Volume of discrete brain structures in complex dissociative disorders: preliminary findings
Abstract
Based on findings in traumatized animals and patients with posttraumatic stress disorder, and on traumatogenic models of complex dissociative disorders, it was hypothesized that (1) patients with complex dissociative disorders have smaller volumes of hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus, and amygdala than normal controls, (2) these volumes are associated with severity of psychoform and somatoform dissociative symptoms, and (3) patients who recovered from dissociative identity disorder (DID) have more hippocampal volume that patients with florid DID. The preliminary findings of the study are supportive of these hypotheses. Psychotherapy for dissociative disorders may affect hippocampal volume, but longitudinal studies are required to document this potential causal relationship.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In DID, reduced volumes in amygdala and hippocampus and parahippocampus were found, although discrepant findings of normal amygdala and hippocampal volumes compared to healthy controls were also reported.
“In DID, reduced volumes in the amygdala and hippocampus [94, 95] and parahippocampus [95] were found, although discrepant findings of normal amygdala and hippocampal volumes compared to healthy controls were also reported [96].”
From Dissociation and Alterations in Brain Function and Structure: Implications for Borderline Personality Disorder (2017) · cites this paper as [95]
Cites
Pruessner, J. C. (2000) · Cerebral Cortex · doi:10.1093/cercor/10.4.433 · Cited by 706 · see citing works
Vermetten, E., Vythilingam, M., Southwick, S. M., Charney, D. S., & Bremner, J. D. (2003) · Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/s0006-3223(03)00634-6 · Cited by 487 · see citing works
Kitayama, N., Vaccarino, V., Kutner, M., Weiss, P., & Bremner, J. D. (2005) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2005.05.014 · Cited by 423 · see citing works
MR-based in vivo hippocampal volumetrics: 2. Findings in neuropsychiatric disorders
Geuze, E., Vermetten, E., & Bremner, J. D. (2005) · Molecular Psychiatry · doi:10.1038/sj.mp.4001579 · Cited by 412 · see citing works
Pruessner, J. C. (2002) · Cerebral Cortex · doi:10.1093/cercor/12.12.1342 · Cited by 297 · see citing works
Hippocampal and Amygdalar Volumes in Dissociative Identity Disorder
Vermetten, E., Schmahl, C., Lindner, S., Loewenstein, R. J., & Bremner, J. D. (2006) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/ajp.2006.163.4.630 · Cited by 296 · see citing works
Psychobiological characteristics of dissociative identity disorder: a symptom provocation study
Reinders, A. A. T. S., Nijenhuis, E. R. S., Quak, J., Korf, J., Haaksma, J., Paans, A. M. J., Willemsen, A. T. M., & den Boer, J. A. (2006) · Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2005.12.019 · Cited by 196 · see citing works
Self-citationLindauer, R., Vlieger, E.-J., Jalink, M., Olff, M., Carlier, I. V. E., Majoie, C. B. L. M., den Heeten, G. J., & Gersons, B. P. R. (2005) · Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/s0033291705005246 · Cited by 159 · see citing works
The Emerging Psychobiology of Trauma‐Related Dissociation and Dissociative Disorders
Nijenhuis, E. R. S., van der Hart, O., & Steele, K. (2002) · Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1002/0470854871.chxxi · Cited by 101 · see citing works
Self-citationTsai, G. E., Condie, D., Wu, M.-T., & Chang, I.-W. (1999) · Harvard Review of Psychiatry · doi:10.1093/hrp/7.2.119 · Cited by 64 · see citing works
Tsai, G. E., Condie, D., Wu, M.-T., et al. (1999) · Harvard Review of Psychiatry · doi:10.3109/hrp.7.2.119 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Predatory stress induces hippocampal cell death by apoptosis in rats
Zhao, H., Xu, H., Xu, X., & Young, D. (2007) · Neuroscience Letters · doi:10.1016/j.neulet.2007.04.084 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Classification of trauma and stressor-related disorders in DSM-5
Friedman, M. J., Resick, P. A., Bryant, R. A., Strain, J. J., Horowitz, M. J., & Spiegel, D. (2011) · Depression and Anxiety · doi:10.1002/da.20845 · Cited by 254 · see citing works
Dissociative identity disorder: An empirical overview
Dorahy, M. J., Brand, B. L., Şar, V., Krüger, C., Stavropoulos, P., Martínez-Taboas, A., Lewis-Fernández, R., & Middleton, W. (2014) · Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/0004867414527523 · Cited by 225 · see citing works
Autonomic dysregulation and the Window of Tolerance model of the effects of complex emotional trauma
Corrigan, F., Fisher, J., & Nutt, D. (2011) · Journal of Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1177/0269881109354930 · Cited by 195 · see citing works
Krause-Utz, A., Frost, R., Winter, D., & Elzinga, B. M. (2017) · Current Psychiatry Reports · doi:10.1007/s11920-017-0757-y · Cited by 116 · see citing works
Thomaes, K., Dorrepaal, E., Draijer, N. P. J., de Ruiter, M. B., Elzinga, B. M., van Balkom, A. J., Smoor, P. L. M., Smit, J., & Veltman, D. J. (2009) · Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging · doi:10.1016/j.pscychresns.2008.03.003 · Cited by 116 · see citing works
Biomarkers of Pathological Dissociation: A Systematic Review
Roydeva, M. I., & Reinders, A. A. T. S. (2021) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.11.019 · Cited by 116 · see citing works
