Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40400453›Full record

SynthesisPsychological medicine2025

PTSD subtypes and their underlying neural biomarkers: a systematic review.

Chen Zhang, Shilat Haim-Nachum, Neal Prasad, Benjamin Suarez-Jimenez, Sigal Zilcha-Mano, Amit Lazarov, Yuval Neria, Xi Zhu

Abstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Psychological medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. 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

8 authors.

Chen ZhangDepartment of Psychiatry, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.ORCID 0009-0006-1888-1063
Shilat Haim-NachumDepartment of Psychiatry, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
Neal PrasadNew York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA.
Benjamin Suarez-JimenezDepartment of Neuroscience, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA.
Sigal Zilcha-ManoDepartment of Psychology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
Amit LazarovSchool of Psychological Sciences, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Yuval NeriaDepartment of Psychiatry, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
Xi ZhuDepartment of Psychiatry, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-2634-2901

Funding

Neural Signature of Fear Overgeneralization in Trauma Exposed AdultsR01MH105355 · NIMH · NEW YORK STATE PSYCHIATRIC INSTITUTE DBA RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR MENTAL HYGIENE, INC · PI NERIA, YUVAL Y · 2015 to 2018
$1.7M
Neural Correlates of Location-Specific Contextual Threat Discrimination in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders REV1K01MH118428 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER · PI SUAREZ-JIMENEZ, BENJAMIN · 2018 to 2022
$807k
Understanding Heterogeneity Across PTSD, MDD and Anxiety By Leveraging Large-scale Multimodal Neuroimaging DatasetsR01MH138425 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS ARLINGTON · PI ZHU, XI · 2025 to 2025
$770k
Identification of Distinct Multimodal Biotypes of PTSD Using Data Driven Approach: A Multisite Big Data StudyK01MH122774 · NIMH · NEW YORK STATE PSYCHIATRIC INSTITUTE DBA RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR MENTAL HYGIENE, INC · PI ZHU, XI · 2021 to 2024
$705k
Israel Science Foundation 374/20NIMH NIH HHS K01 MH118428NIMH NIH HHS K01 MH122774NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH105355NIMH NIH HHS R01MH105355NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH138425
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a heterogenous disorder with frequent diagnostic comorbidity. Research has deciphered this heterogeneity by identifying PTSD subtypes and their neural biomarkers. This review summarizes current approaches, symptom-based group-level and data-driven approaches, for generating PTSD subtypes, providing an overview of current PTSD subtypes and their neural correlates. Additionally, we systematically assessed studies to evaluate the influence of comorbidity on PTSD subtypes and the predictive utility of biotypes for treatment outcomes. Following the PRISMA guidelines, a systematic search was conducted to identify studies employing brain imaging techniques, including functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), structural MRI, diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), and electroencephalogram (EEG), to identify biomarkers of PTSD subtypes. Study quality was assessed using the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines. We included 53 studies, with 44 studies using a symptom-based group-level approach, and nine studies using a data-driven approach. Findings suggest biomarkers across the default-mode network (DMN) and the salience network (SN) throughout multiple subtypes. However, only six studies considered comorbidity, and four studies tested the utility of biotypes in predicting treatment outcomes. These findings highlight the complexity of PTSD's heterogeneity. Although symptom-based and data-driven methods have advanced our understanding of PTSD subtypes, challenges remain in addressing the impact of comorbidities and the limited validation of biotypes. Future studies with larger sample sizes, brain-based data-driven approaches, careful account for comorbidity, and rigorous validation strategies are needed to advance biologically grounded biotypes across mental disorders.

Indexed as

BrainStress Disorders, Post-TraumaticBiomarkersElectroencephalographyHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingObservational Studies as TopicBiomarkersbiotypesdata-driven approachesneuroimagingposttraumatic stress disordersubtypes

Identifiers

PMID40400453
PMCPMC12115270

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.