title: Alterations in cerebral perfusion in posttraumatic stress disorder patients without re-exposure to accident-related stimuli.
abstract: Functional neuroimaging studies have shown abnormalities of limbic regions in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during symptom provocation and cognitive activation.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to determine whether PTSD patients without re-exposure to accident-related stimuli would exhibit alterations in cerebral perfusion compared with age-matched normal subjects.
  
  
  METHODS
  Brain perfusion SPECT was measured in medication-free 23 PTSD patients and 64 age-matched healthy subjects under resting conditions and analyzed using statistical parametric mapping to compare between the patient and control groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found that PTSD patients exhibited increased cerebral blood perfusion in limbic regions and decreased perfusion in the superior frontal gyrus and parietal and temporal regions in comparison with those of the normal controls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This result indicates that PTSD patients have alterations in cerebral perfusion of limbic regions and the frontal and temporal cortex without re-exposure to accident-related stimuli.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This finding supports the hypothesis of the involvement of limbic regions, which might be associated with the regulation of emotion and memory, in the pathophysiology of PTSD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Yong An
authors.initials: YA
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Sung Hoon
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Soo Kyo
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Jeong-Ho
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Chae
authors.forename: Dong Won
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Hyung Sun
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Sohn
authors.forename: Jaeseung
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jeong
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001931:Brain Mapping; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D008032:Limbic System / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012039:Regional Blood Flow; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon / Q000379:methods