Research reveals brain network that protects against PTSD

New research suggests that neurostimulation therapy that targets specific brain circuits may serve as a new treatment for: post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

By analyzing veterans with traumatic brain injury (TBI), a team at Brigham and Women's Hospital found that damage to certain areas of the brain was associated with a lower chance of developing PTSD. did.

of findingswas published in natural neurosciencecan chart a path toward more accurate PTSD treatment.

Significant PTSD findings

The study focused on 193 military veterans. Research on head injuries in VietnamAll had sustained penetrating traumatic brain injuries. The researchers wanted to find out whether the location of the brain injury was related to whether a patient developed PTSD.

The research team found that damage to the amygdala brain region, an area that processes fear, reduced the risk of PTSD. The findings suggest that certain lesions may protect against PTSD by disrupting brain circuits that include the amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex.

“This is a very real brain disease, and we can pinpoint the cause to specific brain circuits,” said Shan Siddiqui, M.D., lead author of the study and a psychiatrist at the Brigham Brain Circuit Treatment Center. said in his paper. press release. “PTSD is not a matter of mental strength or weakness; it is a brain condition that can be treated.”

Understanding brain circuits

The researchers collaborated with other teams at Northwestern University, Brown University, and Duke University to examine the brain's wiring and how it influences the development of PTSD.

Previous research had already shown that damage to the amygdala reduces the likelihood of developing PTSD, but the Brigham team has identified specific brain circuits (if any) that caregivers can focus on during treatment. I wanted to focus on and pinpoint exactly.

“Because the amygdala is located deep in the brain, it is difficult to reach with non-surgical stimulation methods,” Siddiqui added. “We wanted to find circuits that could be targeted by existing neurostimulation therapies.”

Early research has already identified brain networks involved in depression and addiction that caregivers can address with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).

Co-author Michael Fox, MD, director of the Brain Circuit Therapy Center, emphasized the importance of finding similar targets for PTSD.

“One of the major challenges in developing brain stimulation treatments for PTSD is finding appropriate therapeutic targets,” Fox explained. “Our study focused on brain lesions to elucidate circuits associated with PTSD risk.”

Mapping the brain to PTSD targets

Researchers worked with Vietnam War veterans who sustained head injuries while on duty. Researchers used data on the exact location of brain injuries to map the affected brain circuits and compared the results to a control group of 180 veterans without brain injuries.

The analysis revealed that a network connected to the amygdala appears to protect against PTSD.

The research team then investigated whether this brain circuit could serve as a viable therapeutic target. They analyzed previous TMS trials for PTSD and found that patients who showed improvement were often those who received stimulation targeting the same circuits.

“Tests done at this circuit tended to yield better results,” Fox said. “We believe we have identified a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of PTSD using TMS.”

Apply to actual language therapy

During a research project, one patient with severe PTSD sought TMS treatment at Acacia Mental Health in California. Clinicians asked Siddiqui to help identify circuits that could help with treatment. The patient subsequently showed significant improvement after treatment. Please note that this is anecdotal evidence – one patient's story. Nevertheless, it helps demonstrate the potential clinical relevance of the study results.

Still, Sadiq and his team suggested that researchers should do more research before neurostimulation therapies that target this brain circuit are widely adopted. Fox and Siddiqi added that researchers will need to conduct a randomized controlled trial if they want to gain FDA approval for this new treatment.

They also acknowledged some limitations to the study, including the fact that only military veterans participated. Researchers are still undecided whether the same brain circuits apply to people with PTSD who are not in prison.

Despite these uncertainties, this study represents an important step toward developing more effective treatments for PTSD.

“There is still much to learn, but identifying specific brain circuits as therapeutic targets is an important advance for patients who desperately need better treatment options,” Fox said.