SynthesisBiological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging2026
Structural Covariance of Early Visual Cortex Is Negatively Associated With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms: A Mega-Analysis From the ENIGMA PTSD Working Group.
Abstract readMeta-Analysis
In one paragraph
Synthesis in Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging, 2026. 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
–field-weighted citation impact
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.
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.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Re-experiencing trauma: Occipital lobe resting-state functional connectivity in posttraumatic stress disorder.Psychiatry research. Neuroimaging · 2026Article
- Large-Scale Data Analysis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Through GWAS Fine-Mapping and Systems Biology.Journal of personalized medicine · 2026Article
- A Translational Neural Network Mechanism of Resilience: Top-Down Control and Plasticity of the Visual Cortex Relates to Resilient Outcome and Performance.Research (Washington, D.C.) · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
- Update of
Authors and funding
98 authors.
Nathaniel G HarnettDivision of Depression and Anxiety, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts. Electronic address: nharnett@mclean.harvard.edu.
Soumyaa JoshiDivision of Depression and Anxiety, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts.
Poornima KumarDivision of Depression and Anxiety, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
Courtney RussellBrain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina; Department of Veteran Affairs Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center, Durham, North Carolina.
Daniel G DillonDivision of Depression and Anxiety, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts.
Justin T BakerDepartment of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Institute for Technology in Psychiatry, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts.
Diego A PizzagalliDivision of Depression and Anxiety, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts; Division of Depression and Anxiety, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts; Noel Drury, M.D. Institute for Translational Depression Discoveries, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California.
Milissa L KaufmanDepartment of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Division of Women's Mental Health, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts.
Lisa D NickersonDepartment of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Applied Neuroimaging Statistics Research Laboratory, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts.
Neda JahanshadImaging Genetics Center, Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging & Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine of USC, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California.
Lauren E SalminenImaging Genetics Center, Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging & Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine of USC, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California.
Sophia I ThomopoulosImaging Genetics Center, Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging & Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine of USC, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California.
Jessie L FrijlingDe Viersprong Mental Health Specialist in Personality Disorders, Family and Behavior, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam Neuroscience, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Dick J VeltmanDepartment of Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam Neuroscience, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Saskia B J KochDepartment of Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam Neuroscience, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Laura NawijnDepartment of Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam Neuroscience, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Clinical Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands.
Mirjam van ZuidenDepartment of Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam Neuroscience, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Clinical Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Ye ZhuLaboratory for Traumatic Stress Studies, Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Gen LiLaboratory for Traumatic Stress Studies, Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Jonathan IpserSA MRC Unit on Risk & Resilience in Mental Disorders, Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Xi ZhuDepartment of Bioengineering, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas; New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York.
Orren RavidNew York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York.
Sigal Zilcha-ManoUniversity of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
Amit LazarovTel Aviv University, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel; Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York.
Benjamin Suarez-JimenezDepartment of Neuroscience, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York.
Delin SunBrain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina; Department of Veteran Affairs Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center, Durham, North Carolina; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.
Ahmed HussainBrain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina; Department of Veteran Affairs Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center, Durham, North Carolina.
Ashley A HugginsDepartment of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.
Tanja JovanovicDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia.
Sanne J H van RooijDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia.
Negar FaniDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia.
Anna R HudsonDepartment of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Anika SierkUniversity Medical Centre Charité, Berlin, Germany.
Antje MantheyUniversity Medical Centre Charité, Berlin, Germany.
Henrik WalterUniversity Medical Centre Charité, Berlin, Germany.
Nic J A van der WeeDepartment of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, the Netherlands.
Steven J A van der WerffDepartment of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, the Netherlands.
Robert R J M VermeirenDepartment of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands.
Pavel ŘíhaFirst Department of Neurology, St. Anne's University Hospital and Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic; CEITEC-Central European Institute of Technology, Multimodal and Functional Neuroimaging Research Group, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.
Lauren A M LeboisDivision of Depression and Anxiety, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Division of Depression and Anxiety Disorders, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts.
Isabelle M RossoDivision of Depression and Anxiety, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts.
Elizabeth A OlsonCenter for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts; Crisis Text Line, New York, New York.
