Journal
NATURE NEUROSCIENCE
Volume 5, Issue 11, Pages 1242-1247Publisher
NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
DOI: 10.1038/nn958
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Funding
- NIMH NIH HHS [R01-MH54636, K02-MH01110, R01 MH054636, K02 MH001110-10] Funding Source: Medline
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In animals, exposure to severe stress can damage the hippocampus. Recent human studies show smaller hippocampal volume in individuals with the stress-related psychiatric condition posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Does this represent the neurotoxic effect of trauma, or is smaller hippocampal volume a pre-existing condition that renders the brain more vulnerable to the development of pathological stress responses? In monozygotic twins discordant for trauma exposure, we found evidence that smaller hippocampi indeed constitute a risk factor for the development of stress-related psychopathology. Disorder severity in PTSD patients who were exposed to trauma was negatively correlated with the hippocampal volume of both the patients and the patients' trauma-unexposed identical co-twin. Furthermore, severe PTSD twin pairs-both the trauma-exposed and unexposed members-had significantly smaller hippocampi than non-PTSD pairs.
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