Dissociative Flashbacks After Right Frontal Injury in a Vietnam Veteran With Combat-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

A Vietnam veteran with a combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder developed recurrent dissociative flashbacks (related to the atrocities of a specific war incident) several months after suffering a traumatic brain injury. CT disclosed a small lesion in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. S...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of neuropsychiatry and clinical neurosciences 2001, Vol.13 (1), p.101-105
Main Authors: Berthier, Marcelo L, Posada, Angel, Puentes, Carmen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Brain Mapping
Combat Disorders - diagnosis
Combat Disorders - physiopathology
Combat Disorders - psychology
Dissociative Disorders - diagnosis
Dissociative Disorders - physiopathology
Dissociative Disorders - psychology
Dominance, Cerebral - physiology
Frontal Lobe - injuries
Frontal Lobe - physiopathology
Humans
Injuries of the nervous system and the skull. Diseases due to physical agents
Limbic System - physiopathology
Male
Medical sciences
Mental Recall - physiology
Middle Aged
Neuropsychological Tests
Prefrontal Cortex - injuries
Prefrontal Cortex - physiopathology
Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon
Tomography, X-Ray Computed
Traumas. Diseases due to physical agents
Veterans - psychology
Vietnam
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Description
Summary:A Vietnam veteran with a combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder developed recurrent dissociative flashbacks (related to the atrocities of a specific war incident) several months after suffering a traumatic brain injury. CT disclosed a small lesion in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. SPECT demonstrated more extensive functional changes in prefrontal and anterior paralimbic brain regions, mainly in the right hemisphere. This case further implicates the provocative effect of physical stimuli (brain damage) in reawakening old dormant memories and the preferential role of the right hemisphere for the storage of traumatic memories.
ISSN:0895-0172
1545-7222
DOI:10.1176/jnp.13.1.101