Israel LiberzonDepartment of Psychiatry, Texas A&M University, Bryan, Texas.
Mike AngstadtDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Seth G DisnerDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Minneapolis VA Health Care System, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Scott R SponheimDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Minneapolis VA Health Care System, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Sheri-Michelle KoopowitzSA MRC Unit on Risk & Resilience in Mental Disorders, Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
David HofmannInstitute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.
Rongfeng QiDepartment of Medical Imaging, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.
Adi Maron-KatzDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California.
Austin KunchDepartment of Neurosciences and Psychiatry, University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio.
Hong XieDepartment of Neurosciences and Psychiatry, University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio.
Wissam El-HageUniversité de Tours, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Imaging Brain & Neuropsychiatry iBraiN U1253, Tours, France.
Hannah BergDepartment of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Steven E BruceCenter for Trauma Recovery, Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri.
Katie A McLaughlinDepartment of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Matthew PeverillDepartment of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.
Kelly SambrookDepartment of Radiology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.
Marisa RossNorthwestern Neighborhood and Network Initiative, Northwestern University Institute for Policy Research, Evanston, Illinois.
Ryan J HerringaSchool of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin.
Jack B NitschkeDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin.
Richard J DavidsonDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin; Center for Healthy Minds, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin; Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin.
Terri A deRoon-CassiniDivision of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, Department of Surgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Comprehensive Injury Center, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Carissa W TomasComprehensive Injury Center, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Division of Epidemiology and Social Sciences, Institute of Health and Equity, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Jacklynn M FitzgeraldDepartment of Psychology, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Jennifer Urbano BlackfordMunroe-Meyer Institute, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee.
Bunmi O OlatunjiDepartment of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee.
Steven M NelsonVeterans Integrated Service Network-17, Center of Excellence for Research on Returning War Veterans, Waco, Texas; Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Baylor University, Waco, Texas; Center for Vital Longevity, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, Texas; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Texas A&M University Health Science Center, Bryan, Texas.
Evan M GordonDepartment of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri.
Maria DensmoreDepartment of Psychiatry, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.
Jean ThébergeDepartment of Psychiatry, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.
Richard W J NeufeldDepartment of Psychiatry, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.
Miranda OlffDepartment of Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam Neuroscience, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; ARQ National Psychotrauma Centre, Diemen, the Netherlands.
Li WangDepartment of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Dan J SteinSA MRC Unit on Risk & Resilience in Mental Disorders, Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Yuval NeriaNew York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York; Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York.
Jennifer S StevensDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia.
Sven C MuellerDepartment of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Judith K DanielsDepartment of Clinical Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands; Department Trauma Center, GGZ Drenthe Mental Health Institute, Beilen, the Netherlands.
Ivan RektorCEITEC-Central European Institute of Technology, Multimodal and Functional Neuroimaging Research Group, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.
Anthony KingDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Nicholas D DavenportDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Minneapolis VA Health Care System, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Thomas StraubeInstitute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.
Guangming LuDepartment of Medical Imaging, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.
Amit EtkinDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California; VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, California.
Xin WangDepartment of Neurosciences and Psychiatry, University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio.
Yann QuidéSchool of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Neuroscience Research Australia, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia.
Shmuel LissekDepartment of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Josh CislerDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas.
Daniel W GrupeCenter for Healthy Minds, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin.
Christine LarsonDepartment of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Brandee FeolaDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee.
Geoffrey MayVeterans Integrated Service Network-17, Center of Excellence for Research on Returning War Veterans, Waco, Texas; Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Baylor University, Waco, Texas; Center for Vital Longevity, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, Texas.
Chadi G AbdallahDepartment of Psychiatry, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas; Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.
Ruth LaniusDepartment of Psychiatry, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada; Department of Neuroscience, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.
Paul M ThompsonImaging Genetics Center, Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging & Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine of USC, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California.
Rajendra A MoreyBrain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina; Department of Veteran Affairs Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center, Durham, North Carolina.
