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Published on: March 8, 2018
Altered central micro-opioid receptor binding after psychological trauma
Israel Liberzon1, Stephan F Taylor, K Luan Phan
1Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-0118, USA. liberzon@umich.edu
Biological Psychiatry
|September 2, 2006
Summary
This study reveals distinct mu-opioid system alterations in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Trauma exposure generally impacts the mu-opioid system, but PTSD involves specific changes in brain regions like the anterior cingulate cortex.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Neuroimaging
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Abnormal limbic activation is seen in PTSD, but neurochemical underpinnings are unclear.
- The mu-opioid system regulates stress, pain, and affective processing in key brain regions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate mu-opioid system alterations in male patients with PTSD using positron emission tomography.
- To compare neurochemical differences between PTSD patients, trauma-exposed controls, and healthy controls.
Main Methods:
- Used positron emission tomography with [11C] carfentanil, a mu-opioid receptor radiotracer.
- Scanned 16 male PTSD patients and two control groups (14 trauma-exposed, 15 combat-unexposed).
- Measured mu-opioid receptor binding potential (BP2) in limbic and paralimbic regions.
Main Results:
- Both trauma-exposed groups showed lower BP2 in extended amygdala, nucleus accumbens, and frontal/insular cortex, but higher BP2 in orbitofrontal cortex compared to healthy controls.
- PTSD patients had reduced BP2 in anterior cingulate cortex versus both control groups.
- Combat-exposed controls without PTSD had lower amygdala BP2 but higher orbitofrontal cortex BP2 than PTSD patients.
Conclusions:
- Findings distinguish general mu-opioid system responses to trauma from PTSD-specific neurochemical changes.
- Highlights the role of the mu-opioid system in the pathophysiology of PTSD.
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