Bremner J Douglas, Vythilingam Meena, Vermetten Eric, Southwick Steven M, McGlashan Thomas, Nazeer Ahsan, Khan Sarfraz, Vaccarino L Viola, Soufer Robert, Garg Pradeep K, Ng Chin K, Staib Lawrence H, Duncan James S, Charney Dennis S
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory Clinical Neuroscience Research Unit, Emory University School of Medicine, 1256 Briarcliff Road, Atlanta, GA 30306, USA.
Am J Psychiatry. 2003 May;160(5):924-32. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.160.5.924.
Animal studies have suggested that early stress is associated with alterations in the hippocampus, a brain area that plays a critical role in learning and memory. The purpose of this study was to measure both hippocampal structure and function in women with and without early childhood sexual abuse and the diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Thirty-three women participated in this study, including women with early childhood sexual abuse and PTSD (N=10), women with abuse without PTSD (N=12), and women without abuse or PTSD (N=11). Hippocampal volume was measured with magnetic resonance imaging in all subjects, and hippocampal function during the performance of hippocampal-based verbal declarative memory tasks was measured by using positron emission tomography in abused women with and without PTSD.
A failure of hippocampal activation and 16% smaller volume of the hippocampus were seen in women with abuse and PTSD compared to women with abuse without PTSD. Women with abuse and PTSD had a 19% smaller hippocampal volume relative to women without abuse or PTSD.
These results are consistent with deficits in hippocampal function and structure in abuse-related PTSD.
动物研究表明，早期应激与海马体的改变有关，海马体是大脑中一个在学习和记忆中起关键作用的区域。本研究的目的是测量有或没有童年期性虐待且被诊断为创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）的女性的海马体结构和功能。
33名女性参与了本研究，包括有童年期性虐待和PTSD的女性（N = 10）、有虐待但无PTSD的女性（N = 12）以及无虐待或PTSD的女性（N = 11）。对所有受试者进行磁共振成像测量海马体体积，对有和无PTSD的受虐女性在进行基于海马体的言语陈述性记忆任务时，使用正电子发射断层扫描测量海马体功能。
与有虐待但无PTSD的女性相比，有虐待和PTSD的女性海马体激活失败，海马体体积小16%。与无虐待或PTSD的女性相比，有虐待和PTSD的女性海马体体积小19%。
这些结果与虐待相关PTSD中海马体功能和结构的缺陷一致。
