Breaking the circuit: Reduced cerebello-thalamo-cortical functional connectivity during traumatic memory retrieval in PTSD and its dissociative subtype

Breaking the circuit: Reduced cerebello-thalamo-cortical functional connectivity during traumatic memory retrieval in PTSD and its dissociative subtype | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Breaking the circuit: Reduced cerebello-thalamo-cortical functional connectivity during traumatic memory retrieval in PTSD and its dissociative subtype Ruth Lanius, Breanne Kearney, Saurabh Shaw, Maria Densmore, Margaret McKinnon, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6008376/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Traumatic memory retrieval is clinically characterized by vivid sensations, motoric re-enactments, temporal discontinuity and perceptual disorientation, which collectively contribute to a felt sense of reliving the past. While several studies have examined functional connectivity alterations in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), no study to date has employed unrestricted data-driven methodology to investigate the overarching whole-brain connectome characteristic of traumatic memory retrieval. As a direct follow-up to Shaw et al. (2023), the present study employed a whole-brain region of interest (ROI) to ROI analysis during the retrieval of neutral and traumatic memory in 90 participants, 65 with PTSD and its dissociative subtype (PTSD+DS) and 25 trauma-exposed controls. Striking hypoconnectivity patterns emerged within cerebrocerebellar and basal ganglia-cerebellar circuits in both PTSD and PTSD+DS during traumatic memory retrieval only, where the cerebellum exhibited a segregated topology and a breakdown of long-range cortical connections. PTSD+DS was uniquely characterized by basal ganglia-occipital hypoconnectivity and brainstem-cerebellar hyperconnectivity. Further, a brain-behaviour factor analysis revealed that distinct factors characterizing dissociation aligned with unique cerebrocerebellar functional connectivity patterns. These findings suggest a disruption to vertical integration (brainstem-cerebellum-thalamus-cortex and cerebellum-basal ganglia) during traumatic memory retrieval, where cerebellar-based predictive processes may be markedly altered. Biological sciences/Neuroscience/Learning and memory/Long-term memory Biological sciences/Neuroscience/Stress and resilience Health sciences/Diseases/Psychiatric disorders/Post-traumatic stress disorder Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files SupplTable.docx Supplementary Table 1 SupplFigures.docx Supplementary Figures 1, 2, 3 Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6008376","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":414348455,"identity":"1e864fb4-06f1-4c09-97c8-b949d6b72264","order_by":0,"name":"Ruth 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