title: Structural impairments of hippocampus in coal mine gas explosion-related posttraumatic stress disorder.
abstract: Investigations on hippocampal and amygdalar volume have revealed inconsistent results in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Little is known about the structural covariance alterations between the hippocampus and amygdala in PTSD. In this study, we evaluated the alteration in the hippocampal and amygdalar volume and their structural covariance in the coal mine gas explosion related PTSD. High resolution T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed on coal mine gas explosion related PTSD male patients (n = 14) and non-traumatized coalminers without PTSD (n = 25). The voxel-based morphometry (VBM) method was used to test the inter-group differences in hippocampal and amygdalar volume as well as the inter-group differences in structural covariance between the ipsilateral hippocampus and amygdala. PTSD patients exhibited decreased gray matter volume (GMV) in the bilateral hippocampi compared to controls (p<0.05, FDR corrected). GMV covariances between the ipsilateral hippocampus and amygdala were significantly reduced in PTSD patients compared with controls (p<0.05, FDR corrected). The coalminers with gas explosion related PTSD had decreased hippocampal volume and structural covariance with the ipsilateral amygdala, suggesting that the structural impairment of the hippocampus may implicate in the pathophysiology of PTSD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Functional Imaging, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China.
authors.forename: Quan
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Anning Hospital of Tianjin City, Tianjin, China.
authors.forename: Chuanjun
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhuo
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Functional Imaging, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China.
authors.forename: Xu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Lang
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Jinmei Group General Hospital, Jincheng, Shanxi, China.
authors.forename: Huabing
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Functional Imaging, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China.
authors.forename: Wen
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Functional Imaging, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China.
authors.forename: Chunshui
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000679:Amygdala / Q000473:pathology*; D001753:Blast Injuries / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003032:Coal Mining; D005107:Explosions; D005740:Gases / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D005740:Gases