Restoring bottom-up communication in brain-heart interplay after trauma-focused psychotherapy in breast cancer patients with post-traumatic stress disorder

This study looks at the functional brain-heart interplay (BHI) and compares EMDR therapy (as a trauma focused psychotherapy) to treatment as usual in breast cancer patients with PTSD.

Article Abstract

“Background: The psychological impact of breast cancer (BC) is substantial, with a significant number of patients (up to 32 %) experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Exploring the emotional aspects of PTSD through the functional brain-heart interplay (BHI) offers valuable insights into the condition. BHI examines the functional interactions between cortical and sympathovagal dynamics. This study aims to investigate changes in functional directional BHI after trauma-focused (TF) psychotherapy, specifically Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), in comparison to treatment as usual (TAU) among BC patients with PTSD. To our knowledge, this study represents the first examination of such changes.

Methods: We enrolled thirty BC patients who met the criteria for a PTSD diagnosis, with fourteen receiving EMDR and fifteen receiving TAU over a two- to three-month period. We analyzed changes in the emotional response during a script-driven imagery setting. Quantification of the functional interplay between EEG and sympathovagal dynamics was achieved using the synthetic data generation model (SDG) on electroencephalographic (EEG) and heartbeat series. Our focus was on the difference in the BHI index extracted at baseline and post-treatment.

Results: We found statistically significant higher coupling in the heart-to-brain direction in patients treated with EMDR compared to controls. This suggests that the flow of information from the autonomic nervous system to the central nervous system is restored following EMDR-induced recovery from PTSD. Furthermore, we observed a significant correlation between improvements in PTSD symptoms and an increase in functional BHI after EMDR treatment.

—Description from publisher

Article Access

Open Access

Malandrone, F., Catrambone, V., Carletto, S., Rossini, P. G., Coletti Moja, M., Oliva, F., Pagani, M., Valenza, G., & Ostacoli, L. (2024). Restoring bottom-up communication in brain-heart interplay after trauma-focused psychotherapy in breast cancer patients with post-traumatic stress disorder. Journal of Affective Disorders, 351, 143-150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2024.01.172

About the Journal

“The Journal of Affective Disorders publishes papers concerned with affective disorders in the widest sense: depression, mania, mood spectrum, emotions and personality, anxiety and stress. It is interdisciplinary and aims to bring together different approaches for a diverse readership. Top quality papers will be accepted dealing with any aspect of affective disorders, including neuroimaging, cognitive neurosciences, genetics, molecular biology, experimental and clinical neurosciences, pharmacology, neuroimmunoendocrinology, intervention and treatment trials.”

—Description from publisher