Absence of hippocampal volume differences in survivors of the Nazi Holocaust with and without posttraumatic stress disorder
Abstract
It remains unclear whether smaller hippocampal volume is a consistent feature of chronic posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and whether it accounts for the associated memory deficits observed in this illness. Hippocampal volume, comparison regions and memory performance were examined in Holocaust survivors with PTSD (PTSD+: n=14; 5 men, 9 women) and without PTSD (PTSD-: n=13; 6 men, 7 women) and a non-exposed control group of healthy Jewish adults (n=20; 13 men, 7 women). The subjects had medical examinations, high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging, and memory testing. PTSD+ subjects had poorer memory performance than non-exposed subjects and PTSD- subjects, but they did not differ from either group in right or left hippocampal volume when gender and head size were taken into account. Older age and smaller left hippocampal volume were more strongly associated in the PTSD+ group than in the PTSD- groups. Holocaust survivors had larger superior temporal gyral and lateral temporal lobe volumes bilaterally than non-exposed subjects. Smaller hippocampal volume is not invariably associated with chronic PTSD and does not explain the substantial explicit memory impairment observed in Holocaust survivors with this disorder. Larger temporal lobe volumes may be associated with early traumatization and survival or may reflect some other characteristic of Holocaust survivors.
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Results on hippocampal volume are not consistent across studies.
“However, results are not consistent across the studies (Golier et al., 2005;Pederson et al., 2004).”
From Neuroimaging research in posttraumatic stress disorder – Focus on amygdala, hippocampus and prefrontal cortex (2019) · cites this paper as Golier et al., 2005
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- Authors
- Golier, J. A., Yehuda, R., De Santi, S., Segal, S., Dolan, S., & de Leon, M. J.
- Affiliations
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (US)
- NYU Langone Health (US)
- Corresponding author
- Golier, Julia A.
- ORCID
- Yehuda, Rachel
- Venue
- Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2005-05
- Volume
- 139
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 53-64
- ISSN
- 0925-4927 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2058297450
- Cited by
- 105
- References
- 6
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 7.35
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychiatry Research Neuroimaging (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (5r01mh049555-07)
- School of Medicine, New York University
- National Institute of Mental Health (MH 49555)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Memory, Trauma, and Commemoration
- Keywords
- post-traumatic stress disorder, Holocaust survivors, hippocampal volume, temporal lobe volume, superior temporal gyrus, early trauma, brain structure, memory impairment
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Female, Hippocampus, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Memory Disorders, Neuropsychological Tests, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, Temporal Lobe, Survivors, Holocaust, National Socialism
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