Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 4, 2026
Polar Histogram Visualization of Acute Stress Disorder Scale Scores for Comprehensive Clinical Assessment
Published on: December 6, 2024
Meta-analysis of Structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging Studies in Pediatric Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and
Sahana Kribakaran1, Andrea Danese2, Konstantinos Bromis3
1Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut; Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.
Insights
Pediatric posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is linked to smaller brain volumes in key areas like the temporal lobe and hippocampus. These structural brain differences in children with PTSD appear distinct from other pediatric mental health conditions.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Child Psychiatry
- Neuroimaging
Background:
- Structural brain volume findings in pediatric posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have been inconsistent.
- It remains unclear if these structural differences are unique to pediatric PTSD compared to adult PTSD or other co-occurring conditions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate volumetric brain differences in pediatric PTSD using a region-of-interest meta-analysis.
- To examine the specificity of these differences by comparing pediatric PTSD with adult PTSD and other pediatric psychiatric conditions.
Main Methods:
- A meta-analysis of 15 studies examined volumetric brain differences in pediatric PTSD.
- Meta-regressions were used to assess the influence of age and sex.
- Comparisons were made with adult PTSD, pediatric trauma exposure without PTSD, pediatric depression, and pediatric anxiety.
Main Results:
- Pediatric PTSD was associated with reduced gray matter and cerebral, temporal lobe, cerebellar vermis, and hippocampal volumes.
- A trend towards smaller amygdalar volumes was observed in pediatric PTSD.
- Structural differences in pediatric PTSD showed some unique features compared to other pediatric conditions, while others overlapped.
Conclusions:
- Pediatric PTSD exhibits structural brain differences that mirror those found in adult PTSD.
- These structural alterations in pediatric PTSD appear distinct from other related pediatric mental health conditions.
- Further research using longitudinal and multimodal neuroimaging is recommended to fully understand the neurobiology of pediatric PTSD.
Background:
Findings on structural brain volume associated with pediatric posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have been variable, and it is unclear whether any structural differences are specific to pediatric PTSD in comparison with adult PTSD or other co-occurring pediatric psychiatric conditions.
Methods:
We tested volumetric brain differences between pediatric groups with and without PTSD in a region-of-interest meta-analysis. We conducted meta-regressions to test the effects of age and sex on heterogeneous study findings. To assess specificity, we compared pediatric PTSD with the following: adult PTSD, pediatric trauma exposure without PTSD, pediatric depression, and pediatric anxiety.
Results:
In 15 studies examined, pediatric PTSD was associated with smaller total gray matter and cerebral, temporal lobe (total, right, and left), total cerebellar vermis, and hippocampal (total, right, and left) volumes, compared to peers without PTSD. In the pediatric PTSD group, but not the comparison group, we found a trend toward smaller total, right, and left amygdalar volumes. In an external comparison, smaller hippocampal volume was not significantly different between adult and pediatric PTSD groups. Qualitative comparisons with a pediatric trauma exposure without PTSD group, a pediatric depression group, and a pediatric anxiety group revealed differences that may be unique to pediatric PTSD, and others that may be convergent with these related clinical conditions in youth.
Conclusions:
Pediatric PTSD is associated with structural differences that parallel those associated with adult PTSD. Furthermore, pediatric PTSD appears to be distinct from other related pediatric conditions at the structural level. Future studies employing longitudinal, dimensional, and multimodal neuroimaging approaches will further elucidate the nature of neurobiological differences in pediatric PTSD.
More Related Videos
10:43Developing Neuroimaging Phenotypes of the Default Mode Network in PTSD: Integrating the Resting State, Working Memory, and Structural Connectivity
Published on: July 1, 2014
11:31Rapid Fractionation and Isolation of Whole Blood Components in Samples Obtained from a Community-based Setting
Published on: November 30, 2015
