نهمین کنگره نقشه برداری مغز

نمایش مقاله

Title:

Neurofunctional substrates of posttraumatic stress disorder: An activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis of childhood interpersonal versus adult-onset trauma

Subject:

Clinical Applications of Brain Mappin

Presenter Author:
Name:	Erfan Salehi

Author:
Name 1:	Erfan Salehi - Presenter
Affiliation 1:	Master of Clinical Psychology, Islamic Azad University, Hamedan Branch, Iran

Name 2:	Zahra Vaseqi - Corresponding
Affiliation 2:	Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities, Islamic Azad University, Khomeini Shahr Branch, Khomeini Shahr, Isfahan, Iran (Corresponding Author, Email: Arefevsq@gmail.com)

Name 3:	Nadia Bahadori Fardaraghi
Affiliation 3:	Master of Rehabilitation Counseling, Allameh Tabatabae University, Karaj, Iran

Name 4:	Moloud Mohammadi
Affiliation 4:	Master of Clinical Psychology, Islamic Azad University, Islamshahr Branch, Tehran, Iran

Name 5:	Maryam Raissi
Affiliation 5:	PhD student in Psychology, Islamic Azad University, Semnan Branch

Name 6:	Mirzaei
Affiliation 6:	Master of Psychology, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad Branch, Iran

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Abstract

Original Research

introduction :

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a heterogeneous condition, yet most neuroimaging meta-analyses have treated it as a relatively homogeneous diagnostic category. The inclusion of complex PTSD in the ICD-11 has highlighted the need to differentiate between trauma types, but whether the nature and timing of the index trauma shape the neural substrates of PTSD remains unclear. This study aimed to compare the neural activation patterns of PTSD associated with chronic childhood-onset interpersonal trauma (Arm 1) with those of PTSD linked to adult-onset trauma (Arm 2) using a homologous analytical pipeline.

Methods:

A systematic literature search was conducted across six databases through January 2026, identifying 32 studies (15 studies in Arm 1, contributing 112 foci; 17 studies in Arm 2, contributing 186 foci). Activation likelihood estimation (ALE) was performed using NiMARE 0.20.0, with voxel-level threshold set at p < 0.001 (Z > 3.09) and cluster-level family-wise error correction at p < 0.05, computed separately for each directional contrast. To address cohort non-independence in Arm 1, two overlapping reports from a single cohort were pooled into one experiment. Bootstrap resampling (100 iterations) and leave-one-study-out jackknife analyses were conducted to assess the stability of the principal findings.

Results:

In Arm 2, a single significant cluster emerged in the right amygdala and hippocampus (peak MNI 28, -6, -18; Z = 4.30; 1,152 mm³), surviving both cluster-size and cluster-mass FWE correction. This cluster remained stable across bootstrap iterations (95% CI: 3.19–4.70) and in 12 of 15 jackknife iterations. In Arm 1, a preliminary cluster appeared in the right inferior frontal gyrus and anterior insula (peak MNI coordinates 42, 16, -10; Z = 4.93), but this disappeared when the two non-independent reports were pooled. Bootstrap analysis confirmed the instability of this finding (95% CI: 0.00–5.19). Heterogeneity of foci counts was higher in Arm 1 (CV = 1.08) than in Arm 2 (CV = 0.78). The reverse contrast yielded no significant clusters in either arm.

Conclusion:

The present study demonstrates that PTSD linked to adult-onset trauma reliably reproduces the amygdala-hippocampal fear-circuit signature, whereas PTSD linked to chronic childhood interpersonal trauma shows no convergent neural pattern that remains significant after correction for non-independence. These findings suggest that the nature and onset of the index trauma may serve as an organizing axis for the neurobiological substrate of PTSD, but the childhood-trauma literature remains too heterogeneous for firm conclusions. All data and code are openly available.

Keywords:

Post-traumatic stress disorder, ctivation likelihood estimation and Childhood interpersonal trauma