Trauma and the default mode network: review and exploratory study
Aldrich Chan, Philip D. Harvey, R Hernandez-Cardenache, Noam Alperin, Sang H. Lee, Christopher Hunt, Nick Petersen, Georg Northoff, Nadine Robertson, Jason Ouyang, Ryan Karasik, Kate Z. Williams
Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience December 23, 2024 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2024.1499408 via OpenAlex
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractTraumatic responses outside a PTSD diagnosis are linked to changes in default mode network (DMN) functioning. In a study of 27 participants (16 trauma-exposed, 11 non-trauma-exposed), with 15 completing neuroimaging, the trauma-exposed group showed reduced self-referential processing, social cognition, autobiographical recall, and prospection, alongside increased mind-wandering. Correlations between cognitive findings and brain volume were observed, but volumetric differences between groups were insignificant. This suggests that preserved DMN structural integrity may support resilience, and that reduced hippocampal volume may be a pre-existing vulnerability to PTSD rather than a consequence, with DMN-related cognitive reductions being functionally mediated.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Systematic exploratory study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 27 |
| Population | Trauma-exposed and non-trauma-exposed participants |
| Topics | Default mode network |
| Keywords | Neuropsychology Neuroimaging Recall Vulnerability computing |
| Citations | 9 |
| Key finding | Trauma-exposed individuals showed reductions in DMN-related cognition (self-referential processing, social cognition, autobiographical recall, prospection) and increased mind-wandering, with no significant volumetric brain differences between groups. |
Abstract
While PTSD continues to be researched in great depth, less attention has been given to the continuum of traumatic responses that resides outside this diagnosis. This investigation begins with a literature review examining the spectrum of responses through the lens of the default mode network (DMN). To build upon this literature, a systematic exploratory study was incorporated, examining DMN-related neuropsychological functioning of 27 participants (16 trauma-exposed, and 11 non-trauma-exposed), with a subset (15 participants) completing neuroimaging. This study revealed that in comparison to the control group, the trauma-exposed group had reductions in their capacity for self-referential processing, social cognition, autobiographical recall, prospection, and increased mind-wandering. While correlations were encountered between cognitive findings and brain volume, comparative volumetric findings between trauma-exposed and non-t rauma exposed were insignificant. This suggests that the conservation of DMN structural integrity may play a role in resilience, supporting the existing theory that reduced hippocampal volume may be a pre-existing vulnerability to PTSD rather than a consequence and that reductions in DMN related cognition are functionally mediated.