Neuroimaging Evidence of Disturbed Self-appraisal in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Systematic Review

Background: The experience of self-hood in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is altered cognitively and somatically. Dysfunctional negative cognitions about the self are a central mechanism of PTSD symptomatology and treatment. However, while higher-order brain models of disturbances in self-appraisal (i.e., cognitive processes relating to evaluating the self) have been examined in other psychiatric disorders, it is unclear how normative brain function during self-appraisal is impaired in PTSD.

Methods: This paper presents a PRISMA systematic review of functional neuroimaging studies (n = 5), to establish a neurobiological account of how self-appraisal processes are disturbed in PTSD. The review was prospectively registered with PROSPERO (CRD42023450509).

Results: Self-appraisal in PTSD is linked to disrupted activity in core self-processing regions of the Default Mode Network (DMN); and regions involved in cognitive control and emotion regulation, salience and valuation.

Limitations: Because self-appraisal in PTSD is relatively under-studied, only a small number of studies could be included for review. Cross-study heterogeneity in analytic approaches and trauma-exposure history prohibited a quantitative meta-analysis.

Conclusions: This paper proposes a mechanistic account of how neural dysfunctions may manifest clinically in PTSD and inform targeted selection of appropriate treatment options. We present a research agenda for future work to advance the field.