The Many Faces of Dissociation: Opportunities for Innovative Research in Psychiatry
Şar, V. (2014) · Clinical Psychopharmacology and Neuroscience · doi:10.9758/cpn.2014.12.3.171 · Cited by 115 · see citing works
Chalavi, S., Vissia, E. M., Giesen, M. E., Nijenhuis, E. R. S., Draijer, N., Cole, J. H., Dazzan, P., Pariante, C. M., Madsen, S. K., Rajagopalan, P., et al. (2015) · Human Brain Mapping · doi:10.1002/hbm.22730 · Cited by 100 · see citing works
Self-citationRevisiting the etiological aspects of dissociative identity disorder: a biopsychosocial perspective
Şar, V., Dorahy, M. J., & Krüger, C. (2017) · Psychology Research and Behavior Management · doi:10.2147/prbm.s113743 · Cited by 104 · see citing works
Thomaes, K., Dorrepaal, E., Draijer, N., Jansma, E. P., Veltman, D. J., & van Balkom, A. J. L. M. (2013) · Journal of Psychiatric Research · doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2013.11.002 · Cited by 98 · see citing works
van der Hart, O., Nijenhuis, E. R. S., & Solomon, R. M. (2010) · Journal of EMDR Practice and Research · doi:10.1891/1933-3196.4.2.76 · Cited by 94 · see citing works
Self-citationThe Neural Basis of the Dynamic Unconscious
Berlin, H. A. (2011) · Neuropsychoanalysis · doi:10.1080/15294145.2011.10773654 · Cited by 91 · see citing works
Gray matter volume alterations related to trait dissociation in PTSD and traumatized controls
Nardo, D., Högberg, G., Lanius, R. A., Jacobsson, H., Jonsson, C., Hällström, T., & Pagani, M. (2012) · Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica · doi:10.1111/acps.12026 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
Perez, D. L., Matin, N., Williams, B., Tanev, K. S., Makris, N., LaFrance, W. C., Jr., & Dickerson, B. C. (2017) · Human Brain Mapping · doi:10.1002/hbm.23853 · Cited by 65 · see citing works
Chalavi, S., Vissia, E. M., Giesen, M. E., Nijenhuis, E. R. S., Draijer, N., Barker, G. J., Veltman, D. J., & Reinders, A. A. T. S. (2015) · Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging · doi:10.1016/j.pscychresns.2015.01.014 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
Self-citationRoos, A., Grant, J. E., Fouché, J., Stein, D. J., & Löchner, C. (2014) · Behavioural Brain Research · doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2014.11.029 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
Neurodevelopmental origins of abnormal cortical morphology in dissociative identity disorder
Reinders, A. A. T. S., Chalavi, S., Schlumpf, Y. R., Vissia, E. M., Nijenhuis, E. R. S., Jäncke, L., Veltman, D. J., & Ecker, C. (2018) · Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica · doi:10.1111/acps.12839 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
Self-citationA systematic review of the neuroanatomy of dissociative identity disorder
Blihar, D., Delgado, E., Buryak, M., Gonzalez, M., & Waechter, R. L. (2020) · European Journal of Trauma & Dissociation · doi:10.1016/j.ejtd.2020.100148 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Dimitrova, L. I., Dean, S. L., Schlumpf, Y. R., Vissia, E. M., Nijenhuis, E. R. S., Chatzi, V., Jäncke, L., Veltman, D. J., Chalavi, S., & Reinders, A. A. T. S. (2021) · Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/s0033291721002154 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Self-citationDaniels, J. K., Frewen, P., Theberge, J., & Lanius, R. A. (2016) · Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica · doi:10.1111/acps.12464 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Ten reasons for conceiving and classifying posttraumatic stress disorder as a dissociative disorder
Nijenhuis, E. R. S. (2017) · European Journal of Trauma & Dissociation · doi:10.1016/j.ejtd.2017.01.001 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
Self-citationGrey matter alterations in patients with depersonalization disorder: a voxel-based morphometry study
Daniels, J. K., Gaebler, M., Lamke, J.-P., & Walter, H. (2015) · Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience · doi:10.1503/jpn.130284 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Prevalence and distribution of MRI abnormalities in patients with psychogenic nonepileptic events
Bolen, R. D., Koontz, E. H., & Pritchard, P. B. (2016) · Epilepsy & Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yebeh.2016.02.036 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Childhood Trauma and Dissociative Disorders
Şar, V. (2020) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-49414-8_16 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Blihar, D., Crisafio, A., Delgado, E., Buryak, M., Gonzalez, M., & Waechter, R. L. (2021) · Journal of Trauma & Dissociation · doi:10.1080/15299732.2020.1869650 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Hara, K., Adachi, N., Akanuma, N., Ito, M., Okazaki, M., Matsubara, R., Adachi, T., Ishii, R., Kanemoto, K., Matsuura, M., et al. (2015) · Epilepsy & Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yebeh.2014.12.018 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
(2022) · American Psychiatric Association Publishing eBooks · doi:10.1176/appi.books.9780890425787.x08_dissociative_disorders · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Impact of dissociative experiences in migraine and its close relationship with osmophobia
