Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Identification Of A Novel Synaptic Protein, Tmtc3, Involved In Periventricular Nodular Heterotopia With Intellectual Disability And Epilepsy, Sali M K Farhan, Kevin C J Nixon, Michelle Everest, Tara N Edwards, Shirley Long, Dmitri Segal, Maria J Knip, Heleen H Arts, Rana Chakrabarti, Jian Wang, John F Robinson, Donald Lee, Seyed M Mirsattari, C Anthony Rupar, Victoria M Siu, Forge Canada Consortium, Michael O Poulter, Robert A Hegele, Jamie M Kramer

Paediatrics Publications

Defects in neuronal migration cause brain malformations, which are associated with intellectual disability (ID) and epilepsy. Using exome sequencing, we identified compound heterozygous variants (p.Arg71His and p. Leu729ThrfsTer6) in TMTC3, encoding transmembrane and tetratricopeptide repeat containing 3, in four siblings with nocturnal seizures and ID. Three of the four siblings have periventricular nodular heterotopia (PVNH), a common brain malformation caused by failure of neurons to migrate from the ventricular zone to the cortex. Expression analysis using patient-derived cells confirmed reduced TMTC3 transcript levels and loss of the TMTC3 protein compared to parental and control cells. As TMTC3 function is currently …

Disparities In Rate, Triggers, And Management In Pediatric And Adult Cases Of Suspected Drug-Induced Anaphylaxis In Canada, Sofianne Gabrielli, Ann E Clarke, Harley Eisman, Judy Morris, Lawrence Joseph, Sebastien La Vieille, Peter Small, Rodrick Lim, Paul Enarson, Michal Zelcer, Edmond S Chan, Chris Mill, Moshe Ben-Shoshan

Paediatrics Publications

Introduction

Data is sparse on drug-induced anaphylaxis (DIA) and there have not been studies assessing the differences in clinical characteristics and management of DIA between adults and children.

Objective

We assessed the percentage, diagnosis, and management of DIA among all anaphylaxis visits in three pediatric and one adult emergency departments (ED) across Canada.

Methods

Children presenting to the Montreal Children's Hospital (MCH), British Columbia Children's Hospital (BCCH), and Children's Hospital at London Health Sciences Center and adults presenting to Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur with anaphylaxis were recruited as part of the Cross-Canada Anaphylaxis Registry. A standardized data form documenting the reaction …

Legionellosis Following Water Birth In A Hot Tub In A Canadian Neonate, Michelle Barton, Brianna Mckelvie, Aaron Campigotto, Tara Mullowney

Paediatrics Publications

No abstract provided.

Oral Morphine Versus Ibuprofen Administered At Home For Postoperative Orthopedic Pain In Children: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Naveen Poonai, Natasha Datoo, Samina Ali, Megan Cashin, Amy L Drendel, Rongbo Zhu, Natasha Lepore, Michael Greff, Michael Rieder, Debra Bartley

Paediatrics Publications

BACKGROUND: Oral morphine for postoperative pain after minor pediatric surgery, while increasingly popular, is not supported by evidence. We evaluated whether oral morphine was superior to ibuprofen for at-home management of children's postoperative pain.

METHODS: We conducted a randomized superiority trial comparing oral morphine (0.5 mg/kg) with ibuprofen (10 mg/kg) in children 5 to 17 years of age who had undergone minor outpatient orthopedic surgery (June 2013 to September 2016). Participants took up to 8 doses of the intervention drug every 6 hours as needed for pain at home. The primary outcome was pain, according to the Faces Pain Scale …

Vocabulary Learning Benefits From Rem After Slow-Wave Sleep., Laura J Batterink, Carmen E Westerberg, Ken A Paller

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Memory reactivation during slow-wave sleep (SWS) influences the consolidation of recently acquired knowledge. This reactivation occurs spontaneously during sleep but can also be triggered by presenting learning-related cues, a technique known as targeted memory reactivation (TMR). Here we examined whether TMR can improve vocabulary learning. Participants learned the meanings of 60 novel words. Auditory cues for half the words were subsequently presented during SWS in an afternoon nap. Memory performance for cued versus uncued words did not differ at the group level but was systematically influenced by REM sleep duration. Participants who obtained relatively greater amounts of REM showed a …

Understanding Participation Of Children With Cerebral Palsy In Family And Recreational Activities., Mohammed S Alghamdi, Lisa A Chiarello, Robert J Palisano, Sarah W Mccoy

Physical Therapy Publications

AIMS: The primary aim of this study was to determine the effect of age, sex, gross motor, manual ability, and communication functions on the frequency and enjoyment of children's participation in family and recreational activities. The secondary aim was to determine the relationships between motor and communication functions and participation.

