Dorsal anterior cingulate function in posttraumatic stress disorder

Previous neuroimaging research has shown diminished anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) function in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), with most of these findings occurring in pregenual/subgenual ACC. This study investigates whether dorsal ACC (dACC) function is also diminished in PTSD. The authors used functional magnetic resonance imaging to study dACC function during the performance of the counting Stroop. Thirteen men with PTSD and 13 trauma-exposed men without PTSD participated. In the interference-neutral comparison, both groups showed response time increases and dACC activations. These results suggest that dACC function in PTSD is not diminished during the performance of this nonemotional task. In fact, there were statistical trends in the opposite direction. These findings will help to better characterize functional brain abnormalities in this disorder.