Aberrant regional homogeneity in post-traumatic stress disorder after traffic accident: A resting-state functional MRI study

• Main Authors: Shishun Fu, Xiaofen Ma, Changhong Li, Tianyue Wang, Chao Li, Zhigang Bai, Kelei Hua, Yi Yin, Yunfan Wu, Kanghui Yu, Mengchen Liu, Qiying Ke, Junzhang Tian, Guihua Jiang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2019-01-01
• Series: NeuroImage: Clinical
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213158219303018

Objectives: The present study explored the changes in spontaneous regional activity in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patients, who experienced severe traffic accidents. Methods: 20 drug-naive PTSD patients and 18 healthy control subjects were imaged using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) and analyzed by the algorithm of regional homogeneity (ReHo). Results: Compared to the healthy control group, the PTSD group showed decreased ReHo values in the right angular gyrus. In addition, a negative correlation was found between the activity level of the angular gyrus and the CAPS score. Conclusion: The dysfunctions were found in the memory- and emotion-related areas, suggested a possible mechanism of memory dysregulation that might be related to the intrusive memory symptoms of PTSD. These results provided imaging evidence that might provide an in-depth understanding of the intrinsic functional architecture of PTSD. Keywords: PTSD, Angular gyrus, fMRI, Traffic accidents