Changes in brain anatomy during the course of posttraumatic stress disorder

Valerie A. Cardenas, Kristin Samuelson, Maryann Lenoci, Colin Studholme, Thomas C. Neylan, Charles R. Marmar, Norbert Schuff, Michael W. Weiner
2011 Psychiatry Research : Neuroimaging  
The goal of this study was to determine whether PTSD was associated with an increase in timerelated decline in macrostructural brain volume and whether these changes were associated with accelerated cognitive decline. To quantify brain structure, 3 dimensional T1-weighted MRI scans were performed at baseline and again after a minimum of 24 months in 25 patients with PTSD and 22 controls. Longitudinal changes in brain volume were measured using deformation morphometry. For the group as a whole
more » ... SD+ patients did not show significant ongoing brain atrophy compared to PTSD-. PTSD+ patients were then subgrouped into those with decreasing or increasing symptoms. We found little evidence for brain markers of accelerated atrophy in PTSD+ veterans whose symptoms improved over time, with only a small left parietal region showing greater ongoing tissue loss than PTSD-. PTSD patients whose symptoms increased over time showed accelerated atrophy throughout the brain, particularly brainstem and frontal and temporal lobes. Lastly, for the sample as a whole greater rates of brain atrophy were associated with greater rates of decline in verbal memory and delayed facial recognition.
doi:10.1016/j.pscychresns.2011.01.013 pmid:21683556 pmcid:PMC3175765 fatcat:ksptpyvmivbqtjnj64lnqvv34a