title: Different regional gray matter loss in recent onset PTSD and non PTSD after a single prolonged trauma exposure.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Gray matter loss in the limbic structures was found in recent onset post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patients. In the present study, we measured regional gray matter volume in trauma survivors to verify the hypothesis that stress may cause different regional gray matter loss in trauma survivors with and without recent onset PTSD.
  
  
  METHODS
  High resolution T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were obtained from coal mine flood disaster survivors with (n = 10) and without (n = 10) recent onset PTSD and 20 no trauma exposed normal controls. The voxel-based morphometry (VBM) method was used to measure the regional gray matter volume in three groups, the correlations of PTSD symptom severities with the gray matter volume in trauma survivors were also analyzed by multiple regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with normal controls, recent onset PTSD patients had smaller gray matter volume in left dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and non PTSD subjects had smaller gray matter volume in the right pulvinar and left pallidum. The gray matter volume of the trauma survivors correlated negatively with CAPS scores in the right frontal lobe, left anterior and middle cingulate cortex, bilateral cuneus cortex, right middle occipital lobe, while in the recent onset PTSD, the gray matter volume correlated negatively with CAPS scores in bilateral superior medial frontal lobe and right ACC.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present study identified gray matter loss in different regions in recent onset PTSD and non PTSD after a single prolonged trauma exposure. The gray matter volume of left dorsal ACC associated with the development of PTSD, while the gray matter volume of right pulvinar and left pallidum associated with the response to the severe stress. The atrophy of the frontal and limbic cortices predicts the symptom severities of the PTSD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: Yunchun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Kuang
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.forename: Chen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: Lihua
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Huan
authors.forename: Jinli
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.forename: Yunfeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Mu
authors.forename: Shun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.forename: Lize
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xiong
authors.forename: Cheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Huaihai
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Qingrong
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D004190:Disasters; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D036421:Nerve Fibers, Unmyelinated / Q000473:pathology*; D009929:Organ Size; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000473:pathology*; D017741:Survivors