Childhood Trauma and Functional Connectivity between Amygdala and Medial Prefrontal Cortex: A Dynamic Functional Connectivity and Large-Scale Network Perspective
Altered functional connectivity (FC) between the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and amygdala is widely implicated as a neural mechanism explaining risk for psychopathology among those exposed to early life trauma. Nonetheless, contemporary neuroimaging research has shifted toward large-scale networ...
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doaj-94fc89793f5d47a5a712883570cfbbdb2020-11-24T22:56:52ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience1662-51372017-05-011110.3389/fnsys.2017.00029243344Childhood Trauma and Functional Connectivity between Amygdala and Medial Prefrontal Cortex: A Dynamic Functional Connectivity and Large-Scale Network PerspectiveJosh M. CislerAltered functional connectivity (FC) between the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and amygdala is widely implicated as a neural mechanism explaining risk for psychopathology among those exposed to early life trauma. Nonetheless, contemporary neuroimaging research has shifted toward large-scale network models of brain function, and it is not clear how this common bi-nodal finding fits into larger-scale network models. Here, using dynamic functional connectivity (DFC) approaches combined with large-scale network analyses, the larger role of bi-nodal FC between mPFC and amygdala among a sample of adolescent girls is investigated. The sample was comprised of 30 healthy control girls and 26 girls exposed to either physical or sexual assault who underwent a resting-state scan during 3T MRI. DFC using a sliding window approach was used to create weighted, undirected, graphs from the resting-state data following parcellation with a 215 regions-of-interest (ROI) atlas. Using a priori ROI, the predicted finding of lessor FC between mPFC and amygdala as a function of early life trauma was replicated in this sample. By contrast, early life trauma was associated with greater large-scale network modularity. Using a dynamic FC approach, it is also demonstrated that within-subject variability in this bi-nodal FC closely tracks within-subject fluctuations in large-scale network patterns, including connectivity between a limbic and default mode network (in which the amygdala and mPFC nodes belong, respectively) as well as overall modular organization. These results suggest that bi-nodal FC, such as amygdala-mPFC FC, may generally reflect larger-scale network patterns. Future research is necessary to understand whether these associations between nodal FC and large-scale network organization better reflect top-down processes (larger-scale network organization drives bi-nodal FC) or bottom-up processes (bi-nodal FC drives larger-scale network organization) and the related impact of early life trauma.http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnsys.2017.00029/fullearly life traumaamygdalafunctional connectivitydynamic functional connectivity |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Josh M. Cisler |
spellingShingle |
Josh M. Cisler Childhood Trauma and Functional Connectivity between Amygdala and Medial Prefrontal Cortex: A Dynamic Functional Connectivity and Large-Scale Network Perspective Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience early life trauma amygdala functional connectivity dynamic functional connectivity |
author_facet |
Josh M. Cisler |
author_sort |
Josh M. Cisler |
title |
Childhood Trauma and Functional Connectivity between Amygdala and Medial Prefrontal Cortex: A Dynamic Functional Connectivity and Large-Scale Network Perspective |
title_short |
Childhood Trauma and Functional Connectivity between Amygdala and Medial Prefrontal Cortex: A Dynamic Functional Connectivity and Large-Scale Network Perspective |
title_full |
Childhood Trauma and Functional Connectivity between Amygdala and Medial Prefrontal Cortex: A Dynamic Functional Connectivity and Large-Scale Network Perspective |
title_fullStr |
Childhood Trauma and Functional Connectivity between Amygdala and Medial Prefrontal Cortex: A Dynamic Functional Connectivity and Large-Scale Network Perspective |
title_full_unstemmed |
Childhood Trauma and Functional Connectivity between Amygdala and Medial Prefrontal Cortex: A Dynamic Functional Connectivity and Large-Scale Network Perspective |
title_sort |
childhood trauma and functional connectivity between amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex: a dynamic functional connectivity and large-scale network perspective |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
series |
Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience |
issn |
1662-5137 |
publishDate |
2017-05-01 |
description |
Altered functional connectivity (FC) between the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and amygdala is widely implicated as a neural mechanism explaining risk for psychopathology among those exposed to early life trauma. Nonetheless, contemporary neuroimaging research has shifted toward large-scale network models of brain function, and it is not clear how this common bi-nodal finding fits into larger-scale network models. Here, using dynamic functional connectivity (DFC) approaches combined with large-scale network analyses, the larger role of bi-nodal FC between mPFC and amygdala among a sample of adolescent girls is investigated. The sample was comprised of 30 healthy control girls and 26 girls exposed to either physical or sexual assault who underwent a resting-state scan during 3T MRI. DFC using a sliding window approach was used to create weighted, undirected, graphs from the resting-state data following parcellation with a 215 regions-of-interest (ROI) atlas. Using a priori ROI, the predicted finding of lessor FC between mPFC and amygdala as a function of early life trauma was replicated in this sample. By contrast, early life trauma was associated with greater large-scale network modularity. Using a dynamic FC approach, it is also demonstrated that within-subject variability in this bi-nodal FC closely tracks within-subject fluctuations in large-scale network patterns, including connectivity between a limbic and default mode network (in which the amygdala and mPFC nodes belong, respectively) as well as overall modular organization. These results suggest that bi-nodal FC, such as amygdala-mPFC FC, may generally reflect larger-scale network patterns. Future research is necessary to understand whether these associations between nodal FC and large-scale network organization better reflect top-down processes (larger-scale network organization drives bi-nodal FC) or bottom-up processes (bi-nodal FC drives larger-scale network organization) and the related impact of early life trauma. |
topic |
early life trauma amygdala functional connectivity dynamic functional connectivity |
url |
http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnsys.2017.00029/full |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT joshmcisler childhoodtraumaandfunctionalconnectivitybetweenamygdalaandmedialprefrontalcortexadynamicfunctionalconnectivityandlargescalenetworkperspective |
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