Evidence of resilience: Neuroimaging in former prisoners of war

Freeman, Thomas; Kimbrell, Tim; Booe, Leroy; Myers, Michael; Cardwell, David; Lindquist, Diana M.; Hart, John; Komoroski, Richard A.

doi:10.1016/j.pscychresns.2005.07.007

« Previous Next »Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging
Volume 146, Issue 1 , Pages 59-64, 30 January 2006

Evidence of resilience: Neuroimaging in former prisoners of war

Thomas Freeman
- Mental Health Service, Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System (CAVHS), Little Rock, AR, USA
- South Central MIRECC, CAVHS, Little Rock, AR, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Arkansas Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA
- Department of Geriatrics, University of Arkansas Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA
- Corresponding author. CAVHS Psychiatry Services, Little Rock VAMC, Mail Code: 116T/LR, 4300 West 7th Street, Little Rock AR 72205-5484, USA. Tel.: +1 501 257 3092; fax: +1 501 257 6602.
Tim Kimbrell
- Mental Health Service, Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System (CAVHS), Little Rock, AR, USA
- South Central MIRECC, CAVHS, Little Rock, AR, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Arkansas Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA
- Department of Geriatrics, University of Arkansas Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA
Leroy Booe
- Mental Health Service, Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System (CAVHS), Little Rock, AR, USA
- Department of Geriatrics, University of Arkansas Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA
Michael Myers
- Mental Health Service, Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System (CAVHS), Little Rock, AR, USA
- Department of Geriatrics, University of Arkansas Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA
David Cardwell
- South Central MIRECC, CAVHS, Little Rock, AR, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Arkansas Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA
- Department of Geriatrics, University of Arkansas Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA
Diana M. Lindquist
- South Central MIRECC, CAVHS, Little Rock, AR, USA
- Department of Radiology, University of Arkansas Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA
- Department of Geriatrics, University of Arkansas Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA
John Hart
- Department of Radiology, University of Arkansas Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Arkansas Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA
- GRECC, Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System, Little Rock, AR, USA
- Department of Geriatrics, University of Arkansas Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA
Richard A. Komoroski
- South Central MIRECC, CAVHS, Little Rock, AR, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Arkansas Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA
- Department of Radiology, University of Arkansas Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA
- Department of Pathology, University of Arkansas Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Arkansas Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA
- Department of Geriatrics, University of Arkansas Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA

Received 10 May 2005; received in revised form 11 July 2005; accepted 15 July 2005.

Abstract

In this study, single voxel proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (¹H-MRS) and volumetric analysis of hippocampal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images were used to determine if any differences in hippocampal biochemistry or volume were present between former prisoners of war (POWs) with and without posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and control subjects matched for age and education. This study did not find lower hippocampal concentrations of N-acetylaspartate (NAA), smaller hippocampal volumes, or more impaired memory function in older veterans with PTSD compared with a group matched for traumatic experience or a nontraumatized control group.

Keywords: Posttraumatic stress disorder, Hippocampus, Magnetic resonance spectroscopy, N-acetylaspartate