METHODS: Participants were 694 children, 1.5-12 years old, with cerebral palsy (CP) and their parents across the US and Canada. Parents rated children's frequency and enjoyment of participation using the Child Engagement in Daily Life measure. Parents and therapists identified children's level of function using Gross Motor Function Classification System …

Therapeutic And Prognostic Implications Of Braf V600e In Pediatric Low-Grade Gliomas., Alvaro Lassaletta, Michal Zapotocky, Matthew Mistry, Vijay Ramaswamy, Marion Honnorat, Rahul Krishnatry, Ana Guerreiro Stucklin, Nataliya Zhukova, Anthony Arnoldo, Scott Ryall, Catriona Ling, Tara Mckeown, Jim Loukides, Ofelia Cruz, Carmen De Torres, Cheng-Ying Ho, Roger J Packer, Ruth Tatevossian, Ibrahim Qaddoumi, Julie H Harreld, James D Dalton, Jean Mulcahy-Levy, Nicholas Foreman, Matthias A Karajannis, Shiyang Wang, Matija Snuderl, Amulya Nageswara Rao, Caterina Giannini, Mark Kieran, Keith L Ligon, Maria Luisa Garre, Paolo Nozza, Samantha Mascelli, Alessandro Raso, Sabine Mueller, Theodore Nicolaides, Karen Silva, Romain Perbet, Alexandre Vasiljevic, Cécile Faure Conter, Didier Frappaz, Sarah Leary, Courtney Crane, Aden Chan, Ho-Keung Ng, Zhi-Feng Shi, Ying Mao, Elizabeth Finch, David Eisenstat, Bev Wilson, Anne Sophie Carret, Peter Hauser, David Sumerauer, Lenka Krskova, Valerie Larouche, Adam Fleming, Shayna Zelcer, Nada Jabado, James T Rutka, Peter Dirks, Michael D Taylor, Shiyi Chen, Ute Bartels, Annie Huang, David W Ellison, Eric Bouffet, Cynthia Hawkins, Uri Tabori

Paediatrics Publications

Purpose BRAF V600E is a potentially highly targetable mutation detected in a subset of pediatric low-grade gliomas (PLGGs). Its biologic and clinical effect within this diverse group of tumors remains unknown.

Patients and Methods A combined clinical and genetic institutional study of patients with PLGGs with long-term follow-up was performed (N = 510). Clinical and treatment data of patients with BRAF V600E mutated PLGG (n = 99) were compared with a large international independent cohort of patients with BRAF V600E mutated-PLGG (n = 180).

Results BRAF V600E mutation was detected in 69 of 405 patients (17%) with PLGG across a …

Growth And Weight Gain In Children With Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: Results From The Reacch-Out Cohort., Jaime Guzman, Tristan Kerr, Leanne M Ward, Jinhui Ma, Kiem Oen, Alan M Rosenberg, Brian M Feldman, Gilles Boire, Kristin Houghton, Paul Dancey, Rosie Scuccimarri, Alessandra Bruns, Adam M Huber, Karen Watanabe Duffy, Natalie J Shiff, Roberta A Berard, Deborah M Levy, Elizabeth Stringer, Kimberly Morishita, Nicole Johnson, David A Cabral, Maggie Larché, Ross E Petty, Ronald M Laxer, Earl Silverman, Paivi Miettunen, Anne-Laure Chetaille, Elie Haddad, Lynn Spiegel, Stuart E Turvey, Heinrike Schmeling, Bianca Lang, Janet Ellsworth, Suzanne E Ramsey, Johannes Roth, Sarah Campillo, Susanne Benseler, Gaëlle Chédeville, Rayfel Schneider, Shirley M L Tse, Roxana Bolaria, Katherine Gross, Debbie Feldman, Bonnie Cameron, Roman Jurencak, Jean Dorval, Claire Leblanc, Claire St Cyr, Michele Gibbon, Rae S M Yeung, Ciarán M Duffy, Lori B Tucker

Paediatrics Publications

BACKGROUND: With modern treatments, the effect of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) on growth may be less than previously reported. Our objective was to describe height, weight and body mass index (BMI) development in a contemporary JIA inception cohort.

