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Cited by 156Posttraumatic Stress Disorder ResearchMemory and Neural MechanismsPsychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research

Reduced posterior hippocampal volume in posttraumatic stress disorder

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Bonne, Omer, Vythilingam, Meena, Inagaki, Masatoshi, Wood, Suzanne, Neumeister, Alexander, Nugent, Allison C., Snow, Joseph, Luckenbaugh, David A. +3 more·2008·The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry
DOI 10.4088/jcp.v69n0707PMC PMC2684983
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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Hippocampal volume is reduced in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In the present study, we sought to determine whether volume loss is homogenously distributed or confined to a certain part of the structure. METHOD: Twenty-two adult outpatients with PTSD (11 after prolonged prepubertal trauma and 11 after single adult trauma) and 22 matched healthy subjects were scanned at the National Institute of Mental Health using high-resolution 3T magnetic resonance imaging between September 2003 and August 2004. PTSD diagnosis was conferred using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV. Volumes of whole, anterior, and posterior hippocampus and subiculum were compared between groups. RESULTS: Total hippocampal volume was lower in patients with PTSD (p = .02), with a significant diagnosis by hippocampal-subregion interaction (p = .02). Post hoc analysis revealed significantly smaller posterior hippocampi in PTSD (p = .006), with no difference in the volumes of anterior hippocampus or subiculum. No volume differences were found between PTSD participants with prolonged childhood abuse compared to single adult trauma exposure. CONCLUSIONS: The posterior hippocampus has been associated with storage, processing, and retrieval of spatiotemporal memories, central to the protective function of fear conditioning. Volume deficit in the posterior hippocampus may indicate malfunction in this faculty, leading to the exaggerated conditioned fear response observed in PTSD.

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Authors
Bonne, O., Vythilingam, M., Inagaki, M., Wood, S., Neumeister, A., Nugent, A. C., Snow, J., Luckenbaugh, D. A., Bain, E. E., Drevets, W. C., & Charney, D. S.
Affiliations
  • Hadassah Medical Center (IL)
  • National Institutes of Health (US)
ORCID
Venue
The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry
Publisher
Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc
Published
2008-07-15
Volume
69
Issue
7
Pages
1087-1091
ISSN
0160-6689 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.4088/jcp.v69n0707
PMC
PMC2684983
OpenAlex
W2018570780
Cited by
156
References
0
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 13 · 2014: 10 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 12
FWCI
13.01
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Institute of Mental Health (Z01MH002789)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research
Keywords
post-traumatic stress disorder, hippocampal volume, posterior hippocampus, hippocampal subfields, subiculum, childhood abuse, adult trauma, fear conditioning, spatiotemporal memory, brain atrophy
MeSH terms
Adult, Anxiety Disorders, Brain Mapping, Depressive Disorder, Major, Major Depressive Disorder, Female, Hippocampus, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Severity of Illness Index, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, Time Factors, Imaging, Three-Dimensional, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

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