PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Ziv Ben-Zion
AU  - Moran Artzi
AU  - Dana Niry
AU  - Nimrod Jackob Keynan
AU  - Roee Admon
AU  - Haggai Sharon
AU  - Pinchas Halpern
AU  - Israel Liberzon
AU  - Arieh Y. Shalev
AU  - Talma Hendler
TI  - Neuroanatomical Risk Factors for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in Recent Trauma Survivors
AID  - 10.1101/721134
DP  - 2019 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 721134
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2019/08/01/721134.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2019/08/01/721134.full
AB  - Background A distinct neuroanatomical indicator for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) soon after exposure is still lacking. Contradictory findings regarding the hippocampus as a potential early risk factor could be related to the overlooked contribution of developmental brain anomaly. One such anomaly could be a persistently enlarged cavum septum pellucidum (CSP), which has been associated with PTSD. To test this assertion, we performed a longitudinal volumetric MRI study on trauma survivors, within one-, six- and fourteen-months after trauma. We hypothesized that at one-month post-trauma, the relation between hippocampal volume and PTSD severity would be moderated by CSP volume, and that this early interaction would account for persistent PTSD symptoms at subsequent time points.Methods 171 adults which were admitted to emergency room following a traumatic incident, underwent clinical assessment and structural MRI within one-month after trauma. Follow-up clinical evaluations were conducted six (n=97) and fourteen (n=78) months after trauma. Hippocampus and CSP volumes were extracted automatically by FreeSurfer and verified manually, and correlated with PTSD severity at each time point.Results At one-month following trauma, CSP volume significantly moderated the relation between hippocampal volume and PTSD severity, and this interaction predicted symptom severity at fourteen months post-trauma. Specifically, individuals with smaller hippocampus and larger CSP at one-month after trauma, showed more severe symptoms at one- and fourteen months following trauma exposure.Conclusions Our study provides evidence for an early neuroanatomical cause of PTSD that could also predict the progression of the disorder. Such a simple-to-acquire neuroanatomical signature for PTSD could guide early management as well as long-term monitoring.Trial Registration Neurobehavioral Moderators of Post-traumatic Disease Trajectories. ClinicalTrials.gov registration number: NCT03756545. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03756545