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Amygdala Nuclei Volume and Shape in Military Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Morey, RA; Clarke, EK; Haswell, CC; Phillips, RD; Clausen, AN; Mufford, MS; Saygin, Z; VA Mid-Atlantic MIRECC Workgroup, ; Wagner, HR; LaBar, KS
Published in: Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging
March 2020

BACKGROUND: The amygdala is a subcortical structure involved in socioemotional and associative fear learning processes relevant for understanding the mechanisms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Research in animals indicates that the amygdala is a heterogeneous structure in which the basolateral and centromedial divisions are susceptible to stress. While the amygdala complex is implicated in the pathophysiology of PTSD, little is known about the specific contributions of the individual nuclei that constitute the amygdala complex. METHODS: Military veterans (n = 355), including military veterans with PTSD (n = 149) and trauma-exposed control subjects without PTSD (n = 206), underwent high-resolution T1-weighted anatomical scans. Automated FreeSurfer segmentation of the amygdala yielded 9 structures: basal, lateral, accessory basal, anterior amygdaloid, and central, medial, cortical, and paralaminar nuclei, along with the corticoamygdaloid transition zone. Subregional volumes were compared between groups using ordinary-least-squares regression with relevant demographic and clinical regressors followed by 3-dimensional shape analysis of whole amygdala. RESULTS: PTSD was associated with smaller left and right lateral and paralaminar nuclei, but with larger left and right central, medial, and cortical nuclei (p < .05, false discovery rate corrected). Shape analyses revealed lower radial distance in anterior bilateral amygdala and lower Jacobian determinant in posterior bilateral amygdala in PTSD compared with control subjects. CONCLUSIONS: Alterations in select amygdala subnuclear volumes and regional shape distortions are associated with PTSD in military veterans. Volume differences of the lateral nucleus and the centromedial complex associated with PTSD demonstrate a subregion-specific pattern that is consistent with their functional roles in fear learning and fear expression behaviors.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging

DOI

EISSN

2451-9030

Publication Date

March 2020

Volume

5

Issue

3

Start / End Page

281 / 290

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Veterans
  • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Humans
  • Fear
  • Amygdala
  • 5203 Clinical and health psychology
  • 5202 Biological psychology
  • 3209 Neurosciences
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Morey, R. A., Clarke, E. K., Haswell, C. C., Phillips, R. D., Clausen, A. N., Mufford, M. S., … LaBar, K. S. (2020). Amygdala Nuclei Volume and Shape in Military Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging, 5(3), 281–290. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsc.2019.11.016
Morey, Rajendra A., Emily K. Clarke, Courtney C. Haswell, Rachel D. Phillips, Ashley N. Clausen, Mary S. Mufford, Zeynep Saygin, Zeynep VA Mid-Atlantic MIRECC Workgroup, H Ryan Wagner, and Kevin S. LaBar. “Amygdala Nuclei Volume and Shape in Military Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging 5, no. 3 (March 2020): 281–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsc.2019.11.016.
Morey RA, Clarke EK, Haswell CC, Phillips RD, Clausen AN, Mufford MS, et al. Amygdala Nuclei Volume and Shape in Military Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging. 2020 Mar;5(3):281–90.
Morey, Rajendra A., et al. “Amygdala Nuclei Volume and Shape in Military Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging, vol. 5, no. 3, Mar. 2020, pp. 281–90. Pubmed, doi:10.1016/j.bpsc.2019.11.016.
Morey RA, Clarke EK, Haswell CC, Phillips RD, Clausen AN, Mufford MS, Saygin Z, VA Mid-Atlantic MIRECC Workgroup, Wagner HR, LaBar KS. Amygdala Nuclei Volume and Shape in Military Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging. 2020 Mar;5(3):281–290.

Published In

Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging

DOI

EISSN

2451-9030

Publication Date

March 2020

Volume

5

Issue

3

Start / End Page

281 / 290

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Veterans
  • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Humans
  • Fear
  • Amygdala
  • 5203 Clinical and health psychology
  • 5202 Biological psychology
  • 3209 Neurosciences