Kerry J ResslerDivision of Depression and Anxiety, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
Funding
Atlanta Clinical and Translational Science Institute (ACTSI) RenewalUL1TR000454 · NCATS · EMORY UNIVERSITY · PI STEPHENS, DAVID S · 2012 to 2016
$25.8MWISCONSIN CENTER ON MENTAL RETARDATION: CORE SUPPORTP30HD003352 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI SVAREN, JOHN P · 1985 to 2015
$25.2MX LINKED NYSTAGMUS SYNDROME WITH FEATURES OF ALBINISMM01RR000039 · NCRR · EMORY UNIVERSITY · PI VACCARINO, VIOLA · 1985 to 2007
$21.3MTR&D3: Intrinsic Surface MappingP41EB015922 · NIBIB · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · PI TOGA, ARTHUR W · 2012 to 2022
$14.1MTRAINING PROGRAM IN EMOTION RESEARCHT32MH018931 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI Richard J Davidson · 1989 to 2026
$11.6MTraining U54EB020403 · NIBIB · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · PI THOMPSON, PAUL M · 2014 to 2018
$10.1MNeural Substrates of Affective Style and Emotion RegulationR01MH043454 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI DAVIDSON, RICHARD J, SCHAEFER, STACEY M · 1989 to 2022
$9.6MGenetic and Trauma-Related Risk Factors for PTSDR01MH071537 · NIMH · EMORY UNIVERSITY · PI RESSLER, KERRY J. · 2005 to 2014
$8.5MEarly Life Stress and Depression: Molecular and Functional Imaging ApproachesR01MH095809 · NIMH · MCLEAN HOSPITAL · PI DU, FEI, PIZZAGALLI, DIEGO A · 2012 to 2024
$6.4MTrauma and Genomics Modulate Brain Structure across Common Psychiatric DisordersR01MH111671 · NIMH · DUKE UNIVERSITY · PI MARK W LOGUE, RAJENDRA A MOREY · 2017 to 2026
$4.4MEmory University BIRCWH ProgramK12HD085850 · NICHD · EMORY UNIVERSITY · PI OFOTOKUN, IGHOVWERHA, STERK, CLAIRE E · 2015 to 2023
$4.4MStudy of early brain alterations that predict development of chronic PTSDR01MH110483 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO HEALTH SCI CAMPUS · PI WANG, XIN · 2016 to 2021
$3.8MCSRD VA IK2 CX001680NCATS NIH HHS UL1 TR000454NCRR NIH HHS M01 RR000039NIA NIH HHS R01 AG059874NIA NIH HHS R56 AG058854NIBIB NIH HHS P41 EB015922NIBIB NIH HHS U54 EB020403NICHD NIH HHS K12 HD085850NICHD NIH HHS P30 HD003352NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD071982NIMH NIH HHS K01 MH118428NIMH NIH HHS K01 MH118467NIMH NIH HHS K01 MH121653NIMH NIH HHS K01 MH122774NIMH NIH HHS K01 MH129828NIMH NIH HHS K23 MH101380NIMH NIH HHS K23 MH112873NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH043454NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH071537NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH095809NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH105355NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH106574NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH110483NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH111671NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH113574NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH116147NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH117601NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH119227NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH128371NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH132221NIMH NIH HHS R21 MH098198NIMH NIH HHS R21 MH098212NIMH NIH HHS R21 MH106998NIMH NIH HHS R21 MH112956NIMH NIH HHS R56 MH071537NIMH NIH HHS T32 MH018931RRD VA I01 RX000622RRD VA IK1 RX002325RRD VA IK2 RX000709RRD VA IK2 RX002922Wellcome Trust
Abstract
backgroundIdentifying 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 that the 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-naïve individuals to determine whether such a neural signature is a robust marker of vulnerability.
methodsWe analyzed data from the ENIGMA (Enhancing Neuro Imaging Genetics through Meta Analysis)-PTSD dataset (N = 2814) and the HCP-YA (Human Connectome Project-Young Adult) dataset (N = 890) to investigate whether the structural covariance of the 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.
resultsEarly 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.
conclusionsThe 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.
Indexed as
Stress Disorders, Post-TraumaticVisual CortexAdultConnectomeFemaleHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleYoung AdultPosttraumatic stress disorderPTSDStructural covarianceStructural MRITraumaVentral visual stream
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
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.