Amygdala Volume Changes in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in a Large Case-Controlled Veterans Group
Rajendra A. Morey·for the Mid-Atlantic MIRECC Workgroup·Courtney C. Haswell·Vanessa M. Brown·Gregory McCarthy·Jessica D. Nasser·Henry R. Wagner·Kevin S. LaBar·Andrea L. Gold·Shannon K. Beall
These results provide clear evidence of an association between a smaller amygdala volume and PTSD. The lack of correlation between trauma load or illness chronicity and amygdala volume suggests that a smaller amygdala represents a vulnerability to developing PTSD or the lack of a dose-response relationship with amygdala volume. Our results may trigger a renewed impetus for investigating structural differences in the amygdala, its genetic determinants, its environmental modulators, and the possib