Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry · Apr 2016
Default-Mode Network Abnormalities in Pediatric Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.
Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) studies of adult posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have identified default-mode network (DMN) abnormalities, including reduced within-network connectivity and reduced anticorrelation between the DMN and task-positive network (TPN). However, no prior studies have specifically examined DMN connectivity in pediatric PTSD, which may differ due to neurodevelopmental factors. ⋯ Pediatric PTSD is characterized by heightened within-DMN connectivity, which may contribute to re-experiencing symptoms of PTSD and is consistent with the role of the DMN in autobiographical memory. At the same time, greater anticorrelation between the DMN and attentional control networks may represent compensatory mechanisms aimed at suppressing trauma-related thought, a notion supported by the inverse relationship between TPN strength and re-experiencing. These findings provide new insights into large-scale network abnormalities underlying pediatric PTSD, which could serve as biomarkers of illness and treatment response.