Does Size matter - PTSD Prone Risk Identified

Photo: Bernard Goldbach / flickr / cc by

  • “PTSD” means post traumatic stress disorder.
  • PTSD is the feeling of stress and anxiety after a traumatic experience. 
  • Hippocampus is the region of the brain associated with emotion, memory and the autonomic nervous system.
  • Study identified PTSD prone persons to size of their hippocampal region.
  • Study suggests that smaller size hippocampus is vulnerable as a heritable trait, and is correlated to an increased liability to PTSD.
  • This observation is potentially significant to the assignment of military duties, and treatment of a person.
  • Scientists use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to evaluate patients receiving baseline treatments- Prolonged Exposure (PE) for PTSD.
  • The results show that patients responding to PE exposure has smaller hippocampal volume than non responders. 
  • This observation is potentially significant to the assignment of military duties, and treatment of a person.
  • However, the research is inconclusive to the causation between effects of smaller hippocampal volume and treatment. 
  • Continue reading in the journal Psychiatry Research: Neuoimaging

Posted 10 years ago