Gray matter density reduction in the insula in fire survivors with posttraumatic stress disorder: A voxel-based morphometric study

Chen, Shulin; Xia, Weiwei; Li, Lingjiang; Liu, Jun; He, Zhong; Zhang, Zishu; Yan, Lirong; Zhang, Jinli; Hu, Dewen

doi:10.1016/j.pscychresns.2005.09.006

« Previous Next »Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging
Volume 146, Issue 1 , Pages 65-72, 30 January 2006

Gray matter density reduction in the insula in fire survivors with posttraumatic stress disorder: A voxel-based morphometric study

Shulin Chen
- 139 Mid-Renmin Road Mental Health Institute of The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410011, P.R. China
- Seventh Hospital of Hang Zhou, Hang Zhou, Zhejiang 310013, P.R. China
Weiwei Xia
- Department of Automatic Control, College of Mechatronics and Automation, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha, Hunan 410073, P.R. China
Lingjiang Li
- 139 Mid-Renmin Road Mental Health Institute of The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410011, P.R. China
- Corresponding authors. Li, Tel.: +86 731 5550 413; fax: +86 731 5360 086.
Jun Liu
- Department of Radiology, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University Changsha, Hunan 410011, P.R. China
Zhong He
- Department of Radiology, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University Changsha, Hunan 410011, P.R. China
Zishu Zhang
- Department of Radiology, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University Changsha, Hunan 410011, P.R. China
Lirong Yan
- Department of Automatic Control, College of Mechatronics and Automation, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha, Hunan 410073, P.R. China
Jinli Zhang
- 139 Mid-Renmin Road Mental Health Institute of The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410011, P.R. China
Dewen Hu
- Department of Automatic Control, College of Mechatronics and Automation, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha, Hunan 410073, P.R. China
- Corresponding authors. Li, Tel.: +86 731 5550 413; fax: +86 731 5360 086.

Received 9 May 2005; received in revised form 23 September 2005; accepted 28 September 2005.

Abstract

Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) is an objective whole-brain technique for characterizing regional cerebral volume and tissue concentration differences in structural magnetic resonance images. In the current study, we used VBM to examine possible cerebral gray matter abnormalities in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to fire. The subjects included 12 victims of a fire disaster with PTSD and 12 matched victims of the same fire without PTSD. Magnetic resonance images were obtained on a 1.5-Tesla General Electric scanner at Central South University, and an entire brain volume of 248 contiguous slices was obtained for each subject. Then, gray matter density in patients with PTSD and control groups was compared by using a VBM approach in SPM2. Group analysis was thresholded at P<0.001, uncorrected, at the voxel level. The following three regions of reduced gray matter volume were found in patients with PTSD compared with controls: left hippocampus, left anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and bilateral insular cortex. It was concluded that there are structural abnormalities of the hippocampus, the ACC and the insular cortex in patients with PTSD due to fire.