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15 - Molecular imaging of post-traumatic stress disorder

from Section III - Anxiety Disorders

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2011

By
J. Douglas Bremner
Edited by
Martha E. Shenton  and
Bruce I. Turetsky
J. Douglas Bremner
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Department of Radiology Emory University School of Medicine Atlanta, GA, USA
Martha E. Shenton
Affiliation:
VA Boston Healthcare System and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School
Bruce I. Turetsky
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania
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Summary

Synopsis

Recent advances in brain imaging have permitted an examination of alterations in brain function in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These studies have been informed by research in the field of neuroscience showing that stress is associated with changes in brain areas involved in the stress response including the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex. Neurochemical/receptor studies in patients with PTSD have replicated findings in animal studies by finding alterations in the hippocampus and frontal cortex. Brain regions implicated in PTSD also play an important role in memory function, highlighting the important interplay between memory and the traumatic stress response. Abnormalities in these brain areas are hypothesized to underlie symptoms of PTSD and other stress-related psychiatric disorders. This chapter reviews findings from neurochemical and neuroreceptor brain imaging measured with positron emission tomography (PET), single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). The studies show alterations in neurochemical and neuroreceptor function in brain areas implicated in the stress response and previous functional and structural imaging studies in PTSD, including the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex.

Neural circuits of PTSD

PTSD is characterized by specific symptoms, including intrusive thoughts, hyperarousal, flashbacks, nightmares and sleep disturbances, changes in memory and concentration, and startle responses.

Keywords

anxiety disordersmagnetic resonance imagingmagnetic resonance spectroscopysingle photon emission computed tomographypost-traumatic stress disorderpositron emission tomographyN-acetyl-aspartateneuroreceptor brain imaging
Type
Chapter
Information
Understanding Neuropsychiatric Disorders
Insights from Neuroimaging
 , pp. 229 - 235
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2010

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