Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40825519›Full record

ArticleBiological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging2026

Resting-State Neural Signatures of Moral Injury: Associations With Rumination.

Travis M Fulton, Alfonsina Guelfo, Aziz Elbasheir, Timothy J McDermott, Jiwon Lee, Vishwadeep Ahluwalia, Timothy D Ely, Emma C Lathan, Negar Fani

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Article 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.

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0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Travis M FultonDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia; Molecular and Systems Pharmacology Ph.D. Program, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.
Alfonsina GuelfoDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia.
Aziz ElbasheirDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia.
Timothy J McDermottDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia.
Jiwon LeeDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia.
Vishwadeep AhluwaliaCenter for Advanced Brain Imaging, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia.
Timothy D ElyDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia.
Emma C LathanDeparment of Psychological Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama.
Negar FaniDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia. Electronic address: nfani@emory.edu.

Funding

Neural Mechanisms of Vibroacoustically Augmented Breath Focused Mindfulness for Dissociative Traumatized PeopleR01AT011267 · NCCIH · EMORY UNIVERSITY · PI FANI, NEGAR, SIEGLE, GREG J · 2021 to 2025
$4.1M
Graduate Training in the Pharmacological SciencesT32GM145445 · NIGMS · EMORY UNIVERSITY · PI Randy A. Hall · 2023 to 2026
$1.7M
Identifying Neural Signatures of Racial Discrimination in Black individuals with a Multivariate Data Fusion ApproachR01MH138893 · NIMH · EMORY UNIVERSITY · PI NEGAR FANI · 2025 to 2026
$1.2M
Neurophysiological mechanisms of anhedonia and cognitive control deficits in trauma-exposed people completing vibroacoustically augmented breath focused mindfulnessF32MH134631 · NIMH · EMORY UNIVERSITY · PI MCDERMOTT, TIMOTHY · 2023 to 2024
$143k
NCCIH NIH HHS R01 AT011267NIGMS NIH HHS T32 GM145445NIMH NIH HHS F32 MH134631NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH138893
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMoral injury (MI) is a condition that may emerge following a violation of an individual's moral code. MI leads to significant functional impairment in many trauma-exposed civilians, with rumination proposed as a mechanism of action. Little is known about the neuropathophysiology of different MI dimensions, including MI related to transgressions caused by the self or others. We examined links between facets of MI, resting-state amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF), and rumination in trauma-exposed civilians.

methodsSixty adults (ages 18-56 years; 51 female) completed measures of MI (Moral Injury Exposure and Symptom Scale for Civilians [MIESS-C]), rumination (Response Styles Questionnaire), and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Voxelwise linear regression on ALFF was performed with rumination and MIESS-C-derived self-, other-, and betrayal-related MI as regressors.

resultsBetrayal-related MI associated with higher ALFF in the bilateral precuneus and left medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Other-related MI was associated with lower ALFF in the left dorsolateral PFC and insula (voxelwise p < .001, cluster false discovery rate-corrected p < .05). Rumination severity was positively associated with betrayal-related ALFF clusters in the bilateral precuneus (r = 0.32, p = .012) and left mPFC (r = 0.31, p = .017).

conclusionsResults revealed distinct neural signatures of MI, with betrayal-related MI associated with greater ALFF in default mode network regions and this activation related to rumination severity. Other-related MI was linked to diminished activation in cognitive control and interoceptive network regions, which may reflect physiological withdrawal. These signatures are attractive candidate neuromodulatory targets.

Indexed as

MoralsPsychological TraumaRumination, CognitiveAdolescentAdultBrain MappingFemaleHumansInsular CortexMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleMiddle AgedYoung AdultALFFBetrayalFunctional MRIMoral injuryResting-stateRumination

Identifiers

PMID40825519
PMCPMC12415846

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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.