From rxpgnews.com
Research moves a step closer to possibility of brain scan-assisted diagnosis for PTSD
By World Psychiatric Association,
Apr 2, 2009 - 3:59:36 AM
Florence, Italy: Preliminary research examining the difference in brain activity between soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder and those without it moves scientists a step closer to the possibility of being able one day to use brain scans to help diagnose the condition.
The search for the footprints left in the brain by psychiatric disorders such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a growing area of research. Scientists hope it will lead to the identification of brain patterns that could be used to improve diagnosis and track the effectiveness of treatment. The latest study was presented Friday at the World Psychiatric Association congress Treatments in Psychiatry by Dr. Florin Dolcos, an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada.
As technology improves, imaging research is increasingly providing insights into the brains of people with post-traumatic stress disorder, pointing to potential biological markers distinguishing the PTSD-affected brain, said Dolcos, a co-author of the study, performed at Duke University in Durham, USA. The field is still in its infancy, but this raises the possibility that one day we may be able to see the disorder in the body as plainly as we now can see conditions such as heart disease and cancer.
Several studies have examined the brain patterns of emotion processing in PTSD by provoking symptoms, but very few have investigated the significant cognitive processing problems associated with the condition.
PTSD is as an anxiety disorder triggered by exposure to traumatic events. Symptoms include intrusive memories of the trauma, avoidant behaviour and hyperarousal, where those affected are more likely to perceive a threat in seemingly neutral situations or people. Impaired concentration is also characteristic. The disorder is currently diagnosed using an interview by a mental health professional.
The study involved 42 American soldiers (52% men) who had recently served in Iraq or Afghanistan. There were two groups with comparable levels of combat exposure. One group of 22 had developed PTSD and the other group of 20 had not. The scientists used functional magnetic resonance imaging scans (fMRI) to examine the brain patterns of each soldier while they performed a three-part short-term memory task that included distractions. The test is indicative of the ability to stay focused, which is reduced in PTSD.
In the first stage, the soldiers were shown photographs of three similar faces. After a delay period to give their brains time to retain the information, they were shown a single photograph of a face and had to press a button indicating whether the face was one of those they had seen earlier or whether it was new.
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