Multilayer Network Analysis of Dynamic Network Reconfiguration in Adults With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Brain functional network abnormalities are reported in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Most resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) studies have assumed that the functional networks remain static during the scan. How these might change dynamically in PTSD remains unclear.Rs-fMRI data were collected from 71 noncomorbid treatment-naïve PTSD patients and 70 demographically-matched trauma-exposed non-PTSD (TENP) controls. Network switching rate was used to characterize dynamic changes of individual resting-state functional networks. Results were analyzed by comparing switching rates between PTSD and TENP, for diagnosis-by-sex interactions, and by correlation with individual PTSD symptom severity.At the global level, PTSD showed significantly lower network switching rates than TENP. These were observed mainly in the fronto-parietal, default-mode, and limbic networks at the subnetwork level, and in the frontal and temporal regions at the nodal level. These network switching rate alterations were correlated with PTSD symptom severity. There were no significant effects of sex.These disruptions of dynamic functional network stability, reflected by lower network switching rate in the resting state, are a feature of PTSD, and suggest that the fronto-parietal, default mode and limbic networks may play a critical role in the underlying neural mechanisms.