Brain structure in post-traumatic stress disorder A voxel-based morphometry analysis

• Published in: Neural regeneration research 2013-09, Vol.8 (26), p.2405-2414
• Main Authors: Tan, Liwen, Zhang, Li, Qi, Rongfeng, Lu, Guangming, Li, Lingjiang, Liu, Jun, Li, Weihui
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analysis; Brain; Diagnosis; Morphometrics (Biology); Physiological aspects; Post-traumatic stress disorder; Research and Report : Evaluation in Neural Regeneration; 体素; 创伤; 学分; 对照组; 应激; 形态计量学; 结构损坏; 脑结构
• ISSN: 1673-5374; 1876-7958
• DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1673-5374.2013.26.001

This study compared the difference in brain structure in 12 mine disaster survivors with chronic post-traumatic stress disorder, 7 cases of improved post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, and 14 controls who experienced the same mine disaster but did not suffer post-traumatic stress disorder, using the voxel-based morphometry method. The correlation between differences in brain structure and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms was also investigated. Results showed that the gray matter volume was the highest in the trauma control group, followed by the symptoms-improved group, and the lowest in the chronic post-traumatic stress disorder group. Compared with the symptoms-improved group, the gray matter volume in the lingual gyrus of the right occipital lobe was reduced in the chronic post-traumatic stress disorder group. Compared with the trauma control group, the gray matter volume in the right middle occipital gyrus and left middle frontal gyrus was reduced in the symptoms-improved group. Compared with the trauma control group, the gray matter volume in the left superior parietal lo- bule and right superior frontal gyrus was reduced in the chronic post-traumatic stress disorder group. The gray matter volume in the left superior parietal Iobule was significantly positively correlated with the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory subscale score in the symptoms-improved group and chronic post-traumatic stress disorder group （r = 0.477, P = 0.039）. Our findings indicate that （1） chronic post-traumatic stress disorder patients have gray matter structural damage in the prefrontal lobe, oc- cipital lobe, and parietal lobe, （2） after post-traumatic stress, the disorder symptoms are improved and gray matter structural damage is reduced, but cannot recover to the trauma-control level, and （3） the superior parietal Iobule is possibly associated with chronic post-traumatic stress disorder. Post-traumatic stress disorder patients exhibit gray matter abnormalities.