TY - JOUR
T1 - Effects of stressful life events on human brain structure: A longitudinal voxel-based morphometry study
AU - Papagni, Sergio Alessandro
AU - Benetti, Stefania
AU - Arulanantham, Sobida
AU - McCrory, Eamon
AU - McGuire, Philip
AU - Mechelli, Andrea
PY - 2011/3
Y1 - 2011/3
N2 - Although stressful life events (SLEs) have been associated with an increased risk of illness and mental disorder, their impact on brain anatomy remains poorly understood. Using a longitudinal design, we tested the hypothesis that SLEs are significantly associated with changes in gray matter volume (GMV) in brain regions previously implicated in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a group of clinically healthy adults. Magnetic resonance imaging was used to acquire an anatomical scan from 26 subjects (13 males and 13 females; mean age +/- SD: 25.2 +/- 4.3 years), with no psychiatric diagnosis, at two time points with a 3-month interval. Voxel-based morphometry was used to examine an association between SLEs and gray matter changes during this period. The number of SLEs was associated with a decrease in GMV in the anterior cingulate, hippocampus, and parahippocampal gyrus (p <0.001). In contrast, there were no areas where the number of SLEs was associated with an increase in GMV. These results provide evidence that, in adults with no formal psychiatric diagnosis, SLEs are associated with GMV decreases in a subset of regions implicated in PTSD, and that these alterations can be observed within a period as short as 3 months.
AB - Although stressful life events (SLEs) have been associated with an increased risk of illness and mental disorder, their impact on brain anatomy remains poorly understood. Using a longitudinal design, we tested the hypothesis that SLEs are significantly associated with changes in gray matter volume (GMV) in brain regions previously implicated in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a group of clinically healthy adults. Magnetic resonance imaging was used to acquire an anatomical scan from 26 subjects (13 males and 13 females; mean age +/- SD: 25.2 +/- 4.3 years), with no psychiatric diagnosis, at two time points with a 3-month interval. Voxel-based morphometry was used to examine an association between SLEs and gray matter changes during this period. The number of SLEs was associated with a decrease in GMV in the anterior cingulate, hippocampus, and parahippocampal gyrus (p <0.001). In contrast, there were no areas where the number of SLEs was associated with an increase in GMV. These results provide evidence that, in adults with no formal psychiatric diagnosis, SLEs are associated with GMV decreases in a subset of regions implicated in PTSD, and that these alterations can be observed within a period as short as 3 months.
U2 - 10.3109/10253890.2010.522279
DO - 10.3109/10253890.2010.522279
M3 - Article
VL - 14
SP - 227
EP - 232
JO - Stress: The International Journal on the Biology of Stress
JF - Stress: The International Journal on the Biology of Stress
IS - 2
ER -
