Yann Quidé1, Helen Cléry1, Frédéric Andersson1, Céline Descriaud1, Pauline Saint-Martin1, Laurent Barantin1, Valérie Gissot1, Marie-Paule Carrey Le Bas1, Sylvie Osterreicher1, Diane Dufour-Rainfray1, Bruno Brizard1, Maja Ogielska1, Wissam El-Hage1. 1. From the School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Randwick, NSW, Australia (Quidé); Neuroscience Research Australia, Randwick, NSW, Australia (Quidé); Inserm U1253 ''Imaging and Brain: iBrain,'' Université de Tours, Tours, France (Cléry, Andersson, Barantin, Dufour-Rainfray, Brizard, El-Hage); Centre d'Accueil des Victimes d'Agressions Sexuelles, Centre Hospitalier Régional d'Orléans, Orléans, France (Descriaud); Service de Médecine Légale, CHRU de Tours, Tours, France (Saint-Martin); Inserm CIC 1415, Centre d'Investigation Clinique, CHRU de Tours, Tours, France (Gissot, El-Hage); Association Départementale d'Aide aux Victimes d'Infractions Pénales d'Indre-et-Loire, ADAVIP 37, France Victimes 37, Tours, France (Carrey Le Bas); Centre d'Accueil des Victimes d'Agressions Sexuelles, Centre Hospitalier de Blois, Blois, France (Osterreicher); and CHRU de Tours, Tours, France (Dufour-Rainfray, Ogielska, El-Hage).
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Survivors of sexual assault are vulnerable to long-term negative psychological and physical health outcomes, but few studies have investigated changes in cognition, emotional processing and brain function in the early stages after sexual assault. We used a multimodal approach to identify the cognitive and emotional correlates associated with sexual assault in women. METHODS: Twenty-seven female survivors of sexual assault were included within 4 weeks of the traumatic event, and they were compared with 20 age-matched controls. Participants underwent functional MRI while performing cognitive/emotional tasks (n-back, emotional go/no-go, mental imagery). We also measured diurnal salivary cortisol and conducted neuropsychological assessments of attention and memory abilities. RESULTS: Relative to the control group, the survivor group had lower levels of morning cortisol and showed attentional deficits. We observed no between-group differences in brain activation during the n-back or mental imagery tasks. During the emotional go/no-go task, however, the survivor group showed a lack of deactivation in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex when processing emotional material, relative to neutral material. Exploratory analyses in the survivor group indicated that symptom severity was negatively associated with cerebellar activation when positive emotional (happy) content interfered with response inhibition, and positively associated with cerebellar activation when thinking of positive (happy) memories. LIMITATIONS: The small sample size was the main limitation of this study. CONCLUSION: Dysfunctions in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and the cerebellum may represent early functional brain modifications that alter higher cognitive processes when emotional material is involved.
BACKGROUND: Survivors of sexual assault are vulnerable to long-term negative psychological and physical health outcomes, but few studies have investigated changes in cognition, emotional processing and brain function in the early stages after sexual assault. We used a multimodal approach to identify the cognitive and emotional correlates associated with sexual assault in women. METHODS: Twenty-seven female survivors of sexual assault were included within 4 weeks of the traumatic event, and they were compared with 20 age-matched controls. Participants underwent functional MRI while performing cognitive/emotional tasks (n-back, emotional go/no-go, mental imagery). We also measured diurnal salivary cortisol and conducted neuropsychological assessments of attention and memory abilities. RESULTS: Relative to the control group, the survivor group had lower levels of morning cortisol and showed attentional deficits. We observed no between-group differences in brain activation during the n-back or mental imagery tasks. During the emotional go/no-go task, however, the survivor group showed a lack of deactivation in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex when processing emotional material, relative to neutral material. Exploratory analyses in the survivor group indicated that symptom severity was negatively associated with cerebellar activation when positive emotional (happy) content interfered with response inhibition, and positively associated with cerebellar activation when thinking of positive (happy) memories. LIMITATIONS: The small sample size was the main limitation of this study. CONCLUSION: Dysfunctions in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and the cerebellum may represent early functional brain modifications that alter higher cognitive processes when emotional material is involved.
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