Integrative neuroimaging and electrophysiological research have promoted the idea that α oscillations sustain and facilitate DMN functioning by synchronizing spontaneous activity across the network and suppressing sensory cortical propagation. Translating these mechanisms to the neuropathology of PTSD, we confirmed interconnected α deficits in the DMN and VC in patients with PTSD, which are further associated with symptoms of hypervigilance. Therefore, the current findings provide the first evidence of visual-cortex-DMN α dysrhythmia in PTSD, presenting a unifying neural underpinning of sensory disinhibition, DMN dysfunction, and hypervigilance in this disorder. The specification of this α dysrhythmia further isolates a novel therapeutic target, promoting network-based interventions (Lanius et al., 2015) using brain stimulation of α oscillations (Clancy et al., 2018) in the visual-cortex-DMN system as a new line of treatment for PTSD.
