Abstract
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a severe psychiatric disorder prevalent in combat veterans. Previous neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that patients with PTSD exhibit abnormal responses to non-threatening visual and auditory stimuli, but have not examined somatosensory processing. Thirty male combat veterans, 16 with PTSD and 14 without, completed a tactile stimulation task during a 306-sensor magnetoencephalography (MEG) recording. Significant oscillatory neural responses were imaged using a beamforming approach. Participants also completed clinical assessments of PTSD, combat exposure, and depression. We found that veterans with PTSD exhibited significantly reduced activity during early (0-125. ms) tactile processing compared with combat controls. Specifically, veterans with PTSD had weaker activity in the left postcentral gyrus, left superior parietal area, and right prefrontal cortex in response to nonthreatening tactile stimulation relative to veterans without PTSD. The magnitude of activity in these brain regions was inversely correlated with symptom severity, indicating that those with the most severe PTSD had the most abnormal neural responses. Our findings are consistent with a resource allocation view of perceptual processing in PTSD, which directs attention away from nonthreatening sensory information.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 194-200 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Psychiatry Research - Neuroimaging |
| Volume | 233 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Aug 30 2015 |
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All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Psychiatry and Mental health
- Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging
- Neuroscience (miscellaneous)
Cite this
Decreased somatosensory activity to non-threatening touch in combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder. / Badura Brack, Amy S.; Becker, Katherine M.; McDermott, Timothy J.; Ryan, Tara J.; Becker, Madelyn M.; Hearley, Allison R.; Heinrichs-Graham, Elizabeth; Wilson, Tony W.
In: Psychiatry Research - Neuroimaging, Vol. 233, No. 2, 30.08.2015, p. 194-200.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Decreased somatosensory activity to non-threatening touch in combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder
AU - Badura Brack, Amy S.
AU - Becker, Katherine M.
AU - McDermott, Timothy J.
AU - Ryan, Tara J.
AU - Becker, Madelyn M.
AU - Hearley, Allison R.
AU - Heinrichs-Graham, Elizabeth
AU - Wilson, Tony W.
PY - 2015/8/30
Y1 - 2015/8/30
N2 - Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a severe psychiatric disorder prevalent in combat veterans. Previous neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that patients with PTSD exhibit abnormal responses to non-threatening visual and auditory stimuli, but have not examined somatosensory processing. Thirty male combat veterans, 16 with PTSD and 14 without, completed a tactile stimulation task during a 306-sensor magnetoencephalography (MEG) recording. Significant oscillatory neural responses were imaged using a beamforming approach. Participants also completed clinical assessments of PTSD, combat exposure, and depression. We found that veterans with PTSD exhibited significantly reduced activity during early (0-125. ms) tactile processing compared with combat controls. Specifically, veterans with PTSD had weaker activity in the left postcentral gyrus, left superior parietal area, and right prefrontal cortex in response to nonthreatening tactile stimulation relative to veterans without PTSD. The magnitude of activity in these brain regions was inversely correlated with symptom severity, indicating that those with the most severe PTSD had the most abnormal neural responses. Our findings are consistent with a resource allocation view of perceptual processing in PTSD, which directs attention away from nonthreatening sensory information.
AB - Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a severe psychiatric disorder prevalent in combat veterans. Previous neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that patients with PTSD exhibit abnormal responses to non-threatening visual and auditory stimuli, but have not examined somatosensory processing. Thirty male combat veterans, 16 with PTSD and 14 without, completed a tactile stimulation task during a 306-sensor magnetoencephalography (MEG) recording. Significant oscillatory neural responses were imaged using a beamforming approach. Participants also completed clinical assessments of PTSD, combat exposure, and depression. We found that veterans with PTSD exhibited significantly reduced activity during early (0-125. ms) tactile processing compared with combat controls. Specifically, veterans with PTSD had weaker activity in the left postcentral gyrus, left superior parietal area, and right prefrontal cortex in response to nonthreatening tactile stimulation relative to veterans without PTSD. The magnitude of activity in these brain regions was inversely correlated with symptom severity, indicating that those with the most severe PTSD had the most abnormal neural responses. Our findings are consistent with a resource allocation view of perceptual processing in PTSD, which directs attention away from nonthreatening sensory information.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2015.06.012
DO - 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2015.06.012
M3 - Article
VL - 233
SP - 194
EP - 200
JO - Psychiatry Research - Neuroimaging
JF - Psychiatry Research - Neuroimaging
SN - 0925-4927
IS - 2
ER -