Decreased cerebral blood flow of thalamus in PTSD patients as a strategy to reduce re-experience symptoms.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate alterations of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in subjects with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).


METHODS
Using [99Tcm]-hexamethyl propylenamino oxime single photon emission computed tomography, the rCBF under resting condition was compared between 19 survivors of the Taegu subway fire with PTSD and 19 comparison subjects.


RESULTS
PTSD patients showed a decreased rCBF in the right thalamus and an increased rCBF in the right superior parietal lobe relative to comparison subjects (corrected P < 0.05). The rCBF in the right thalamus positively correlated with the severity of current re-experience symptoms in PTSD subjects.


CONCLUSIONS
Our finding of the thalamic rCBF decrease in PTSD patients may be a strategy to reduce re-experience symptom, by evading the process of external and internal information which can evoke traumatic memory. In addition, the parietal rCBF increase in our PTSD patients might be related to altered information processing in PTSD.
Kim
S J
SJ
Department of Psychiatry, Gachon University of Medicine and Science, Incheon, Korea.
Lyoo
I K
IK
Lee
Y S
YS
Kim
J
J
Sim
M E
ME
Bae
S J
SJ
Kim
H J
HJ
Lee
J-Y
JY
Jeong
D-U
DU
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological / Q000502:physiology; D000328:Adult; D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology; D002056:Burns / Q000523:psychology; D003674:Defense Mechanisms; D004190:Disasters; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005390:Fires; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D007723:Korea; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology*; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000098:blood supply; D011890:Railroads; D012039:Regional Blood Flow / Q000502:physiology; D012094:Repression, Psychology; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology*; D019690:Technetium Tc 99m Exametazime; D013788:Thalamus / Q000098:blood supply*; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000523:psychology
D019690:Technetium Tc 99m Exametazime