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Updated: Aug 10, 2026

Investigations on Alterations of Hippocampal Circuit Function Following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
Published on: November 19, 2012
Amnesia, neuroendocrine levels and PTSD in motor vehicle accident victims
M R Flesher1, D L Delahanty, A J Raimonde
1Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA.
Primary Objective:
To examine the initial neuroendocrine responses and subsequent PTSD symptomatology among amnesic and non-amnesic victims of motor vehicle accidents. It was hypothesized that amnesic patients would be less likely to meet PTSD criteria at 1 month follow-up and would display lower catechalomine levels and higher basal cortisol than non-amnesics.
Methods And Procedure:
Fifteen-hour urinary hormone samples were collected from 70 MVA victims upon hospital admission. Participants were assessed for PTSD symptomatology 1 month later.
Main Outcomes And Results:
Amnesic patients displayed lower NE/cortisol ratios than non-amnesics, were less likely than non-amnesics to develop PTSD, and displayed fewer PTSD symptoms than non-amnesics.
Conclusions:
Amnesics may physiologically experience a motor vehicle accident differently from non-amnesics and have lower subsequent PTSD incidence. These results provide partial support for the hypothesis that amnesia for a traumatic event can serve as a buffering function in the development of subsequent PTSD among MVA victims.
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