Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36332360›Full record

ArticleJournal of psychiatric research2022

Exaggerated amygdala activation to ambiguous facial expressions is a familial vulnerability factor for posttraumatic stress disorder.

Cecilia A Hinojosa, Michael B VanElzakker, Katherine C Hughes, Reid Offringa, Lisa M Sangermano, Isabella G Spaulding, Lindsay K Staples-Bradley, Ethan T Whitman, Natasha B Lasko, Scott L Rauch and 3 more

Open access · greenAbstract readTwin Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of psychiatric research, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
1.7field-weighted citation impact, top 16% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 10 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Amygdala-insula response to neutral stimuli and the prospective prediction of anxiety sensitivity.Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry · 2025
    Article
  3. Identification of a stress-responsive subregion of the basolateral amygdala in male rats.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2024
    Article
  4. Review
  5. Civilian Moral Injury and Amygdala Functional Connectivity During Attention to Threat.Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging · 2024
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.

Cecilia A HinojosaDepartment of Psychology, Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA.
Michael B VanElzakkerDepartment of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA.
Katherine C HughesDepartment of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
Reid OffringaDepartment of Psychology, Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA.
Lisa M SangermanoDepartment of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA.
Isabella G SpauldingSection on Development and Affective Neuroscience, Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Lindsay K Staples-BradleyDepartment of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA.
Ethan T WhitmanDepartment of Psychology & Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
Natasha B LaskoDepartment of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA.
Scott L RauchDepartment of Psychiatry, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA.
Scott P OrrDepartment of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA.
Roger K PitmanDepartment of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA.
Lisa M ShinDepartment of Psychology, Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA. Electronic address: lisa.shin@tufts.edu.
Harvard University · USTufts University · USDuke University · USMcLean Hospital · USNational Institute of Mental Health · US

Funding

Harvard Clinical and Translational Science CenterUL1TR001102 · NCATS · HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL · PI NADLER, LEE MARSHALL · 2013 to 2017
$106.2M
HARVARD CLINICAL AND TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCE CENTER (UL1)UL1RR025758 · NCRR · HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL · PI NADLER, LEE MARSHALL · 2008 to 2011
$91.4M
Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center (UL1)UL1TR000170 · NCATS · HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL · PI NADLER, LEE MARSHALL · 2012 to 2013
$31.4M
ULTRAHIGH FIELD TECHNOLOGY FOR FUNCTIONAL IMAGINGP41RR014075 · NCRR · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI HAMALAINEN, MATTI · 1999 to 2011
$16.4M
TWIN STUDY OF BIOLOGIC MARKERS FOR PTSDR01MH054636 · NIMH · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI SHIN, LISA M · 1995 to 2012
$7.6M
NCATS NIH HHS UL1 TR000170NCATS NIH HHS UL1 TR001102NCRR NIH HHS P41 RR014075NCRR NIH HHS UL1 RR025758NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH054636
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivePrevious research has reported hyperresponsivity in the amygdala and hyporesponsivity in ventral portions of the medial prefrontal cortex to threat-related stimuli in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Whether such findings generalize to more ambiguous stimuli and whether such brain activation abnormalities reflect familial vulnerabilities, trauma-exposure, or acquired characteristics of PTSD remain unclear. In this study, we measured brain responses to emotionally ambiguous stimuli (i.e., surprised facial expressions) in identical twin pairs discordant for trauma exposure to elucidate the origin of brain activation abnormalities.

methodsParticipants with PTSD (n = 12) and their trauma-unexposed identical cotwins (n = 12), as well as trauma-exposed participants without PTSD (n = 15) and their trauma-unexposed identical cotwins (n = 15), passively viewed surprised and neutral facial expressions during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Afterward, participants labeled and rated each facial expression on valence and arousal.

resultsAmygdala activation to Surprised and Neutral facial expressions (versus Fixation) was greater in the participants with PTSD and their trauma-unexposed identical cotwins without PTSD, compared to the control twin pairs. In contrast, medial frontal gyrus (MFG) activation to Surprised facial expressions (versus Fixation) was diminished in the PTSD group relative to the other three groups.

conclusionsAmygdala hyperresponsivity to emotionally ambiguous facial expressions may be a familial vulnerability factor that increases the likelihood of developing PTSD after experiencing a traumatic event. In contrast, MFG hyporesponsivity may be an acquired characteristic of the disorder.

Indexed as

Facial ExpressionStress Disorders, Post-TraumaticHumansAmygdalaEmotional ambiguityFunctional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)Medial frontal gyrusPosttraumatic stress disorder

Identifiers

PMID36332360
PMCPMC9742331
OpenAlexW4306958345

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
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Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.