METHODS: Canadian children newly-diagnosed with JIA 2005-2010 had weight and height measurements every 6 months for 2 years, then yearly up to 5 years. These measurements were used to calculate mean age- and sex-standardized Z-scores, and estimate prevalence and cumulative incidence of growth impairments, and the impact of disease activity and corticosteroids on growth.

RESULTS: One thousand one hundred forty seven children …

Heterozygous De Novo Ubtf Gain-Of-Function Variant Is Associated With Neurodegeneration In Childhood., Simon Edvardson, Claudia M Nicolae, Pankaj B Agrawal, Cyril Mignot, Katelyn Payne, Asuri Narayan Prasad, Chitra Prasad, Laurie Sadler, Caroline Nava, Thomas E Mullen, Amber Begtrup, Berivan Baskin, Zöe Powis, Avraham Shaag, Boris Keren, George-Lucian Moldovan, Orly Elpeleg

Paediatrics Publications

Ribosomal RNA (rRNA) is transcribed from rDNA by RNA polymerase I (Pol I) to produce the 45S precursor of the 28S, 5.8S, and 18S rRNA components of the ribosome. Two transcription factors have been defined for Pol I in mammals, the selectivity factor SL1, and the upstream binding transcription factor (UBF), which interacts with the upstream control element to facilitate the assembly of the transcription initiation complex including SL1 and Pol I. In seven unrelated affected individuals, all suffering from developmental regression starting at 2.5-7 years, we identified a heterozygous variant, c.628G>A in UBTF, encoding p.Glu210Lys in UBF, which …

Parents' Experiences And Perceptions When Classifying Their Children With Cerebral Palsy: Recommendations For Service Providers., Natalie V Scime, Doreen J Bartlett, Laura K Brunton, Robert J Palisano

Physical Therapy Publications

AIMS: This study investigated the experiences and perceptions of parents of children with cerebral palsy (CP) when classifying their children using the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS), the Manual Ability Classification System (MACS), and the Communication Function Classification System (CFCS). The second aim was to collate parents' recommendations for service providers on how to interact and communicate with families.

METHODS: A purposive sample of seven parents participating in the On Track study was recruited. Semi-structured interviews were conducted orally and were audiotaped, transcribed, and coded openly. A descriptive interpretive approach within a pragmatic perspective was used during analysis.

RESULTS: …

Brain Biomarkers And Pre-Injury Cognition Are Associated With Long-Term Cognitive Outcome In Children With Traumatic Brain Injury, Amy A Wilkinson, Maureen Dennis, Nevena Simic, Margot J Taylor, Benjamin R Morgan, Helena Frndova, Karen Choong, Craig Campbell, Douglas Fraser, Vicki Anderson, Anne-Marie Guerguerian, Russell Schachar, Jamie Hutchison

Paediatrics Publications

BACKGROUND: Children with traumatic brain injury (TBI) are frequently at risk of long-term impairments of attention and executive functioning but these problems are difficult to predict. Although deficits have been reported to vary with injury severity, age at injury and sex, prognostication of outcome remains imperfect at a patient-specific level. The objective of this proof of principle study was to evaluate a variety of patient variables, along with six brain-specific and inflammatory serum protein biomarkers, as predictors of long-term cognitive outcome following paediatric TBI.

METHOD: Outcome was assessed in 23 patients via parent-rated questionnaires related to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder …

Rapid Statistical Learning Supporting Word Extraction From Continuous Speech., Laura J Batterink

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

The identification of words in continuous speech, known as speech segmentation, is a critical early step in language acquisition. This process is partially supported by statistical learning, the ability to extract patterns from the environment. Given that speech segmentation represents a potential bottleneck for language acquisition, patterns in speech may be extracted very rapidly, without extensive exposure. This hypothesis was examined by exposing participants to continuous speech streams composed of novel repeating nonsense words. Learning was measured on-line using a reaction time task. After merely one exposure to an embedded novel word, learners demonstrated significant learning effects, as revealed by …

Construction And Validation Of The Fatigue Impact And Severity Self-Assessment For Youth And Young Adults With Cerebral Palsy., Laura K Brunton, Doreen J Bartlett

Physical Therapy Publications

Purpose: The Fatigue Impact and Severity Self-Assessment (FISSA) was created to assess the impact, severity and self-management of fatigue for individuals with cerebral palsy (CP) aged 14-31.

