulnerability factor and increased WMI in the left anterior Cg and uncinate fasciculus (Uf) after the earthquake was an acquired sign of postearthquake distress. However, the long-term effects on WMI remained unclear. Here, we examined the 1-year WMI changes in 25 subjects to clarify long-term effects on the WMI. We found differential FAs in the right anterior Cg, bilateral Uf, left superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), and left thalamus, suggesting that synaptic enhancement and shrinkage were long-term effects. Additionally, the correlation between psychological measures related to postearthquake distress and the degree of WMI alternation in the right anterior Cg and the left Uf led us to speculate that temporal WMI changes in some subjects with emotional distress occurred soon after the disaster. We hypothesized that dynamic WMI changes predict a better prognosis, whereas persistently lower WMI is a marker of cognitive dysfunction, implying the development of anxiety disorders.
authors.affiliation: Division of Medical Neuroimage Analysis, Department of Community Medical Supports, Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization, Tohoku University, 4-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8575, Japan ; Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer (IDAC), Tohoku University, 4-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8575, Japan.
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sekiguchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Advanced Brain Science, Smart Ageing International Research Center, IDAC, Tohoku University, 4-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8575, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kotozaki
authors.affiliation: Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer (IDAC), Tohoku University, 4-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8575, Japan ; International Research Institute of Disaster Science, Tohoku University, 4-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8575, Japan.
authors.forename: Motoaki
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-5412-0380
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sugiura
authors.affiliation: Department of Advanced Brain Science, Smart Ageing International Research Center, IDAC, Tohoku University, 4-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8575, Japan ; International Research Institute of Disaster Science, Tohoku University, 4-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8575, Japan.
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nouchi
authors.affiliation: Division of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, IDAC, Tohoku University, 4-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8575, Japan.
authors.forename: Hikaru
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takeuchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer (IDAC), Tohoku University, 4-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8575, 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, 4-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8575, 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, 4-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8575, Japan ; Graduate Schools for Law and Politics, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.
authors.forename: Carlos Makoto
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Miyauchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Advanced Brain Science, Smart Ageing International Research Center, IDAC, Tohoku University, 4-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8575, 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, 4-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8575, Japan ; Department of Psychiatry, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8574, Japan.
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sakuma
authors.affiliation: Division of Medical Neuroimage Analysis, Department of Community Medical Supports, Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization, Tohoku University, 4-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8575, Japan ; Division of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, IDAC, Tohoku University, 4-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8575, Japan ; Department of Nuclear Medicine and Radiology, IDAC, Tohoku University, 4-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8575, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasuyuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Taki
authors.affiliation: Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer (IDAC), Tohoku University, 4-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8575, Japan ; Department of Advanced Brain Science, Smart Ageing International Research Center, IDAC, Tohoku University, 4-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8575, Japan ; Division of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, IDAC, Tohoku University, 4-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8575, Japan.
authors.forename: Ryuta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kawashima
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D055866:Earthquakes; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D066127:White Matter / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure