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Increased white matter integrity of posterior cingulate gyrus in the evolution of post-traumatic stress disorder

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 June 2014

Li Zhang ,
Weihui Li ,
Ni Shu ,
Huirong Zheng ,
Zhijun Zhang ,
Yan Zhang ,
Zhong He ,
Cailan Hou ,
Zexuan Li  and
Jun Liu
...Show all authors
Li Zhang
Affiliation:
Mental Health Institute, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China
Weihui Li
Affiliation:
Mental Health Institute, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China
Ni Shu
Affiliation:
National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Automation Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Huirong Zheng
Affiliation:
Mental Health Institute, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China Guangdong Mental Health Institute, Guangdong General Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China
Zhijun Zhang
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Affiliated Zhongda Hospital and Institute of the Neuropsychiatry of Southeast University, Nanjing, China
Yan Zhang
Affiliation:
Mental Health Institute, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China
Zhong He
Affiliation:
Department of Radiology, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China
Cailan Hou
Affiliation:
Mental Health Institute, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China Guangdong Mental Health Institute, Guangdong General Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China
Zexuan Li
Affiliation:
Mental Health Institute, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China
Jun Liu
Affiliation:
Department of Radiology, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China
Lifeng Wang
Affiliation:
Mental Health Institute, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China
Lian Duan
Affiliation:
Mental Health Institute, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China
Tianzi Jiang
Affiliation:
National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Automation Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Lingjiang Li
Affiliation:
Mental Health Institute, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
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Extract

Objective: Functional imaging studies of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have shown an increased activation of posterior cingulate gyrus (PCG) of the brain. The aim of this study was to explore white matter integrity of PCG in PTSD subjects.

Methods: White matter integrity, as determined from fractional anisotropy (FA) value using diffusion tensor imaging, was assessed for PCG in subjects with and without PTSD from a severe mine accident. All subjects were also measured by the PTSD Checklist Civilian Version (PCL-C), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), the logical memory subtest and the visual reproduction subtest of the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised in China. Sixteen PTSD subjects (8 subjects in each group) in the longitudinal study and 13 PTSD subjects as well as 14 non-PTSD controls in the cross-sectional case–control study were respectively recruited.

Results: In the longitudinal study, subjects with PTSD showed increased FA values in left PCG during the follow-up scan. In the cross-sectional study, FA values in bilateral PCG in PTSD subjects were higher than controls. Within the PTSD group (n = 13), FA values in the left PCG correlated positively with logical memory and negatively with PCL-C intrusion and STAI-trait (STAI-t) subscores. FA values in right PCG correlated negatively with STAI-t and STAI-state subscores.

Conclusion: These findings suggest that alterations of white matter integrity in PCG link to mnemonic and affective processing in PTSD over the long-term follow-up period.

Keywords

anxietydiffusion tensor imagingmemorypost-traumatic stress disorder
Type
Research Article
Information
Acta Neuropsychiatrica , Volume 24 , Issue 1 , February 2012 , pp. 34 - 42
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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