Methods Used: Items were generated from a review of measures and interviews with individuals with CP. Focus groups with healthcare professionals were used for item reduction. A mailed survey was conducted (n=163/367) to assess the factor structure, known-groups validity and test-retest reliability.

Results Obtained: The final measure contained 31-items in two factors and discriminated between individuals expected to have different levels of fatigue. Individuals with more functional abilities reported less fatigue (p< 0.002) and those with higher pain reported higher fatigue (p< 0.001). The FISSA was shown to have adequate test-retest reliability, ICC(3,1)=0.74 (95% CI 0.53-0.87).

Conclusions …

Deviations From The Expected Relationship Between Serum Fgf23 And Other Markers In Children With Ckd: A Cross-Sectional Study., Daisy Liu, Ana Catalina Alvarez-Elías, Brooke Wile, Vladimir Belostotsky, Guido Filler

Paediatrics Publications

BACKGROUND: High levels of fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF23) are associated with mortality. In chronic kidney disease (CKD), FGF23 levels rise as renal function declines. We analyzed the contribution of laboratory values to the variance of FGF23 levels in relationship to a curve of expected FGF23 levels for a given GFR.

METHODS: Following approval by the research ethics boards, we measured FGF23, CysC eGFR, creatinine, urea, albumin, calcium, phosphate, vitamin D metabolites, PTH, alkaline phosphatase, CRP, and venous gases in 141 pediatric CKD patients (45, 37, 32, 13 and 14 CKD stages I, II, III, IV, and V, respectively). Data were …

Online Neural Monitoring Of Statistical Learning., Laura J Batterink, Ken A Paller

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

The extraction of patterns in the environment plays a critical role in many types of human learning, from motor skills to language acquisition. This process is known as statistical learning. Here we propose that statistical learning has two dissociable components: (1) perceptual binding of individual stimulus units into integrated composites and (2) storing those integrated representations for later use. Statistical learning is typically assessed using post-learning tasks, such that the two components are conflated. Our goal was to characterize the online perceptual component of statistical learning. Participants were exposed to a structured stream of repeating trisyllabic nonsense words and a …

Unexpected Widespread Hypophosphatemia And Bone Disease Associated With Elemental Formula Use In Infants And Children, Luisa F Gonzalez Ballesteros, Nina S Ma, Rebecca J Gordon, Leanne Ward, Philippe Backeljauw, Halley Wasserman, David R Weber, Linda A Dimeglio, Julie Gagne, Robert Stein, Declan Cody, Kimber Simmons, Paul Zimakas, Lisa Swartz Topor, Sungeeta Agrawal, Andrew Calabria, Peter Tebben, Ruth Faircloth, Erik A Imel, Linda Casey, Thomas O Carpenter

Paediatrics Publications

OBJECTIVE: Hypophosphatemia occurs with inadequate dietary intake, malabsorption, increased renal excretion, or shifts between intracellular and extracellular compartments. We noticed the common finding of amino-acid based elemental formula [EF] use in an unexpected number of cases of idiopathic hypophosphatemia occurring in infants and children evaluated for skeletal disease. We aimed to fully characterize the clinical profiles in these cases.

METHODS: A retrospective chart review of children with unexplained hypophosphatemia was performed as cases accumulated from various centres in North America and Ireland. Data were analyzed to explore any relationships between feeding and biochemical or clinical features, effects of treatment, and …

Sleep-Based Memory Processing Facilitates Grammatical Generalization: Evidence From Targeted Memory Reactivation., Laura J Batterink, Ken A Paller

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Generalization-the ability to abstract regularities from specific examples and apply them to novel instances-is an essential component of language acquisition. Generalization not only depends on exposure to input during wake, but may also improve offline during sleep. Here we examined whether targeted memory reactivation during sleep can influence grammatical generalization. Participants gradually acquired the grammatical rules of an artificial language through an interactive learning procedure. Then, phrases from the language (experimental group) or stimuli from an unrelated task (control group) were covertly presented during an afternoon nap. Compared to control participants, participants re-exposed to the language during sleep showed larger …

