Magnetic resonance imaging study of hippocampal volume in chronic, combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder.
Biol Psychiatry
; 40(11): 1091-9, 1996 Dec 01.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-8931911
ABSTRACT
This study used quantitative volumetric magnetic resonance imaging techniques to explore the neuroanatomic correlates of chronic, combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in seven Vietnam veterans with PTSD compared with seven nonPTSD combat veterans and eight normal nonveterans. Both left and right hippocampi were significantly smaller in the PTSD subjects compared to the Combat Control and Normal subjects, even after adjusting for age, whole brain volume, and lifetime alcohol consumption. There were no statistically significant group differences in intracranial cavity, whole brain, ventricles, ventriclebrain ratio, or amygdala. Subarachnoidal cerebrospinal fluid was increased in both veteran groups. Our finding of decreased hippocampal volume in PTSD subjects is consistent with results of other investigations which utilized only trauma-unexposed control groups. Hippocampal volume was directly correlated with combat exposure, which suggests that traumatic stress may damage the hippocampus. Alternatively, smaller hippocampi volume may be a pre-existing risk factor for combat exposure and/or the development of PTSD upon combat exposure.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Transtornos de Estresse Pós-Traumáticos
/
Distúrbios de Guerra
/
Hipocampo
Tipo de estudo:
Etiology_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Adult
/
Humans
/
Male
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Biol Psychiatry
Ano de publicação:
1996
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Estados Unidos