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Related Experiment Videos

Smaller hippocampal volume predicts pathologic vulnerability to psychological trauma.

Mark W Gilbertson1, Martha E Shenton, Aleksandra Ciszewski

  • 1Research Service, Veterans Administration Medical Center, 718 Smyth Road, Manchester, New Hampshire 03104, USA. mark.gilbertson@med.va.gov

Nature Neuroscience
|October 16, 2002
PubMed
Summary

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Smaller hippocampi may increase the risk for developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This finding suggests hippocampal volume is a pre-existing vulnerability factor for stress-related psychopathology.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Psychiatry
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Severe stress can harm the hippocampus in animals.
  • Human studies link smaller hippocampal volume to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
  • A key question is whether trauma causes hippocampal shrinkage or if it's a pre-existing vulnerability.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether smaller hippocampal volume is a risk factor for developing PTSD.
  • To differentiate between trauma's neurotoxic effects and pre-existing vulnerability.

Main Methods:

  • Studied monozygotic twins discordant for trauma exposure.
  • Assessed hippocampal volume in trauma-exposed PTSD patients and their trauma-unexposed identical twins.
  • Correlated PTSD disorder severity with hippocampal volume.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Compared hippocampal volume between severe PTSD twin pairs and non-PTSD twin pairs.

    • Main Results:

    • Smaller hippocampal volume was identified as a risk factor for stress-related psychopathology.
    • In PTSD patients, disorder severity negatively correlated with hippocampal volume in both the patient and their co-twin.
    • Both trauma-exposed and unexposed members of severe PTSD twin pairs had significantly smaller hippocampi compared to non-PTSD pairs.

    Conclusions:

    • Smaller hippocampal volume appears to be a pre-existing vulnerability factor for PTSD, not solely a consequence of trauma.
    • This finding has implications for understanding the neurobiology of PTSD and identifying individuals at higher risk.