Mri Ventilation Abnormalities Predict Quality-Of-Life And Lung Function Changes In Mild-To-Moderate Copd: Longitudinal Tincan Study, Miranda Kirby, Rachel L Eddy, Damien Pike, Sarah Svenningsen, Harvey O Coxson, Don D Sin, David G Mccormack, Grace Parraga

Medical Biophysics Publications

CT biomarkers of emphysema (15th percentile of the CT density histogram, HU15%) and airways disease (wall thickness of airways with 10 mm internal perimeter, Pi10) have shown promise for providing prognostic information.2 Although recent data3 showed that the change in CT emphysema may be used to estimate the efficacy of therapy in patients with α-1-antitrypsin-deficiency, thus far none of the currently developed CT biomarkers have been shown to reflect changes in outcomes that are important to patients with COPD. MRI with inhaled noble gases provide highly sensitive and unique microstructural and functional information in COPD.4 MRI biomarkers of COPD are …

Quantitative Assessment Of White Matter Injury In Preterm Neonates: Association With Outcomes., Ting Guo, Emma G Duerden, Elysia Adams, Vann Chau, Helen M Branson, M Mallar Chakravarty, Kenneth J Poskitt, Anne Synnes, Ruth E Grunau, Steven P Miller

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

OBJECTIVE: To quantitatively assess white matter injury (WMI) volume and location in very preterm neonates, and to examine the association of lesion volume and location with 18-month neurodevelopmental outcomes.

METHODS: Volume and location of WMI was quantified on MRI in 216 neonates (median gestational age 27.9 weeks) who had motor, cognitive, and language assessments at 18 months corrected age (CA). Neonates were scanned at 32.1 postmenstrual weeks (median) and 68 (31.5%) had WMI; of 66 survivors, 58 (87.9%) had MRI and 18-month outcomes. WMI was manually segmented and transformed into a common image space, accounting for intersubject anatomical variability. Probability …

Evaluation Of Treatment-Related Mortality Among Paediatric Cancer Deaths: A Population Based Analysis., Jason D Pole, Paul Gibson, Marie-Chantal Ethier, Tanya Lazor, Donna L Johnston, Carol Portwine, Mariana Silva, Sarah Alexander, Lillian Sung

Paediatrics Publications

BACKGROUND: Objectives were to describe the proportion of deaths due to treatment-related mortality (TRM) and to identify risk factors and probable causes of TRM among paediatric cancer deaths in a population-based cohort.

METHODS: We included children with cancer ⩽18 years diagnosed and treated in Ontario who died between January 2003 and December 2012. Deaths were identified using a provincial registry, the Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario Networked Information System. Probable causes of TRM were described.

RESULTS: Among the 964 deaths identified, 821 were included. The median age at diagnosis was 6.6 years (range 0-18.8) and 51.8% had at least one …

Mosaic Expression Of Atrx In The Mouse Central Nervous System Causes Memory Deficits, Renee J Tamming, Jennifer R Siu, Yan Jiang, Marco A M Prado, Frank Beier, Nathalie G Bérubé

Paediatrics Publications

The rapid modulation of chromatin organization is thought to play a crucial role in cognitive processes such as memory consolidation. This is supported in part by the dysregulation of many chromatin-remodelling proteins in neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders. A key example is ATRX, an X-linked gene commonly mutated in individuals with syndromic and nonsyndromic intellectual disability. The consequences of Atrx inactivation for learning and memory have been difficult to evaluate because of the early lethality of hemizygous-null animals. In this study, we evaluated the outcome of brain-specific Atrx deletion in heterozygous female mice. These mice exhibit a mosaic pattern of ATRX …

Pediatric Emergency Care Capacity In A Low-Resource Setting: An Assessment Of District Hospitals In Rwanda, Celestin Hategeka, Jean Shoveller, Lisine Tuyisenge, Cynthia Kenyon, David F Cechetto, Larry D Lynd

