Exploring the spatio-temporal functional connectome in PTSD: evidence of static and dynamic network alterations
7 affiliations
- 1Department of Psychiatry, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu China
- 2Mental Health Center, National Center for Mental Disorders, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
- 3Huaxi Brain Research Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
- 4West China Biomedical Big Data Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
- 5College of Electrical Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan China
- 6Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan China
- 7Med-X Center for Informatics, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041 China
Abstract
Background: Few studies with substantial sample size have investigated the neural pathophysiology of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We aimed to characterize both static and dynamic functional network connectivity (dFNC) in a large, homogeneous, treatment-naïve PTSD cohort.
Methods: Resting-state fMRI data from 70 PTSD patients and 68 demographically matched, trauma-exposed control (TEC) participants were analyzed using independent component analysis (ICA) and a sliding-window k-means clustering approach.
Results: PTSD patients exhibited widespread alterations in both static intrinsic functional connectivity (iFC) and dFNC, spanning frontoparietal, subcortical, and visual networks. Variations in static iFC were significantly correlated with symptom severity (primarily measured by Clinician-Administered Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Scale and Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale scores). Significant group differences in dFNC connectivity patterns were identified in six of the seven dynamic states (States 1–3 and 5–7), while no significant between-group differences were observed in the temporal properties (fractional occupancy, mean dwell time, and transition rates) across any of the states.
Conclusion: These convergent results provide additional evidence for iFC and dFNC dysregulation in PTSD, suggesting that network-level abnormalities particularly within frontoparietal, primary sensory and subcortical systems may contribute to the neural mechanisms of the disorder.
Clinical trial number: Not applicable.
Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-026-08500-4.
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BibTeX
@article{shang2026exploring,
title = {{Exploring the spatio-temporal functional connectome in PTSD: evidence of static and dynamic network alterations}},
author = {Jing Shang and Minlan Yuan and Xian Mo and Junran Zhang and Changjian Qiu and Su Lui and Hongru Zhu and Wei Zhang},
journal = {BMC Psychiatry},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.1186/s12888-026-08500-4},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-026-08500-4},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Exploring the spatio-temporal functional connectome in PTSD: evidence of static and dynamic network alterations
AU - Jing Shang
AU - Minlan Yuan
AU - Xian Mo
AU - Junran Zhang
AU - Changjian Qiu
AU - Su Lui
AU - Hongru Zhu
AU - Wei Zhang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/06
JO - BMC Psychiatry
DO - 10.1186/s12888-026-08500-4
UR - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-026-08500-4
AB - Background: Few studies with substantial sample size have investigated the neural pathophysiology of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We aimed to characterize both static and dynamic functional network connectivity (dFNC) in a large, homogeneous, treatment-naïve PTSD cohort. Methods: Resting-state fMRI data from 70 PTSD patients and 68 demographically matched, trauma-exposed control (TEC) participants were analyzed using independent component analysis (ICA) and a sliding-window k-means clustering approach. Results: PTSD patients exhibited widespread alterations in both static intrinsic functional connectivity (iFC) and dFNC, spanning frontoparietal, subcortical, and visual networks. Variations in static iFC were significantly correlated with symptom severity (primarily measured by Clinician-Administered Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Scale and Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale scores). Significant group differences in dFNC connectivity patterns were identified in six of the seven dynamic states (States 1–3 and 5–7), while no significant between-group differences were observed in the temporal properties (fractional occupancy, mean dwell time, and transition rates) across any of the states. Conclusion: These convergent results provide additional evidence for iFC and dFNC dysregulation in PTSD, suggesting that network-level abnormalities particularly within frontoparietal, primary sensory and subcortical systems may contribute to the neural mechanisms of the disorder. Clinical trial number: Not applicable. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-026-08500-4.
SN - 1471-244X
ER -