# Cognitive control-related brain activation in veterans and service members with PTSD

> **NIH VA I01** · MICHAEL E DEBAKEY VA MEDICAL CENTER · 2021 · —

## Abstract

The underlying neurobiology of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been
hypothesized to involve dysfunction within neural systems that mediate fear conditioning,
emotional control, and central regulation of the autonomic nervous system. However, functional
neuroimaging research examining cognitive skills has also started to identify alterations within
other neural systems. In a recent publication we reported preliminary results from a functional
magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) cognitive control paradigm, the Arrows Task, which was
used to examine elevated posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and brain function following
Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom/New Dawn (OEF/OIF/OND) combat
deployment. Those findings were consistent with a neural resource shift away from higher-level
association areas and supported a conceptual model of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
that emphasizes the role of hyperarousal and alterations in central catecholamines. Previous
investigations using executive function fMRI paradigms to study PTSD and PTSS, including our
own research, have all suffered from one or more limitations such as the enrollment of
participants who did not meet full diagnostic criteria for PTSD, use of fMRI paradigms that
combined both executive function and symptom provocation procedures, examination of
samples without combat trauma, and the failure to screen or control adequately for co-morbid
disorders such as depression and mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). The current application
proposes a well-designed functional neuroimaging study that would focus on combat-related
PTSD while implementing such controls.
 The proposed study's primary objective would be to examine PTSD-related changes in
neural function associated with cognitive control and the relationship between this activation and
clinical symptoms, daily functioning (i.e., sleep, psychosocial function), and external measures
of executive functions. Another important aim of this study would be to examine alterations in
resting state functional connectivity and to relate these to activation during cognitive control. It
would be conducted as a cross sectional study of OEF/OIF/OND veterans with a confirmed
PTSD diagnosis and would include a trauma exposed comparison group and an additional
comparison group to examine PSTD in combination with co-morbid mTBI. Co-morbid
depression would also be addressed and all participants would complete a formal assessment
for PTSD and related conditions (e.g., substance abuse), including the Clinician-Assisted PTSD
Scale for DSM-5 and other PTSD common data elements as key measures. The project's
duration would be three and a half years and it would acquire event-related and resting state
fMRI data, anatomical imaging, and data from symptom and outcome measures to characterize
the sample. We hypothesize that the engagement of cognitive control in patients with PTSD will
be associated with an Arrows Task activation pattern which,...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9838087
- **Project number:** 5I01CX001820-02
- **Recipient organization:** MICHAEL E DEBAKEY VA MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Randall S. Scheibel
- **Activity code:** I01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-01-01 → 2023-09-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9838087

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9838087, Cognitive control-related brain activation in veterans and service members with PTSD (5I01CX001820-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9838087. Licensed CC0.

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