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Published on: August 11, 2015
Rostral anterior cingulate volume predicts treatment response to cognitive-behavioural therapy for posttraumatic
Richard A Bryant1, Kim Felmingham, Thomas J Whitford
1Brain Dynamics Centre, Westmead Hospital, Sydney, Australia. r.bryant@unsw.edu.au
Objective:
To index the extent to which treatment response in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is predicted by rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) volume.
Method:
We used structural magnetic resonance imaging in a 1.5 T scanner to examine subjects with PTSD (n = 13), traumatized control subjects (n = 13) and nontraumatized control subjects (n = 13). Subjects with PTSD then participated in 8 sessions of cognitive-behavioural therapy, after which we reassessed them for PTSD.
Results:
According to voxel-based morphometry, treatment responders had larger rACC volume than nonresponders. Further, symptom reduction was associated with larger rACC volume.
Conclusion:
Consistent with evidence for the neural bases of extinction learning, PTSD patients with larger rACC volume may be better able to regulate fear during cognitive-behavioural therapy and thus achieve greater treatment gains.
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