Paediatrics Publications

BACKGROUND: Health system strengthening is crucial to improving infant and child health outcomes in low-resource countries. While the knowledge related to improving newborn and child survival has advanced remarkably over the past few decades, many healthcare systems in such settings remain unable to effectively deliver pediatric advance life support management. With the introduction of the Emergency Triage, Assessment and Treatment plus Admission care (ETAT+)-a locally adapted pediatric advanced life support management program-in Rwandan district hospitals, we undertook this study to assess the extent to which these hospitals are prepared to provide this pediatric advanced life support management. The results of …

Brainstem Shape Is Affected By Clinical Course In The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Marcus Lo, Leire Zubiaurre-Elorza, Conor Wild, Annika C Linke, David S C Lee, Victor K Han, Rhodri Cusack

Paediatrics Publications

The brainstem, critical for motor function, autonomic regulation, and many neurocognitive functions, undergoes rapid development from the third trimester. Accordingly, we hypothesized it would be vulnerable to insult during this period, and that a difficult clinical course in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) would affect development, and be reflected through atypical shape. Our study population consisted of 66 neonates - all inpatients from the NICU at Victoria Hospital, London Health Sciences Centre, ON, Canada, of which 45 entered the final analysis. The cohort varied in gestational age (GA) and ranged from neurologically healthy to severely brain-injured. Structural MRI was …

Molecular Characterization Of Nrxn1 Deletions From 19,263 Clinical Microarray Cases Identifies Exons Important For Neurodevelopmental Disease Expression, Chelsea Lowther, Marsha Speevak, Christine M Armour, Elaine S Goh, Gail E Graham, Chumei Li, Susan Zeesman, Malgorzata J M Nowaczyk, Lee-Anne Schultz, Antonella Morra, Rob Nicolson, Peter Bikangaga, Dawa Samdup, Mostafa Zaazou, Kerry Boyd, Jack H Jung, Victoria Siu, Manjulata Rajguru, Sharan Goobie, Mark A Tarnopolsky, Chitra Prasad, Paul T Dick, Asmaa S Hussain, Margreet Walinga, Renske G Reijenga, Matthew Gazzellone, Anath C Lionel, Christian R Marshall, Stephen W Scherer, Dimitri J Stavropoulos, Elizabeth Mccready, Anne S Bassett

Paediatrics Publications

PURPOSE: The purpose of the current study was to assess the penetrance of NRXN1 deletions.

METHODS: We compared the prevalence and genomic extent of NRXN1 deletions identified among 19,263 clinically referred cases to that of 15,264 controls. The burden of additional clinically relevant copy-number variations (CNVs) was used as a proxy to estimate the relative penetrance of NRXN1 deletions.

RESULTS: We identified 41 (0.21%) previously unreported exonic NRXN1 deletions ascertained for developmental delay/intellectual disability that were significantly greater than in controls (odds ratio (OR) = 8.14; 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.91-22.72; P < 0.0001). Ten (22.7%) of these had a second clinically relevant CNV. Subjects with a deletion near the 3' end of NRXN1 were significantly more likely to have a second rare CNV than subjects with a 5' NRXN1 deletion (OR = 7.47; 95% CI: 2.36-23.61; P = 0.0006). The prevalence of intronic NRXN1 deletions was not statistically different between cases and controls (P = 0.618). The majority (63.2%) of intronic NRXN1 deletion cases had a second rare CNV at a prevalence twice as high as that for exonic NRXN1 deletion cases (P = 0.0035).

CONCLUSIONS: The results support the importance of exons …

Desynchronization Of Autonomic Response And Central Autonomic Network Connectivity In Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Janine Thome, Maria Densmore, Paul A Frewen, Margaret C Mckinnon, Jean Théberge, Andrew A Nicholson, Julian Koenig, Julian F Thayer, Ruth A Lanius

Department of Medicine Publications

OBJECTIVES: Although dysfunctional emotion regulatory capacities are increasingly recognized as contributing to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), little work has sought to identify biological markers of this vulnerability. Heart rate variability (HRV) is a promising biomarker that, together with neuroimaging, may assist in gaining a deeper understanding of emotion dysregulation in PTSD. The objective of the present study was, therefore, to characterize autonomic response patterns, and their related neuronal patterns in individuals with PTSD at rest.

METHODS: PTSD patients (N = 57) and healthy controls (N = 41) underwent resting-state fMRI. Connectivity patterns of key regions within the central autonomic network …