Abstract
ObjectiveTo explore the neural mechanisms of negative emotion regulation in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).MethodsTwenty PTSD patients and 20 healthy subjects were recruited. Event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to investigate the modification of emotional responses to negative stimuli. Participants were required to regulate their emotional reactions according to the auditory regulation instructions via headphones, to maintain, enhance or diminish responses to negative stimuli during fMRI scans.ResultsThe PTSD group showed poorer modification performance than the control group when diminishing responses to negative stimuli. On fMRI, the PTSD group showed decreased activation in the inferior frontal cortex, inferior parietal lobule, insula and putamen, and increased activation in posterior cingulate cortex and amygdala during up-regulation of negative emotion. Similar decreased activation regions were found during down-regulation of negative emotion, but no increased activation was found.ConclusionTrauma exposure might impair the ability to down-regulate negative emotion. The present findings will improve our understanding of the neural mechanisms of emotion regulation underlying PTSD.
Highlights
Exposure to a traumatic event, such as combat, violent crime, childhood abuse or a motor vehicle accident can result in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is characterized by unique symptoms such as the recurrent, involuntary recollection of the trauma in the form of intrusive thoughts, nightmares, and vivid sensory memories [1]
Subject Characteristics PTSD patients and the controls were matched with respect to age, gender, and years of education (p.0.05), and there were no significant differences in IQ between the two groups (p.0.05)
The present study investigated the neural mechanisms for the voluntary regulation of emotional responses to negative stimuli in PTSD using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
Summary
Exposure to a traumatic event, such as combat, violent crime, childhood abuse or a motor vehicle accident can result in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is characterized by unique symptoms such as the recurrent, involuntary recollection of the trauma in the form of intrusive thoughts, nightmares, and vivid sensory memories [1]. Etkin and Wager found only patients with PTSD showed hypoactivation in the dorsal and rostral anterior cingulate cortices and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, structures linked to the experience and regulation of emotion, suggesting a mechanism for the emotional dysregulation symptoms in PTSD that extend beyond an exaggerated fear response [11]. These studies only investigated emotion regulation in passive responses to negative stimuli. Little is known about the neuromechanism underlying voluntary emotion regulation in PTSD patients
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