Structural Covariance of Early Visual Cortex Is Negatively Associated With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms: A Mega-Analysis From the ENIGMA PTSD Working Group

@article{harnett2026structural,
  title = {{Structural Covariance of Early Visual Cortex Is Negatively Associated With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms: A Mega-Analysis From the ENIGMA PTSD Working Group}},
  author = {Nathaniel Harnett and Soumyaa Joshi and Poornima Kumar and Courtney Russell and Daniel Dillon and Justin Baker and Diego Pizzagalli and Milissa Kaufman and Lisa Nickerson and Neda Jahanshad and Lauren Salminen and Sophia Thomopoulos and Jessie Frijling and Dick Veltman and Saskia B.J. Koch and Laura Nawijn and Mirjam van Zuiden and Ye Zhu and Gen Li and Jonathan Ipser and Xi Zhu and Orren Ravid and Sigal Zilcha-Mano and Amit Lazarov and Benjamin Suarez-Jimenez and Delin Sun and Ahmed Hussain and Ashley Huggins and Tanja Jovanovic and Sanne J.H. van Rooij and Negar Fani and Anna Hudson and Anika Sierk and Antje Manthey and Henrik Walter and Nic J.A. van der Wee and Steven J.A. van der Werff and Robert R.J.M. Vermeiren and Pavel Říha and Lauren A.M. Lebois and Isabelle Rosso and Elizabeth Olson and Israel Liberzon and Mike Angstadt and Seth Disner and Scott Sponheim and Sheri-Michelle Koopowitz and David Hofmann and Rongfeng Qi and Adi Maron-Katz and Austin Kunch and Hong Xie and Wissam El-Hage and Hannah Berg and Steven Bruce and Katie Mclaughlin and Matthew Peverill and Kelly Sambrook and Marisa Ross and Ryan Herringa},
  journal = {Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging},
  year = {2026},
  month = nov,
  doi = {10.1016/j.bpsc.2025.07.005},
  url = {https://inserm.hal.science/inserm-05860924v1},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}

TY  - JOUR
TI  - Structural Covariance of Early Visual Cortex Is Negatively Associated With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms: A Mega-Analysis From the ENIGMA PTSD Working Group
AU  - Nathaniel Harnett
AU  - Soumyaa Joshi
AU  - Poornima Kumar
AU  - Courtney Russell
AU  - Daniel Dillon
AU  - Justin Baker
AU  - Diego Pizzagalli
AU  - Milissa Kaufman
AU  - Lisa Nickerson
AU  - Neda Jahanshad
AU  - Lauren Salminen
AU  - Sophia Thomopoulos
AU  - Jessie Frijling
AU  - Dick Veltman
AU  - Saskia B.J. Koch
AU  - Laura Nawijn
AU  - Mirjam van Zuiden
AU  - Ye Zhu
AU  - Gen Li
AU  - Jonathan Ipser
AU  - Xi Zhu
AU  - Orren Ravid
AU  - Sigal Zilcha-Mano
AU  - Amit Lazarov
AU  - Benjamin Suarez-Jimenez
AU  - Delin Sun
AU  - Ahmed Hussain
AU  - Ashley Huggins
AU  - Tanja Jovanovic
AU  - Sanne J.H. van Rooij
AU  - Negar Fani
AU  - Anna Hudson
AU  - Anika Sierk
AU  - Antje Manthey
AU  - Henrik Walter
AU  - Nic J.A. van der Wee
AU  - Steven J.A. van der Werff
AU  - Robert R.J.M. Vermeiren
AU  - Pavel Říha
AU  - Lauren A.M. Lebois
AU  - Isabelle Rosso
AU  - Elizabeth Olson
AU  - Israel Liberzon
AU  - Mike Angstadt
AU  - Seth Disner
AU  - Scott Sponheim
AU  - Sheri-Michelle Koopowitz
AU  - David Hofmann
AU  - Rongfeng Qi
AU  - Adi Maron-Katz
AU  - Austin Kunch
AU  - Hong Xie
AU  - Wissam El-Hage
AU  - Hannah Berg
AU  - Steven Bruce
AU  - Katie Mclaughlin
AU  - Matthew Peverill
AU  - Kelly Sambrook
AU  - Marisa Ross
AU  - Ryan Herringa
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/11/12
JO  - Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging
DO  - 10.1016/j.bpsc.2025.07.005
UR  - https://inserm.hal.science/inserm-05860924v1
AB  - Background: Identifying robust neural signatures of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms is important to facilitate precision psychiatry and help in understanding and treatment of the disorder. Emergent research suggests structural covariance of early visual regions is associated with later PTSD development. However, large-scale analyses are needed - in heterogeneous samples of trauma-exposed and trauma naive individuals - to determine if such a neural signature is a robust - and potentially a pretrauma - marker of vulnerability. Methods: We analyzed data from the ENIGMA-PTSD dataset (n = 2,814) and the Human Connectome Project - Young Adult (HCP-YA) dataset (n = 890) to investigate whether structural covariance of early visual cortex is associated with either PTSD symptoms or perceived stress. Structural covariance was derived from a multimodal pattern previously identified in recent trauma survivors, and participant loadings on the profile were included in linear mixed effects models to evaluate associations with stress. Results: Early visual cortex covariance loadings were negatively associated with PTSD symptoms in the ENIGMA-PTSD dataset. The relationship persisted when accounting for prior childhood maltreatment; supporting PTSD symptom specificity, no relationship was observed with depressive symptoms and no association was observed between loadings and perceived stress measures in the HCP-YA dataset. Conclusion: Structural covariance of early visual cortex was robustly associated with PTSD symptoms across an international, heterogeneous sample of trauma survivors. Future studies should aim to identify specific mechanisms that underlie structural alterations in the visual cortex to better understand posttrauma psychopathology.
SN  - 2451-9022
ER  -