Does pediatric post‐traumatic stress disorder alter the brain? Systematic review and meta‐analysis of structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging studies

Several studies have recently demonstrated that the volumes of specific brain regions are reduced in children and adolescents with post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) compared with those of healthy controls. Our study investigated the potential association between early traumatic experiences and a...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences 2017-03, Vol.71 (3), p.154-169
Main Authors: Milani, Ana Carolina C., Hoffmann, Elis V., Fossaluza, Victor, Jackowski, Andrea P., Mello, Marcelo F.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
adolescent
anxiety disorders
Brain
Brain - diagnostic imaging
Brain - pathology
child
functional neuroimaging
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Meta-analysis
NMR
Nuclear magnetic resonance
Organ Size
Pediatrics
Post traumatic stress disorder
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - diagnostic imaging
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - pathology
Studies
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Several studies have recently demonstrated that the volumes of specific brain regions are reduced in children and adolescents with post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) compared with those of healthy controls. Our study investigated the potential association between early traumatic experiences and altered brain regions and functions. We conducted a systematic review of the scientific literature regarding functional magnetic resonance imaging and a meta‐analysis of structural magnetic resonance imaging studies that investigated cerebral region volumes in pediatric patients with PTSD. We searched for articles from 2000 to 2014 in the PsycINFO, PubMed, Medline, Lilacs, and ISI (Web of Knowledge) databases. All data regarding the amygdala, hippocampus, corpus callosum, brain, and intracranial volumes that fit the inclusion criteria were extracted and combined in a meta‐analysis that assessed differences between groups. The meta‐analysis found reduced total corpus callosum areas and reduced total cerebral and intracranial volumes in the patients with PTSD. The total hippocampus (left and right hippocampus) and gray matter volumes of the amygdala and frontal lobe were also reduced, but these differences were not significant. The functional studies revealed differences in brain region activation in response to stimuli in the post‐traumatic stress symptoms/PTSD group. Our results confirmed that the pediatric patients with PTSD exhibited structural and functional brain abnormalities and that some of the abnormalities occurred in different brain regions than those observed in adults.
ISSN:1323-1316
1440-1819
DOI:10.1111/pcn.12473