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Amygdala volume changes in posttraumatic stress disorder in a large case-controlled veterans group.

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Date
2012-11
Authors
Morey, Rajendra A
Gold, Andrea L
LaBar, Kevin S
Beall, Shannon K
Brown, Vanessa M
Haswell, Courtney C
Nasser, Jessica D
Wagner, H Ryan
McCarthy, Gregory
Mid-Atlantic MIRECC Workgroup
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Abstract
CONTEXT: Smaller hippocampal volumes are well established in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but the relatively few studies of amygdala volume in PTSD have produced equivocal results. OBJECTIVE: To assess a large cohort of recent military veterans with PTSD and trauma-exposed control subjects, with sufficient power to perform a definitive assessment of the effect of PTSD on volumetric changes in the amygdala and hippocampus and of the contribution of illness duration, trauma load, and depressive symptoms. DESIGN: Case-controlled design with structural magnetic resonance imaging and clinical diagnostic assessments. We controlled statistically for the important potential confounds of alcohol use, depression, and medication use. SETTING: Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, which is located in proximity to major military bases. PATIENTS: Ambulatory patients (n = 200) recruited from a registry of military service members and veterans serving after September 11, 2001, including a group with current PTSD (n = 99) and a trauma-exposed comparison group without PTSD (n = 101). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Amygdala and hippocampal volumes computed from automated segmentation of high-resolution structural 3-T magnetic resonance imaging. RESULTS: Smaller volume was demonstrated in the PTSD group compared with the non-PTSD group for the left amygdala (P = .002), right amygdala (P = .01), and left hippocampus (P = .02) but not for the right hippocampus (P = .25). Amygdala volumes were not associated with PTSD chronicity, trauma load, or severity of depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: These results provide clear evidence of an association between a smaller amygdala volume and PTSD. The lack of correlation between trauma load or illness chronicity and amygdala volume suggests that a smaller amygdala represents a vulnerability to developing PTSD or the lack of a dose-response relationship with amygdala volume. Our results may trigger a renewed impetus for investigating structural differences in the amygdala, its genetic determinants, its environmental modulators, and the possibility that it reflects an intrinsic vulnerability to PTSD.
Type
Journal article
Subject
Adult
Afghan Campaign 2001-
Amygdala
Case-Control Studies
Combat Disorders
Dominance, Cerebral
Female
Hippocampus
Humans
Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted
Iraq War, 2003-2011
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Middle Aged
Military Personnel
North Carolina
Organ Size
Reference Values
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
Veterans
Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/10976
Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2012.50
Publication Info
Morey, Rajendra A; Gold, Andrea L; LaBar, Kevin S; Beall, Shannon K; Brown, Vanessa M; Haswell, Courtney C; ... Mid-Atlantic MIRECC Workgroup (2012). Amygdala volume changes in posttraumatic stress disorder in a large case-controlled veterans group. Arch Gen Psychiatry, 69(11). pp. 1169-1178. 10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2012.50. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/10976.
This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Scholars@Duke

LaBar

Kevin S. LaBar

Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience
My research focuses on understanding how emotional events modulate cognitive processes in the human brain. We aim to identify brain regions that encode the emotional properties of sensory stimuli, and to show how these regions interact with neural systems supporting social cognition, executive control, and learning and memory. To achieve this goal, we use a variety of cognitive neuroscience techniques in human subject populations. These include psychophysiological monitoring, functional magnetic
Morey

Rajendra A. Morey

Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Research in my lab is focused on brain changes associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), and other neuropsychiatric disorders. We apply several advanced methods for understanding brain function including functional MRI, structural MRI, diffusion tensor imaging, and genetic effects.
Wagner

Henry Ryan Wagner II

Associate Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
My research career into neurobiology and mental health spans two distinct phases. The first includes doctoral training at the University of New Mexico in psychology and neurobiology with a major area of emphasis in behavioral neurobiology and two minor areas of emphasis in learning and memory and statistics and experimental design.  Doctoral training was subsequently supplemented with  postdoctoral study in neuropharmacology at Duke University focusing on brain monoamine systems.&nb
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