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Cited by 487Posttraumatic Stress Disorder ResearchTraumatic Brain Injury ResearchStress Responses and Cortisol

Smaller hippocampal volume in posttraumatic stress disorder: a multisite ENIGMA-PGC study: subcortical volumetry results from posttraumatic stress disorder consortia

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Logue, Mark W., van Rooij, Sanne J.H., Dennis, Emily L., Davis, Sarah L., Hayes, Jasmeet P., Stevens, Jennifer S., Densmore, Maria, Haswell, Courtney C. +46 more·2018·Biological Psychiatry
DOI 10.1016/j.biopsych.2017.09.006PMC PMC5951719
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Abstract

Background Many studies report smaller hippocampal and amygdala volumes in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but findings have not always been consistent. Here, we present the results of a large-scale neuroimaging consortium study on PTSD conducted by the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC)-Enhancing Neuroimaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis (ENIGMA) PTSD Working Group. Methods We analyzed neuroimaging and clinical data from 1868 subjects (794 PTSD patients) contributed by 16 cohorts, representing the largest neuroimaging study of PTSD to date. We assessed the volumes of eight subcortical structures (nucleus accumbens, amygdala, caudate, hippocampus, pallidum, putamen, thalamus, and lateral ventricle). We used a standardized image-analysis and quality-control pipeline established by the ENIGMA consortium. Results In a meta-analysis of all samples, we found significantly smaller hippocampi in subjects with current PTSD compared with trauma-exposed control subjects (Cohen's d = -0.17, p = .00054), and smaller amygdalae (d = -0.11, p = .025), although the amygdala finding did not survive a significance level that was Bonferroni corrected for multiple subcortical region comparisons (p < .0063). Conclusions Our study is not subject to the biases of meta-analyses of published data, and it represents an important milestone in an ongoing collaborative effort to examine the neurobiological underpinnings of PTSD and the brain's response to trauma.

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  • Most uniform results are present in neuroimaging studies of amygdala and hippocampus.

    “Most uniform results are present in neuroimaging studies of amygdala and hippocampus (Logue et al., 2018).”

    From Neuroimaging research in posttraumatic stress disorder – Focus on amygdala, hippocampus and prefrontal cortex (2019) · cites this paper as Logue et al., 2018

    The passage labelled Abstract > Conclusions says meta-analyses have more consistently found reduced hippocampal and amygdala volumes in PTSD, while evidence for other subcortical structures is limited. But it also says individual studies have been inconsistent, especially for the amygdala; the Discussion reports that this study’s amygdala result did not survive correction for multiple comparisons. Calling the results for both regions uniformly consistent overstates the source. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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  • The ENIGMA study, including data from 1868 subjects from 16 cohorts, showed a connection between PTSD and lowered hippocampal volume.

    “The study included data from 1868 subjects from 16 cohorts and showed the connection between PTSD and lowered hippocampal volume (Logue et al., 2018).”

    From Neuroimaging research in posttraumatic stress disorder – Focus on amygdala, hippocampus and prefrontal cortex (2019) · cites this paper as Logue et al., 2018

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Authors
Logue, M. W., van Rooij, S. J. H., Dennis, E. L., Davis, S. L., Hayes, J. P., Stevens, J. S., Densmore, M., Haswell, C. C., Ipser, J., Koch, S. B. J., Korgaonkar, M., Lebois, L. A. M., Peverill, M., Baker, J. T., Boedhoe, P. S. W., Frijling, J. L., Gruber, S. A., Harpaz-Rotem, I., Jahanshad, N., Koopowitz, S., Levy, I., Nawijn, L., O’Connor, L., Olff, M., Salat, D. H., Sheridan, M. A., Spielberg, J. M., van Zuiden, M., Winternitz, S. R., Wolff, J. D., Wolf, E. J., Wang, X., Wrocklage, K., Abdallah, C. G., Bryant, R. A., Geuze, E., Jovanovic, T., Kaufman, M. L., King, A. P., Krystal, J. H., Lagopoulos, J., Bennett, M., Lanius, R., Liberzon, I., McGlinchey, R. E., McLaughlin, K. A., Milberg, W. P., Miller, M. W., Ressler, K. J., Veltman, D. J., Stein, D. J., Thomaes, K., Thompson, P. M., & Morey, R. A.
Affiliations
  • Boston University (US)
  • University of Southern California (US)
  • Duke University (US)
  • Emory University (US)
  • Western University (CA)
  • University of Cape Town (ZA)
  • Amsterdam UMC Location University of Amsterdam (NL)
  • Westmead Institute for Medical Research (AU)
  • Harvard University (US)
  • University of Washington (US)
  • Amsterdam UMC Location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (NL)
  • Yale University (US)
  • The Graduate Center, CUNY (US)
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
  • VA Boston Healthcare System (US)
  • University of Toledo (US)
  • UNSW Sydney (AU)
  • University Medical Center Utrecht (NL)
  • University of Michigan (US)
  • The University of Sydney (AU)
Corresponding author
Morey, Rajendra A.
ORCID
Venue
Biological Psychiatry
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2018-02
Volume
83
Issue
3
Pages
244-253
ISSN
0006-3223 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.biopsych.2017.09.006
PMC
PMC5951719
OpenAlex
W2772371211
Cited by
487
References
17
Citations by year
2026: 44 · 2025: 60 · 2024: 53 · 2023: 61 · 2022: 64 · 2021: 73 · 2020: 55 · 2019: 45 · 2018: 28 · 2017: 3 · 2012: 1
FWCI
5.47
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Biological Psychiatry (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Pure Amsterdam UMC (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • Amsterdam UMC (VU Amsterdam) - Institutional Repository (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • CUNY Academic Works (City University of New York) (submittedVersion)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
  • Utrecht University Repository (Utrecht University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Utrecht University Repository (Utrecht University) (submittedVersion)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Funders
  • Canadian Institutes of Health Research
  • National Center for Research Resources (M01RR00039)
  • Biomedical Laboratory Research and Development, VA Office of Research and Development (I01BX003477, B9254-C)
  • ZonMw (40-00812-98-10041, 110614, 100-020-002)
  • National Institute of Mental Health (MH098212, F32 MH101976, K01-MH092526, MH071537, R01-MH103291, R21MH112956-01, R21MH102834, 1I01CX000748-01A1, 1I01RX000389-01, R01-MH111671-01)
  • Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (OPP 1017641)
  • National Health and Medical Research Council (1073041)
  • Charles H. Hood Foundation
  • Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research
  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (K23 MH073091-01, 5R01NS086885-02)
  • Brain and Behavior Research Foundation
  • National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (UL1TR000454)
  • U.S. Department of Defense (W81XWH-12-2-0012)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Traumatic Brain Injury Research
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
Keywords
post-traumatic stress disorder, hippocampal volume, amygdala volume, subcortical structures, brain volumetry, trauma exposure, neuroimaging genetics
MeSH terms
Adult Survivors of Child Adverse Events, Adult, Amygdala, Corpus Striatum, Female, Hippocampus, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Sex Characteristics, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, Thalamus, Meta-Analysis as Topic, Cohort Studies, Multicenter Studies as Topic, Lateral Ventricles, Neuroimaging

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