title: Evidence for disrupted gray matter structural connectivity in posttraumatic stress disorder.
abstract: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is characterized by atrophy within the prefrontal-limbic network. Graph analysis was used to investigate to what degree atrophy in PTSD is associated with impaired structural connectivity within prefrontal limbic network (restricted) and how this affects the integration of the prefrontal limbic network with the rest of the brain (whole-brain). 85 male veterans (45 PTSD neg, 40 PTSD pos) underwent volumetric MRI on a 3T MR. Subfield volumes were obtained using a manual labeling scheme and cortical thickness measurements and subcortical volumes from FreeSurfer. Regression analysis was used to identify regions with volume loss. Graph analytical Toolbox (GAT) was used for graph-analysis. PTSD pos had a thinner rostral anterior cingulate and insular cortex but no hippocampal volume loss. PTSD was characterized by decreased nodal degree (orbitofrontal, anterior cingulate) and clustering coefficients (thalamus) but increased nodal betweenness (insula, orbitofrontal) and a reduced small world index in the whole brain analysis and by orbitofrontal and insular nodes with increased nodal degree, clustering coefficient and nodal betweenness in the restricted analysis. PTSD associated atrophy in the prefrontal-limbic network results in an increased structural connectivity within that network that negatively affected its integration with the rest of the brain.
authors.affiliation: Center for Imaging of Neurodegenerative Diseases, VAMC San Francisco, Clement Street 4150, San Francisco, CA 94121, USA. Electronic address: susanne.mueller@ucsf.edu.
authors.forename: Susanne G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Mueller
authors.affiliation: Center for Imaging of Neurodegenerative Diseases, VAMC San Francisco, Clement Street 4150, San Francisco, CA 94121, USA.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Neylan
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mackin
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Owen
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Wolkowitz
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Synthia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mellon
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Xiaodan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Janine
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Flory
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yehuda
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Charles R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Marmar
authors.affiliation: Center for Imaging of Neurodegenerative Diseases, VAMC San Francisco, Clement Street 4150, San Francisco, CA 94121, USA.
authors.forename: Michael W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Weiner
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D066128:Gray Matter / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D054542:Iraq War, 2003-2011; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism*; D014728:Veterans; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cortical thickness; Graph analysis; Posttraumatic stress disorder; Structural connectivity; Veteran