# Neural and Computational Processing of Naturalistic Threat in PTSD

> **NIH NIH F31** · ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI · 2021 · $44,436

## Abstract

Project Summary
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a debilitating psychological disorder characterized by aberrant
responses to threat stimuli, is a major public health concern associated with significant morbidity and mortality,
especially within the veteran population. The only effective therapies for PTSD (i.e., exposure therapies) create
new safety responses that compete with and mask—but do not alter—the problematic threat responses.
Additionally, there is no conclusive evidence supporting psychopharmacological interventions to treat PTSD,
which further highlights a lack of knowledge of the neurobiology of the disorder. For example, despite the
prevalence of trauma exposure in both the general and veteran populations, the specific susceptibilities or
alterations that determine risk and resilience for ensuing psychopathology are unknown. Laboratory models
are frequently used to study threat memory processing in PTSD—however, these models erase the nuance of
the vivid, multiplex stimuli that typically trigger aberrant responding in PTSD. Thus, our understanding of PTSD
may be limited by the gap between laboratory models of threat and naturalistic threat stimuli. An understanding
of the precise neurobiological impairment underlying aberrant responses to naturalistic threat stimuli in PTSD
will support therapies that go beyond masking symptoms, target the root issue, and pave the way for curative
interventions. The present proposal aims to define the dysregulated neural circuits that relate to PTSD
symptom severity in a population of American veterans who served in Iraq or Afghanistan. We will utilize newly
developed multivariate functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) techniques (i.e., multivariate pattern
analyses; MVPA) to identify dynamic patterns of brain activity during naturalistic threat exposure. By monitoring
neural representations of dynamic, naturalistic stimuli, we will determine whether the brain differentially
processes naturalistic threat stimuli in PTSD. This is a step toward identifying the root cause of aberrant threat
responses, as aberrant neural representations of threatening stimuli may necessarily lead to disordered
physiological responses to those dysregulated representations. Since abnormal threat responses in PTSD are
triggered both by threatening cues in the external environment as well as internally re-living past negative
memories, the present proposal will evaluate and quantify two scenarios. It will evaluate the neural processing
of aversive, naturalistic stimuli by quantifying the stability of neural representations elicited by a combat movie.
The proposal will also evaluate the neural processing of personal trauma memories by quantifying the stability
of neural representations during repeated reactivations of autobiographical memories. This project will
enhance our understanding of whether and how threat stimuli are differentially represented in PTSD and
facilitate development of treatment options that ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10241260
- **Project number:** 5F31MH123148-02
- **Recipient organization:** ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI
- **Principal Investigator:** Temidayo Orederu
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $44,436
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-04-01 → 2022-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10241260

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10241260, Neural and Computational Processing of Naturalistic Threat in PTSD (5F31MH123148-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10241260. Licensed CC0.

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