Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37289090›Full record

ArticleEuropean journal of psychotraumatology2023

Refugee visa insecurity disrupts the brain's default mode network.

Belinda J Liddell, Pritha Das, Gin S Malhi, Angela Nickerson, Kim L Felmingham, Mirjana Askovic, Jorge Aroche, Mariano Coello, Jessica Cheung, Miriam Den and 2 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in European journal of psychotraumatology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
1.3field-weighted citation impact, top 21% 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

3 citing papers in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.

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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

12 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Belinda J LiddellSchool of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-8036-5864
Pritha DasDepartment of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Northern Clinical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Gin S MalhiDepartment of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Northern Clinical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-4524-9091
Angela NickersonSchool of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Kim L FelminghamSchool of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-0749-538X
Mirjana AskovicNSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (STARTTS), Sydney, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-2915-0286
Jorge ArocheNSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (STARTTS), Sydney, Australia.
Mariano CoelloNSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (STARTTS), Sydney, Australia.
Jessica CheungSchool of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Miriam DenSchool of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Tim OuthredDepartment of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Northern Clinical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-2534-3635
Richard A BryantSchool of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-9607-819X
UNSW Sydney · AUThe University of Sydney · AUThe University of Melbourne · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundResearch has largely focused on the psychological consequences of refugee trauma exposure, but refugees living with visa insecurity face an uncertain future that also adversely affects psychological functioning and self-determination.

objectiveThis study aimed to examine how refugee visa insecurity affects the functional brain.

methodWe measured resting state brain activity via fMRI in 47 refugees with insecure visas (i.e. temporary visa status) and 52 refugees with secure visas (i.e. permanent visa status) residing in Australia, matched on key demographic, trauma exposure and psychopathology. Data analysis comprised independent components analysis to identify active networks and dynamic functional causal modelling tested visa security group differences in network connectivity.

resultsWe found that visa insecurity specifically affected sub-systems within the default mode network (DMN) - an intrinsic network subserving self-referential processes and mental simulations about the future. The insecure visa group showed less spectral power in the low frequency band in the anterior ventromedial DMN, and reduced activity in the posterior frontal DMN, compared to the secure visa group. Using functional dynamic causal modelling, we observed positive coupling between the anterior and posterior midline DMN hubs in the secure visa group, while the insecure visa group displayed negative coupling that correlated with self-reported fear of future deportation.

conclusionsLiving with visa-related uncertainty appears to undermine synchrony between anterior-posterior midline components of the DMN responsible for governing the construction of the self and making mental representations of the future. This could represent a neural signature of refugee visa insecurity, which is marked by a perception of living in limbo and a truncated sense of the future.

Indexed as

RefugeesBrainBrain MappingDefault Mode NetworkHumansMagnetic Resonance Imagingdefault mode networkestado temporalincertidumbreinseguridad de visamental simulationred de modo predeterminadoRefugeeRefugiadoresting state fMRIRMf en estado de repososelfsi mismosimulación mentaltemporary statustraumauncertaintyvisa insecurity不确定性临时状态创伤心理模拟签证不安全自我难民静息态 fMRI默认模式网络

Identifiers

PMID37289090
PMCPMC10251781
OpenAlexW4379769518

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
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 OpenQuestion graph.