Thursday, July 3, 2025 7/3/2025

A large sample machine learning network analysis of vertex cortical thickness measures for high resolution definition of PTSD related cortical structure abnormalities

Award Number: R21MH125277
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 01/17/2022
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 12/31/2025

Group Awards By:

View Award Description

A large sample machine learning network analysis of vertex cortical thickness measures for high resolution definition of PTSD related cortical structure abnormalities - Project Summary Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects millions of people globally. Existing studies link PTSD symptoms to cortical structural changes including, for example, thinning in prefrontal and other cortical regions. Correlations of PTSD changes in different regions of interest (ROIs) suggest involvement of multiple networks. ROI findings use average measures of thickness across large cortical regions, thus making localization of foci of thickness changes very difficult. Recent vertex-based work, using measures of thickness beneath individual vertex surface areas of ~1 mm2, has begun to identify delimited clusters of cortical vertices with focal thinning in PTSD patients, but associations of changes across vertices remain unstudied. Existing studies of ~300,000 vertices per subject with small sample sizes may lack statistical power, reproducibility and the capacity to resolve cross vertex relationships. Thus large sample, vertex-based work is arguably needed to advance understanding of PTSD related cortical thickness changes. This will require innovations in analyses and transformative changes in approach, because current approaches cannot jointly assess cortical thickness and network associations from data incorporating hundreds of thousands of vertices per subject in studies involving thousands of subjects. With the above rationale, the planned work uses novel approaches, first, to compile the largest existing database (~19,000 subjects) of vertex-based cortical thickness and associated demographic and comorbid data for comparing PTSD and non-PTSD subjects and, second, to apply data driven, multi-vertex pattern and network analysis (MVPNA) to jointly identify localized vertices and distributed networks of vertex clusters that have associated structural abnormalities which predict PTSD. This work will advance current understanding by: (1) identifying currently unresolved focal cortical sites of thickness change in PTSD patients, (2) providing seminal insight into vertex-based patterns of PTSD thickness change networks, and (3) developing new MVPNA approaches for systematic assessment of cortical vertex data from large samples. The proposed work will have further implications for basic research and clinical investigation of cortical structural changes that occur with other psychiatric and neurological disorders.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2025	2023	UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO	3000 ARLINGTON AVE	TOLEDO	OH	43614	LUCAS	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	2	1/13/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $186,462 )
2023	2023	UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO, THE	3000 ARLINGTON AVE	TOLEDO	OH	43614	LUCAS	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	001	2	1/19/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$18,647
2023	2023	UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO, THE	3000 ARLINGTON AVE	TOLEDO	OH	43614	LUCAS	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	2	12/22/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$167,815
														Subtotal = $186,462

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $225,065 )
2022	2022	UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO, THE	3000 ARLINGTON AVE	TOLEDO	OH	43614	LUCAS	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	1	1/17/2022	NEW	$225,065
														Subtotal = $225,065

Grand Total All Awards = $411,527

Top

All Categories

About

Search

Reports

Data Submission

Award Information

A large sample machine learning network analysis of vertex cortical thickness measures for high resolution definition of PTSD related cortical structure abnormalities

Award Number: R21MH125277

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 01/17/2022

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 12/31/2025

Federal Websites

Department of Health & Human Services

HHS Operating Divisions

HHS Staff Divisions

Download A Document Viewer