Sullivan DR, Salat DH, Wolf EJ, et al. - In view of recent studies suggesting that cerebral blood flow (CBF) has a potential role as a link between psychiatric disorders and brain integrity and that interpersonal early life trauma (IP-ELT) is a risk factor for the development of psychiatric disorders and is correlated with disruptions in brain structure and function, researchers sought to determine if IP-ELT is correlated with alterations in CBF assessed during adulthood. In addition, they examined the correlation between IP-ELT, perfusion, and cognition. Data were obtained from 179 Operations Enduring Freedom/Iraqi Freedom/New Dawn (OEF/OIF/OND) Veterans and military personnel. Findings from whole brain analyses revealed significantly greater CBF in the right inferior/middle temporal gyrus among IP-ELT+ individuals vs those in the IP-ELT- group, even after controlling for age, gender, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In addition, there was significant mediating role of perfusion in the right inferior/middle temporal gyrus in the relationship between IP-ELT and memory, not attention or executive function, such that those with an IP-ELT had greater perfusion, which, in turn, was linked with poorer memory. Extending prior work, these findings establish a link between ELT and cerebral perfusion by inferring the possible importance of raised CBF as a neural marker with cognitive implications in populations at risk for psychiatric disorders.