Hippocampal function in posttraumatic stress disorder

Lisa M. Shin · Stephan Heckers · Terri K. Pogoda · Michael L. Macklin · Scott Allan Orr · Natasha B. Lasko +9 more

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Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research Memory and Neural Mechanisms Memory Processes and Influences

Abstract

Recent studies have reported memory deficits and reduced hippocampal volumes in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The goal of the current research was to use functional neuroimaging and a validated explicit memory paradigm to examine hippocampal function in PTSD. We used positron emission tomography (PET) and a word-stem completion task to study regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in the hippocampus in 16 firefighters: 8 with PTSD (PTSD group) and 8 without PTSD (Control group). During PET scanning, participants viewed three-letter word stems on a computer screen and completed each stem with a word they had previously encoded either deeply (High Recall condition) or shallowly (Low Recall condition). Relative to the Control group, the PTSD group exhibited significantly smaller rCBF increases in the left hippocampus in the High vs Low Recall comparison. However, this finding reflected relatively elevated rCBF in the Low Recall condition in the PTSD group. Collapsing across High and Low Recall conditions, (1) the PTSD group had higher rCBF in bilateral hippocampus and left amygdala than the Control group, and (2) within the PTSD group, symptom severity was positively associated with rCBF in hippocampus and parahippocampal gyrus. The groups did not significantly differ with regard to accuracy scores on the word-stem completion task. The PTSD group had significantly smaller right (and a trend for smaller left) hippocampal volumes than the Control group. The results suggest an abnormal rCBF response in the hippocampus during explicit recollection of nonemotional material in firefighters with PTSD, and that this abnormal response appears to be driven by relatively elevated hippocampal rCBF in the comparison condition.

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References

1995Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in the National Comorbidity Survey 1995The development of a Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale 2024Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 2002Smaller hippocampal volume predicts pathologic vulnerability to psychological trauma 1990Trauma and the Vietnam War generation: report of findings from the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study 1995MRI-based measurement of hippocampal volume in patients with combat- related posttraumatic stress disorder 1997Magnetic resonance imaging-based measurement of hippocampal volume in posttraumatic stress disorder related to childhood physical and sexual abuse—a preliminary report 2000Exaggerated amygdala response to masked facial stimuli in posttraumatic stress disorder: a functional MRI study

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2009Human vulnerability to stress depends on amygdala's predisposition and hippocampal plasticity 2011Altered Amygdala Resting-State Functional Connectivity in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder 2011Hippocampal dysfunction effects on context memory: Possible etiology for posttraumatic stress disorder 2013The effects of psychotherapy on brain function: A systematic and critical review

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