Increased medial prefrontal cortical thickness and resilience to traumatic experiences in North Korean refugees.
Sci Rep
; 11(1): 14910, 2021 07 21.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-34290327
ABSTRACT
Little is known regarding structural brain changes in traumatized refugees and the association with psychopathology. In the present study, the cortical thickness in North Korean refugees and the association with psychological symptoms were explored. North Korean refugees with lifetime post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD group, n = 27), trauma-exposed North Korean refugees without lifetime PTSD (trauma-exposed control (TEC) group, n = 23), and healthy South Korean controls without traumatic experiences (HC group, n = 51) completed questionnaires assessing depression, anxiety, somatization, and PTSD symptoms. The cortical thickness was measured by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using FreeSurfer. Age- and sex-adjusted cortical thickness of the right medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) was greater in the TEC group than in the HC group. However, significant differences were not observed between the PTSD and HC groups. Increased right mPFC thickness was significantly correlated with less anxiety and somatization after controlling for age and sex in the TEC group, but not in the PTSD or HC groups. North Korean refugees who did not develop PTSD after trauma showed increased right mPFC thickness, which was associated with less severe psychiatric symptoms. These findings indicate that increased mPFC thickness might have helped to reduce PTSD and psychiatric symptoms after trauma, and likely reflects resilience achieved by potentially enhancing emotional regulation in the mPFC.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Refugiados
/
Transtornos de Estresse Pós-Traumáticos
/
Córtex Pré-Frontal
/
Resiliência Psicológica
/
Trauma Psicológico
/
Acontecimentos que Mudam a Vida
Tipo de estudo:
Qualitative_research
Limite:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
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Male
/
Middle aged
País/Região como assunto:
Asia
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Sci Rep
Ano de publicação:
2021
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de publicação:
ENGLAND
/
ESCOCIA
/
GB
/
GREAT BRITAIN
/
INGLATERRA
/
REINO UNIDO
/
SCOTLAND
/
UK
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UNITED KINGDOM