Smaller Hippocampal Volume in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Multisite ENIGMA-PGC Study: Subcortical Volumetry Results From Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Consortia

Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models

Background Many studies report smaller hippocampal and amygdala volumes in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but findings have not always been consistent. Here, we present the results of a large-scale neuroimaging consortium study on PTSD conducted by the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC)-Enhancing Neuroimaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis (ENIGMA) PTSD Working Group. Methods We analyzed neuroimaging and clinical data from 1868 subjects (794 PTSD patients) contributed by 16 cohorts, representing the largest neuroimaging study of PTSD to date. We assessed the volumes of eight subcortical structures (nucleus accumbens, amygdala, caudate, hippocampus, pallidum, putamen, thalamus, and lateral ventricle). We used a standardized image-analysis and quality-control pipeline established by the ENIGMA consortium. Results In a meta-analysis of all samples, we found significantly smaller hippocampi in subjects with current PTSD compared with trauma-exposed control subjects (Cohen's d = -0.17, p = .00054), and smaller amygdalae (d = -0.11, p = .025), although the amygdala finding did not survive a significance level that was Bonferroni corrected for multiple subcortical region comparisons (p < .0063). Conclusions Our study is not subject to the biases of meta-analyses of published data, and it represents an important milestone in an ongoing collaborative effort to examine the neurobiological underpinnings of PTSD and the brain's response to trauma.

Key findings

• Here, we present the results of a large-scale neuroimaging consortium study on PTSD conducted by the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC)-Enhancing Neuroimaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis (ENIGMA) PTSD Working Group.
• Results In a meta-analysis of all samples, we found significantly smaller hippocampi in subjects with current PTSD compared with trauma-exposed control subjects (Cohen's d = -0.17, p = .00054), and smaller amygdalae (d = -0.11, p = .025), although the amygdala finding did not survive a significance level that was Bonferroni corrected for multiple subcortical region comparisons (p < .0063).

Study details

• Study designmeta-analysis
• Participants1,868
• Evidence strengthHigh

Read the original

• DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2017.09.006
• PubMed: 29217296
• Original source →

Free copy unknown: no free-copy check has an answer for this record yet. That does not mean it is paywalled.

@article{logue2018-29217296,
  author  = {Logue, M. W. and van Rooij, S. J. H. and Dennis, E. L. and Davis, S. L. and Hayes, J. P. and Stevens, J. S. and Densmore, M. and Haswell, C. C. and others},
  title   = {{Smaller Hippocampal Volume in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Multisite ENIGMA-PGC Study: Subcortical Volumetry Results From Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Consortia}},
  journal = {Biological psychiatry},
  year    = {2018},
  doi     = {10.1016/j.biopsych.2017.09.006},
  pmid    = {29217296},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2017.09.006}
}

Related studies in Hippocampus size on brain scans

• Smaller hippocampal volume in Dutch police officers with posttraumatic stress disorder Biological psychiatry · 2004-09-01 · usefulness score 40/100
• Smaller hippocampal volume in patients with recent-onset posttraumatic stress disorder Biological psychiatry · 2004-12-01 · usefulness score 36/100
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measurement of hippocampal volume in posttraumatic stress disorder: a meta-analysis Journal of affective disorders · 2005-09-01 · usefulness score 72/100
• Hippocampal volume deficits associated with exposure to psychological trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder in adults: a meta-analysis Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry · 2010-06-21 · usefulness score 57/100
• Segmented hippocampal volume in children and adolescents with posttraumatic stress disorder Biological psychiatry · 2005-09-30 · usefulness score 52/100
• Long-term treatment with paroxetine increases verbal declarative memory and hippocampal volume in posttraumatic stress disorder Biological psychiatry · 2003-10-01 · usefulness score 47/100

Similar studies

• Reduced hippocampal volume and total white matter volume in posttraumatic stress disorder 2002 · Hippocampus size on brain scans
• Bilateral hippocampal volume reduction in adults with post-traumatic stress disorder: a meta-analysis of structural MRI studies 2005 · Hippocampus size on brain scans
• Hippocampal volume and memory performance in a community-based sample of women with posttraumatic stress disorder secondary to child abuse 2004 · Hippocampus size on brain scans
• Magnetic resonance imaging study of hippocampal volume in chronic, combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder 1996 · Hippocampus size on brain scans
• Smaller hippocampal volume predicts pathologic vulnerability to psychological trauma 2002 · Hippocampus size on brain scans
• Magnetic resonance imaging of hippocampal subfields in posttraumatic stress disorder 2010 · Hippocampus size on brain scans

More on Hippocampus size on brain scans

• A review that covers this ground Hippocampal and amygdala volumes in children and adults with childhood maltreatment-related posttraumatic stress disorder: a meta-analysis Hippocampus · 2008-01-01 · usefulness score 64/100
• Newest in this subject Biomarker Changes during 20 Years Preceding Alzheimer's Disease The New England journal of medicine · 2024-02-01 · Peer-reviewed · usefulness score 69/100
• Newest in this subject Clinical safety and efficacy of allogenic human adipose mesenchymal stromal cells-derived exosomes in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease: a phase I/II clinical trial General psychiatry · 2023-10-11 · Peer-reviewed · usefulness score 43/100

See all studies in Hippocampus size on brain scans →