Empirical validation of a predicted emotional modulation dimension linking temporal variability and individual differences in PTSD
- 1Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International
Abstract
Current dimensional approaches to psychiatric disorders have largely focused on explaining differences between individuals, whereas it remains unknown whether symptom dynamics within individuals are organized by the same underlying dimensions. In PTSD, temporal symptom variability may represent a clinically meaningful source of heterogeneity relevant to spontaneous recovery, chronicity, and treatment response. Our reciprocal inhibition model of PTSD proposed that both between-individual heterogeneity and within-individual dynamics may be organized along a dimension reflecting the relative balance between re-experiencing and avoidance symptoms (symptom imbalance), potentially corresponding to shifts between states of emotional under- and overmodulation. Here, using seven longitudinal and two cross-sectional PTSD cohorts spanning disorder development, chronicity, and recovery, we examined whether symptom heterogeneity between individuals and within individuals over time is organized along shared latent symptom dimensions. Principal component analysis (PCA) performed separately on between-individual variability (individual differences) and within-individual variation (temporal variability) consistently recovered the same two axes: the first indexing overall symptom severity and the second reflecting the proposed symptom imbalance. To enable direct comparison across cohorts and between-individual and temporal scales, we integrated cohort-specific covariance structures using hierarchical multi-group PCA yielding universal axes (uPC1/uPC2). Mapping treatment trajectories onto this shared symptom space revealed that two first-line psychotherapies: cognitive processing therapy (CPT) and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR): produced comparable reductions in overall symptom severity (uPC1), but opposite shifts along symptom imbalance (uPC2). These findings suggest treatment-related symptom trajectories that are not captured by severity alone and provide a quantitative basis for treatment stratification grounded in symptom imbalance dynamics, motivating prospective tests of state-dependent intervention in PTSD and related psychiatric disorders.
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BibTeX
@misc{chiba2026empirical,
title = {{Empirical validation of a predicted emotional modulation dimension linking temporal variability and individual differences in PTSD}},
author = {T. Chiba and M. Ito and M. Ichii and K. Ide and M. Murakami and T. Terayama and T. Kubo and K. Nishida and N. Kobayashi and T. Saito and Y. Takagishi and F. H. S. van der Does and H. Kuga and M. Horikoshi and M. Shirakawa-Nishi and T. Kishimoto and H. Toda and T. Kanazawa and N. J. A. van der Wee and N. Goldway and A. Cortese and E. J. Giltay and M. Nagamine and P. Ritter and E. Vermetten and T. Hendler and M. Kawato},
howpublished = {medRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.64898/2026.08.05.26359316},
url = {https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.05.26359316v2},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Empirical validation of a predicted emotional modulation dimension linking temporal variability and individual differences in PTSD
AU - T. Chiba
AU - M. Ito
AU - M. Ichii
AU - K. Ide
AU - M. Murakami
AU - T. Terayama
AU - T. Kubo
AU - K. Nishida
AU - N. Kobayashi
AU - T. Saito
AU - Y. Takagishi
AU - F. H. S. van der Does
AU - H. Kuga
AU - M. Horikoshi
AU - M. Shirakawa-Nishi
AU - T. Kishimoto
AU - H. Toda
AU - T. Kanazawa
AU - N. J. A. van der Wee
AU - N. Goldway
AU - A. Cortese
AU - E. J. Giltay
AU - M. Nagamine
AU - P. Ritter
AU - E. Vermetten
AU - T. Hendler
AU - M. Kawato
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/05
PB - medRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.08.05.26359316
UR - https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.05.26359316v2
AB - Current dimensional approaches to psychiatric disorders have largely focused on explaining differences between individuals, whereas it remains unknown whether symptom dynamics within individuals are organized by the same underlying dimensions. In PTSD, temporal symptom variability may represent a clinically meaningful source of heterogeneity relevant to spontaneous recovery, chronicity, and treatment response. Our reciprocal inhibition model of PTSD proposed that both between-individual heterogeneity and within-individual dynamics may be organized along a dimension reflecting the relative balance between re-experiencing and avoidance symptoms (symptom imbalance), potentially corresponding to shifts between states of emotional under- and overmodulation. Here, using seven longitudinal and two cross-sectional PTSD cohorts spanning disorder development, chronicity, and recovery, we examined whether symptom heterogeneity between individuals and within individuals over time is organized along shared latent symptom dimensions. Principal component analysis (PCA) performed separately on between-individual variability (individual differences) and within-individual variation (temporal variability) consistently recovered the same two axes: the first indexing overall symptom severity and the second reflecting the proposed symptom imbalance. To enable direct comparison across cohorts and between-individual and temporal scales, we integrated cohort-specific covariance structures using hierarchical multi-group PCA yielding universal axes (uPC1/uPC2). Mapping treatment trajectories onto this shared symptom space revealed that two first-line psychotherapies: cognitive processing therapy (CPT) and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR): produced comparable reductions in overall symptom severity (uPC1), but opposite shifts along symptom imbalance (uPC2). These findings suggest treatment-related symptom trajectories that are not captured by severity alone and provide a quantitative basis for treatment stratification grounded in symptom imbalance dynamics, motivating prospective tests of state-dependent intervention in PTSD and related psychiatric disorders.
ER -