Brain Damage Study Supports Role of Amygdala in PTSD

A psychiatric study of Vietnam veterans shows neurological evidence for the theory that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is related to an increase in activity in the amygdala caused by decreased activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex.

Researchers interviewed 193 combat veterans who had experienced brain damage and 52 combat veterans without brain damage and examined their brain structure using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). They found that none of the 15 veterans with damage to the amygdala suffered from PTSD. Meanwhile, seven of 40 veterans with damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex suffered from the disorder.

In comparison, 40 percent of veterans with damage to other areas of the brain and almost half of veterans with no brain damage had PTSD. Damage to the hippocampus was not linked to the disorder.

Read more: Focal brain damage reduces post-traumatic stress disorder risk