Neural Correlates of Attention Bias to Threat in Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

• Authors: Negar Fani, Emory University; Tanja Jovanovic, Emory University; Timothy D. Ely, Emory University; Bekh Bradley-Davino, Emory University; David Andrew Gutman, Emory University; Erin B. Tone, Georgia State University; Kerry Ressler, Emory University
• Journal Title: Biological Psychology
• Volume: Volume 90, Number 2
• Publisher: Elsevier: 12 months | 2012-05, Pages 134-142
• Type of Work: Article | Post-print: After Peer Review
• Publisher DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2012.03.001
• Subjects: Psychology, Psychobiology
• Keywords: Attention bias; PTSD; Threat; fMRI; Prefrontal cortex; Neuroimaging; Posttraumatic Stress Disorder; Anterior cingulate cortex; Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; Cognition

Abstract

Attentional biases have been proposed to contribute to symptom maintenance in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), although the neural correlates of these processes have not been well defined; this was the goal of the present study. We administered an attention bias task, the dot probe, to a sample of 37 (19 control, 18 PTSD+) traumatized African-American adults during fMRI. Compared to controls, PTSD+ participants demonstrated increased activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) in response to threat cue trials. In addition, attentional avoidance of threat corresponded with increased ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) activation in the PTSD group, a pattern that was not observed in controls. These data provide evidence to suggest that relative increases in dlPFC, dACC and vlPFC activation represent neural markers of attentional bias for threat in individuals with PTSD, reflecting selective disruptions in attentional control and emotion processing networks in this disorder.