title: Grey matter alterations in patients with depersonalization disorder: a voxel-based morphometry study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To our knowledge, no whole brain investigation of morphological aberrations in dissociative disorder is available to date. Previous region-of-interest studies focused exclusively on amygdalar, hippocampal and parahippocampal grey matter volumes and did not include patients with depersonalization disorder (DPD). We therefore carried out an explorative whole brain study on structural brain aberrations in patients with DPD.
  
  
  METHODS
  We acquired whole brain, structural MRI data for patients with DPD and healthy controls. Voxel-based morphometry was carried out to test for group differences, and correlations with symptom severity scores were computed for grey matter volume.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Our study included 25 patients with DPD and 23 controls. Patients exhibited volume reductions in the right caudate, right thalamus and right cuneus as well as volume increases in the left dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and right somatosensory region that are not a direct function of anxiety or depression symptoms.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  To ensure ecological validity, we included patients with comorbid disorders and patients taking psychotropic medication.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of this first whole brain investigation of grey matter volume in patients with a dissociative disorder identified structural alterations in regions subserving the emergence of conscious perception. It remains unknown if these alterations are best understood as risk factors for or results of the disorder.
authors.affiliation: Clinic for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Judith K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Daniels
authors.affiliation: Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany; Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig; University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gaebler
authors.affiliation: Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité -Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Jan-Peter
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Lamke
authors.affiliation: Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité -Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Henrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Walter
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D003861:Depersonalization / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D066128:Gray Matter / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size