Absence of hippocampal volume differences in survivors of the Nazi Holocaust with and without posttraumatic stress disorder.

TitleAbsence of hippocampal volume differences in survivors of the Nazi Holocaust with and without posttraumatic stress disorder.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2005
AuthorsGolier JA, Yehuda R, de Santi S, Segal S, Dolan S, de Leon MJ
JournalPsychiatry Res
Volume139
Issue1
Pagination53-64
Date Published2005 May 30
ISSN0165-1781
KeywordsAged, Female, Hippocampus, Holocaust, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Memory Disorders, National Socialism, Neuropsychological Tests, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, Survivors, Temporal Lobe
Abstract

It remains unclear whether smaller hippocampal volume is a consistent feature of chronic posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and whether it accounts for the associated memory deficits observed in this illness. Hippocampal volume, comparison regions and memory performance were examined in Holocaust survivors with PTSD (PTSD+: n=14; 5 men, 9 women) and without PTSD (PTSD-: n=13; 6 men, 7 women) and a non-exposed control group of healthy Jewish adults (n=20; 13 men, 7 women). The subjects had medical examinations, high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging, and memory testing. PTSD+ subjects had poorer memory performance than non-exposed subjects and PTSD- subjects, but they did not differ from either group in right or left hippocampal volume when gender and head size were taken into account. Older age and smaller left hippocampal volume were more strongly associated in the PTSD+ group than in the PTSD- groups. Holocaust survivors had larger superior temporal gyral and lateral temporal lobe volumes bilaterally than non-exposed subjects. Smaller hippocampal volume is not invariably associated with chronic PTSD and does not explain the substantial explicit memory impairment observed in Holocaust survivors with this disorder. Larger temporal lobe volumes may be associated with early traumatization and survival or may reflect some other characteristic of Holocaust survivors.

DOI10.1016/j.pscychresns.2005.02.007
Alternate JournalPsychiatry Res
PubMed ID15939577
Grant ListMH49555 / MH / NIMH NIH HHS / United States
Related Institute: 
Brain Health Imaging Institute (BHII)

Weill Cornell Medicine
Department of Radiology
525 East 68th Street New York, NY 10065