Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden, The Netherlands; Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Division of Mind and Brain Research, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Berlin, Germany.
Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden, The Netherlands; University of Amsterdam, Addiction, Development, and Psychopathology (ADAPT) Lab, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Brain and Cognition, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Psychiatry Res. 2015 Sep 30;233(3):436-42. doi: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2015.07.016. Epub 2015 Jul 15.
Hippocampus and amygdala volumes in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related to childhood trauma are relatively understudied, albeit the potential importance to the disorder. Whereas some studies reported smaller hippocampal volumes, little evidence was found for abnormal amygdala volumes. Here we investigated hippocampus and amygdala volumes and shapes in an adult sample of PTSD patients related to childhood trauma. T1-weighted MR images were acquired from 12 female PTSD patients with trauma related to physical, sexual, and/or emotional abuse before age 18, and from 12 matched controls. Hippocampus and amygdala were segmented, and volumes were calculated and corrected for the total intracranial volume. Additionally, a shape analysis was done on the surface of the structures to explore abnormalities in specific subnuclei. Smaller right amygdala volumes were found in PTSD patients as compared with the controls. This difference appeared to be located specifically in the basolateral and superficial nuclei groups. Severity of sexual abuse during childhood was negatively correlated with the size of the amygdala. No difference in hippocampal volumes was found. Although our results are not conclusive, traumatic events in childhood might impede normal development of the amygdala, which could render a person more vulnerable to develop PTSD later in life.
海马体和杏仁核体积在创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）与儿童期创伤相关的研究中相对较少，但对该疾病具有潜在的重要性。尽管一些研究报告了较小的海马体体积，但很少有证据表明杏仁核体积异常。在这里，我们研究了与儿童期创伤相关的 PTSD 患者的成年样本中的海马体和杏仁核体积和形状。从 12 名女性 PTSD 患者（18 岁之前经历过身体、性和/或情感虐待）和 12 名匹配的对照中获取 T1 加权磁共振图像。对海马体和杏仁核进行分割，并计算体积并校正总颅内体积。此外，还对结构的表面进行了形状分析，以探索特定亚核的异常。与对照组相比，PTSD 患者的右侧杏仁核体积较小。这种差异似乎专门位于基底外侧核和浅层核群中。儿童期性虐待的严重程度与杏仁核的大小呈负相关。未发现海马体体积的差异。尽管我们的结果尚无定论，但儿童时期的创伤性事件可能会阻碍杏仁核的正常发育，这可能会使人更容易在以后的生活中患上 PTSD。
