Abnormal metabolite concentrations and amygdala volume in patients with recent-onset posttraumatic stress disorder

Xiaorui, Su, Chunchao, Xia, Weina, Wang, Huaiqiang, Sun, Qiaoyue, Tan, Simin, Zhang, Lingjiang, Li, Kemp, Graham J ORCID: 0000-0002-8324-9666, Qiang, Yue and Qiyong, Gong (2018) Abnormal metabolite concentrations and amygdala volume in patients with recent-onset posttraumatic stress disorder. JOURNAL OF AFFECTIVE DISORDERS, 241. pp. 539-545.

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Abstract

Background Previous psychoradiological studies of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were mainly of patients at a chronic stage, focusing on brain regions outside the amygdala. The goals of this study were to investigate the early biochemical and structural changes of anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and amygdala in patients with PTSD and to explore their relationships. Methods Seventy-eight drug-naïve PTSD subjects and 71 non-PTSD age- and sex-matched control subjects were enrolled, all of whom had suffered the same earthquake about one year before. Single-voxel proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) was performed and absolute metabolite concentrations in ACC and bilateral amygdalae were estimated with LCModel. Bilateral amygdalae were manually outlined and their volumes were calculated and corrected for the total intracranial volume. Results The PTSD group showed significantly increased N-acetylaspartate (NAA) concentration in the ACC, increased creatine (Cr) concentration in the left amygdala, and increased myo-inositol (mI) concentration in the right amygdala, compared to non-PTSD controls. The NAA concentration in ACC was negatively correlated with the time since trauma. The PTSD group showed significantly decreased volumes of bilateral amygdalae compared to non-PTSD controls, but amygdala volumes were not correlated with metabolite concentrations. Limitations Longitudinal studies are needed to explore the metabolic and structural changes of PTSD at different stages. The volume of ACC was not measured. Conclusions This concurrent increase in some metabolite concentrations and decrease of amygdala volumes may represent a pattern of biochemical and morphological changes in recent-onset PTSD which is different from that reported in chronic PTSD.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Posttraumatic stress disorder, Brain, Magnetic resonance, Psychoradiology, Spectroscopy, Metabolites, Morphometry
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	18 Sep 2018 10:00
Last Modified:	19 Jan 2023 01:17
DOI:	10.1016/j.jad.2018.08.018
Related URLs:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3026304