Increased neural response to trauma scripts in posttraumatic stress disorder following paroxetine treatment: A pilot study.

Neuroimaging studies of individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have revealed altered patterns of activity in medial prefrontal brain regions, including the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), an area implicated in affect regulation. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) have been shown to effectively treat PTSD symptoms, but there remains a lack of functional neuroimaging research examining the effects of psychopharmacological treatment on brain function in PTSD. The purpose of this pilot study was to assess the effects of the SSRI paroxetine on neural responses to traumatic memories in a small sample of patients with PTSD, as measured with PET imaging; we hypothesized that paroxetine treatment would be associated with increased regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in the medial prefrontal cortex.

Neuropsychological functioning in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder following short-term paroxetine treatment.

Unlabelled: A previous study found improvements in verbal declarative memory in patients with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) following one year of open-label paroxetine treatment. The purpose of the present study was to replicate prior findings and to extend the previous study by comparing the effects of paroxetine versus placebo on cognition in patients with PTSD.

Methods: Eighteen participants with PTSD underwent assessment of neuropsychological function, following which they were randomized to receive controlled-release (CR) paroxetine or placebo, given in a variable dose in a double- blind manner for three months.

Morphologic alterations in the corpus callosum in abuse-related posttraumatic stress disorder: a preliminary study.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies in children with maltreatment-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have demonstrated smaller corpus callosum area, with the greatest magnitude of change in posterior portions of the corpus callosum. The purpose of this study was to measure corpus callosum area in adult female patients with childhood abuse-related PTSD and comparison subjects. MRI was used to measure the midsagittal area of the corpus callosum as well as subregions of the corpus callosum in 9 female subjects with abuse-related PTSD and 9 healthy female subjects.

Smaller volume of anterior cingulate cortex in abuse-related posttraumatic stress disorder.

Objective: The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) plays an important role in emotion, and studies in animals have shown changes in ACC structure with early life stress. The purpose of this study was to measure volume of the ACC in PTSD.

Method: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to measure ACC volume in 8 subjects with abuse-related PTSD and 13 healthy subjects without PTSD.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measurement of hippocampal volume in posttraumatic stress disorder: a meta-analysis.

Background: Studies in animals showed that the hippocampus, a brain area involved in learning and memory, is sensitive to stress. Although several MRI studies showed smaller hippocampal volume in adults with chronic PTSD, others did not show significant differences from controls. These studies are typified by small sample sizes which may limit the ability to show significant differences.

Longitudinal evaluation of both morphologic and functional changes in the same individuals with Alzheimer's disease.

Unlabelled: Morphologic and functional imaging studies have not always given concordant results about brain areas showing atrophic changes and reduced flow or metabolism in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The aim of this study was to determine the initial abnormality and the longitudinal changes in both morphologic and functional measurements for the same individuals with AD.

Methods: We investigated 15 patients with mild AD and 25 age-matched healthy volunteers.