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Home NEWS Science News Chemistry

Investigators shed new light on brain activity related to dissociative symptoms

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
November 3, 2022
in Chemistry
Reading Time: 4 mins read
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Investigators Shed New Light on Brain Activity Related to Dissociative Symptoms
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Trauma can cause dissociative symptoms—such as having an out-of-body experience, or feeling emotionally numb—that may help an individual cope in the short term but can have negative impacts if the symptoms persist for a long period of time.

Investigators Shed New Light on Brain Activity Related to Dissociative Symptoms

Credit: McLean Hospital

Trauma can cause dissociative symptoms—such as having an out-of-body experience, or feeling emotionally numb—that may help an individual cope in the short term but can have negative impacts if the symptoms persist for a long period of time.

In a new study recently published in Neuropsychopharmacology, a team led by investigators at McLean Hospital, the largest psychiatric affiliate of Harvard Medical School and a member of Mass General Brigham, has identified regions within brain networks that communicate with each other when people experience different types of dissociative symptoms.

“Dissociation and severe dissociative disorders like dissociative identity disorder or ‘DID’ remain at best underappreciated and, at worst, frequently go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed,” said co-lead author Lauren A.M. Lebois, PhD, director of the Dissociative Disorders and Trauma Research Program.

“The cost of this stigmatization and misdiagnosis is high—it has prevented people from accessing appropriate and effective treatment, caused prolonged suffering, and stunted research on dissociation. In addition, given that DID disproportionately affects women, gender disparity is an important issue in this context.”

Lebois and her colleagues’ study included 91 women with and without histories of childhood trauma, current post-traumatic stress disorder, and with varied levels of dissociative symptoms. Participants completed a functional magnetic resonance imaging scan so that investigators could gain insight into their brain activity.

“The novel methods we used to study brain connectivity are critical for understanding the role these network disturbances play in dissociative disorders,” said co-senior author Lisa D. Nickerson, PhD, director of the Applied Neuroimaging Statistics Lab at McLean Hospital.

The scientists found that different dissociative symptoms were uniquely associated with connections of areas in brain networks that are responsible for cognition and emotion processes. “We found that dissociation common to post-traumatic stress disorder and dissociation central to DID are each linked to unique brain signatures,” said Lebois.

The team hopes that a better understanding of the brain correlates of dissociation will help to rectify historical misunderstanding about dissociation and DID, destigmatize these experiences, and contribute to reducing gender-related health disparities.

“We also hope it will increase awareness of dissociative symptoms—and that, ultimately, clinicians will be more likely to assess for and consider these symptoms, and to connect patients with timely and appropriate treatment,” said co–senior author Milissa Kaufman, MD, PhD, director of the Dissociative Disorders and Trauma Research Program.

It is important to note the unique brain signatures of different dissociative symptoms may point to new therapies, the study authors said. “In the future, we could target brain activity related to dissociation as a treatment in and of itself,” said co-author Kerry J. Ressler, MD, PhD, chief scientific officer for McLean.

Funding source: This research was supported by the Julia Kasparian Fund for Neuroscience Research (LAML, CP, MLK) and the National Institute of Mental Health K01MH118467 (LAML), R21MH112956 (MLK), and R01MH119227 (MLK). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

ABOUT MCLEAN:
McLean Hospital has a continuous commitment to put people first in patient care, innovation and discovery, and shared knowledge related to mental health. It is consistently named the #1 freestanding psychiatric hospital in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, and is #1 in America for psychiatric care in 2022-23. McLean Hospital is the largest psychiatric affiliate of Harvard Medical School and a member of Mass General Brigham. To stay up to date on McLean, follow us on Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn.



Journal

Neuropsychopharmacology

DOI

10.1038/s41386-022-01468-1

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Deconstructing dissociation: a triple network model of trauma-related dissociation and its subtypes

Article Publication Date

6-Oct-2022

COI Statement

LAML reports unpaid membership on the Scientific Committee for the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD), grant support from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), K01 MH118467, and the Julia Kasparian Fund for Neuroscience Research. Dr LAML also reports spousal IP payments from Vanderbilt University for technology licensed to Acadia Pharmaceuticals unrelated to the present work. KJR has performed scientific consultation for Bioxcel, Bionomics, Acer, Takeda, and Jazz Pharma; serves on Scientific Advisory Boards for Sage and the Brain Research Foundation, and he has received sponsored research support from Takeda, Brainsway and Alto Neuroscience. He receives research funding from the NIH. MLK reports unpaid membership on the Scientific Committee for the ISSTD and grant support from the NIMH, R21 MH112956, R01 MH119227. JTB has received consulting fees from Verily Life Sciences, as well as consulting fees and equity from Mindstrong Health, Inc., unrelated the present work. Neither ISSTD nor any funding sources were involved in the analysis or preparation of the paper. All other authors have nothing to report.

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