Neural correlates of declarative memory for emotionally valenced words in women with posttraumatic stress disorder related to early childhood sexual abuse
Abstract
Background Animal studies have shown that early stressors result in lasting changes in structure and function of brain areas involved in memory, including hippocampus and frontal cortex. Patients with childhood abuse-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have alterations in both declarative and nondeclarative memory function, and imaging studies in PTSD have demonstrated changes in function during stimulation of trauma-specific memories in hippocampus, medial prefrontal cortex, and cingulate. The purpose of this study was to assess neural correlates of emotionally valenced declarative memory in women with early childhood sexual abuse and PTSD. Methods Women with early childhood sexual abuse-related PTSD (n = 10) and women without abuse or PTSD (n = 11) underwent positron emission tomographic (PET) measurement of cerebral blood flow during a control condition and during retrieval of neutral (e.g., "metal-iron") and emotionally valenced (e.g., "rape-mutilate") word pairs. Results During retrieval of emotionally valenced word pairs, PTSD patients showed greater decreases in blood flow in an extensive area, which included orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulate, and medial prefrontal cortex (Brodmann's areas 25, 32, 9), left hippocampus, and fusiform gyrus/inferior temporal gyrus, with increased activation in posterior cingulate, left inferior parietal cortex, left middle frontal gyrus, and visual association and motor cortex. There were no differences in patterns of brain activation during retrieval of neutral word pairs between patients and control subjects. Conclusions These findings are consistent with dysfunction of specific brain areas involved in memory and emotion in PTSD. Regions implicated in this study of emotionally valenced declarative memory are similar to those from prior imaging studies in PTSD using trauma-specific stimuli for symptom provocation, adding further supportive evidence for a dysfunctional network of brain areas involved in memory, including hippocampus, medial prefrontal cortex, and cingulate, in PTSD.
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In hippocampal activation, deficits occur while solving tasks relating to verbal declarative memory.
“In hippocampal activation, deficits occur while solving the tasks relating to verbal declarative memory (Bremner et al., 2003;Sherin and Nemeroff, 2011).”
From Neuroimaging research in posttraumatic stress disorder – Focus on amygdala, hippocampus and prefrontal cortex (2019) · cites this paper as Bremner et al., 2003
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“Brain regions implicated in stress and PTSD include the hippocampus, medial and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and amygdala (Bremner 2002; McEwen et al 1992; Pitman 2001; Sapolsky 1996).”
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- Authors
- Bremner, J. D., Vythilingam, M., Vermetten, E., Southwick, S. M., McGlashan, T., Staib, L. H., Soufer, R., & Charney, D. S.
- Affiliations
- Emory University (US)
- National Institute of Mental Health (US)
- Yale University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Bremner, J.Douglas
- ORCID
- Venue
- Biological Psychiatry
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2003-05
- Volume
- 53
- Issue
- 10
- Pages
- 879-889
- ISSN
- 0006-3223 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2069831089
- Cited by
- 299
- References
- 10
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 16 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 20 · 2014: 12 · 2013: 13 · 2012: 22
- FWCI
- 14.25
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Biological Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (HL 059619-02, R01HL059619)
- National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH056120, 1R01 MH56120-02)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory Processes and Influences
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
- Keywords
- post-traumatic stress disorder, declarative memory, memory retrieval, hippocampus, medial prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, cerebral blood flow, women
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Brain, Cerebrovascular Circulation, Child, Child Abuse, Sexual, Emotions, Female, Gyrus Cinguli, Hippocampus, Humans, Memory, Photic Stimulation, Reading, Mental Recall, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, Tomography, Emission-Computed, Case-Control Studies, Prefrontal Cortex
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