fMRI sheds light on how trauma affects the brain

The study findings suggest that "brain activity profiles" determined in part by fMRI could improve patient care, a team led by Laura Stevens, PhD, of Emory University in Atlanta, GA, found.

"Establishing reliable, predictive profiles of stress response could improve clinical care, helping providers deliver effective interventions that are tailored to trauma survivors' individual needs and circumstances," said the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in a statement about the research. The institute funded the study that Stevens and colleagues used for their investigation.

Each person's brain responds to stress caused by a traumatic event differently, with some people showing a strong initial reaction that dissipates over time while others experience longer-term stress symptoms that make it hard to fulfill day-to-day activities.

The research is part of the NIMH's Aurora study, which followed more than 3,000 people for up to 12 months after they experienced a traumatic event. Stevens' group selected 68 participants treated in an emergency department after a car accident.

Two weeks after the traumatic event, each person's brain activity was measured using fMRI while they completed a series of computer-based tasks that prompted responses to social threat cues, reward cues, and situations that tested their impulsivity. Study participants also reported over six months via digital surveys any symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, dissociation, anxiety, and impulsivity.

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