Citation

Li L, Pan N, Zhang L, Lui S, Huang X, Xu X, Wang S, Lei D, Li L, Kemp GJ, Gong Q. Soc. Cogn. Affect. Neurosci. 2020; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Oxford University Press)

DOI

10.1093/scan/nsaa162

PMID

33315100

Abstract

The hippocampus, a key structure with distinct subfield functions, is strongly implicated in the pathophysiology of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); however, few studies of hippocampus subfields in PTSD have focused on paediatric patients. We therefore investigated hippocampal subfield volume using an automated segmentation method, and explored subfield-centered functional connectivity aberrations related to the anatomical changes, in a homogenous population of traumatized children with and without PTSD. To investigate potential diagnostic value in individual patients, we used a machine learning approach to identify features with significant discriminative power for diagnosis of PTSD using random forest classifiers. Compared to controls, we found significant mean volume reductions of 8.4% and 9.7% in the right presubiculum and hippocampal tail in patients, respectively. These two subfields' volumes were the most significant contributors to group discrimination, with mean classification accuracy 69% and specificity 81%. These anatomical alterations, along with the altered functional connectivity between (pre)subiculum and inferior frontal gyrus, may underlie deficits in fear circuitry leading to dysfunction of fear extinction and episodic memory, causally important in post-traumatic symptoms such as hypervigilance and re-experience. For the first time, we suggest that hippocampal subfield volumes might be useful in discriminating traumatized children with and without PTSD.

Language: en

Keywords

stress; post-traumatic stress disorder; hippocampus; magnetic resonance imaging; psychoradiology