Saçmacı, H., Cengiz, G. F., & Aktürk, T. (2020) · Neurological Research · doi:10.1080/01616412.2020.1753417 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
White matter volume alterations in hair-pulling disorder (trichotillomania)
Uhlmann, A., Dias, Â., Taljaard, L., Stein, D. J., Brooks, S. J., & Lochner, C. (2019) · Brain Imaging and Behavior · doi:10.1007/s11682-019-00170-z · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Dissociative Experience in Unipolar and Bipolar Depression: Exploring the Great Divide
Chatterjee, S. S., Pal, A., Mallik, N., Ghosal, M. K., & Saha, G. (2018) · Clinical Psychopharmacology and Neuroscience · doi:10.9758/cpn.2018.16.3.262 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Ross, C. A., Goode, C., & Schroeder, E. C. (2015) · The Open Psychiatry Journal · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Ettervirkninger av traumatiserende hendelser i barndom og oppvekst
Blindheim, A. (2012) · Tidsskriftet Norges barnevern · doi:10.18261/issn1891-1838-2012-03-05 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Neurostructural brain imaging study of trait dissociation in healthy children
Badura-Brack, A. S., Marklin, M., Embury, C. M., Picci, G., Frenzel, M. R., Klanecky, A. K., Stephen, J. M., Wang, Y., Calhoun, V. D., & Wilson, T. W. (2022) · BJPsych Open · doi:10.1192/bjo.2022.576 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Tseng, H., Chiu, C., Chen, K. C., Lee, I. H., Chen, P. S., & Yang, Y. K. (2021) · Journal of Psychiatric Research · doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2021.04.017 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Die Dissoziative Identitätsstörung
Gysi, J., Nick, S., & Gast, U. (2025) · Trauma und Gewalt · doi:10.21706/tg-19-3-188 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Koby, D. G., & LaFrance, W. C., Jr. (2014) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9781139028899.020 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
HOWARD, C. J. (2016) · Journal of Religion and Health · doi:10.1007/s10943-016-0279-7 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Assessing malingering and personality styles in dissociative identity disorder: a case study
Lanfranco, R. C., Martínez-Aguayo, J. C., & Marcelo Arancibia, M. (2023) · Neurocase · doi:10.1080/13554794.2024.2348218 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Dissociative Disorders: Neuroimaging as a New Narrative
Modesti, M. N., & CASALE, A. D. (2025) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-73368-0_47 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Skałbania, J., Polewik, K., Pietkiewicz, I. J., & Tomalski, R. (2021) · Psychiatria i Psychologia Kliniczna · doi:10.15557/pipk.2021.0003 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Chalavi, S. (2013) · Pure Amsterdam UMC · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Fosse, R., Moskowitz, A., Shannon, C., & Mulholland, C. C. (2018) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781118585948.ch10 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Eating disorders as an alternative to sexuality - how does eating disorders affect sexuality?
Duray-Parmentier, C., Nielens, N., Janne, P., & Gourdin, M. J. (2022) · International Journal of Complementary & Alternative Medicine · doi:10.15406/ijcam.2022.15.00591 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Differential Diagnosis of Abnormal Symptoms and Signs
Ettinger, A. B., & Weisbrot, D. M. (2014) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9781139028899.003 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Froude, C. K., & Fuller, R. L. M. (2009) · Graduate Student Journal of Psychology · doi:10.52214/gsjp.v11i.10845
Gast, U., & Drebes, S. (2010) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-540-32779-0_14
Reyes, G., Elhai, J. D., & Ford, J. D. (2008) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781118269947.ch4
Garcia, S., Coetzee, S., & Belaunzaran, M. (2023) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-39854-4_43
Dissociative Disorders: Neuroimaging as a New Narrative
Modesti, M. N., & CASALE, A. D. (2024) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-32035-4_47-1
Kapfhammer, H. (2026) · Springer Reference Medizin · doi:10.1007/978-3-642-45028-0_73-2
- Authors
- Ehling, T., Nijenhuis, E. R. S., & Krikke, A. P.
- Affiliations
- University of Groningen (NL)
- GGZ Drenthe (NL)
- Corresponding author
- Ehling, T.
- ORCID
- Nijenhuis, E.R.S.
- Venue
- Progress in Brain Research
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- Published
- 2007
- Volume
- 167
- Pages
- 307-310
- ISSN
- 0079-6123 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1570933085
- Cited by
- 52
- References
- 12
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 2 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 7.99
- Type
- book chapter
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Progress in brain research (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
- Keywords
- dissociative identity disorder, hippocampal volume, parahippocampal gyrus, amygdala volume, brain structure volume, dissociative symptoms, trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder
- MeSH terms
- Amygdala, Brain, Dissociative Disorders, Hippocampus, Humans, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Somatoform Disorders, Parahippocampal Gyrus
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
