Search

Objective: Trauma-exposed individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) display reduced amygdala and hippocampal size and impaired cognition. However, studies on trauma-exposed individuals with dissociative amnesia (DA) or dissociative identity disorder (DID) are lacking. Method: Twenty-three young women who had experienced severe childhood sexual/physical abuse, diagnosed with DA/DID or PTSD, and 25 healthy control subjects were subjected to 3D structural magnetic resonance imaging of amygdala and hippocampus and a clinical and neuropsychological investigation. Results: Compared with controls, trauma-exposed subjects with PTSD ( n = 10) displayed significantly reduced amygdala and hippocampal size and significantly impaired cognition. By contrast, trauma-exposed subjects with DA or DID ( n = 13) displayed normal amygdala and hippocampal size and normal cognition. Conclusion: We report for the first time volumetric results in subjects with DA/DID without PTSD as comorbid diagnosis. Our results indicate preserved amygdala and hippocampal size and preserved cognition in subjects with these disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article concerning the evidences on the relationship of post-traumatic stress disorder and dissociative disorders to amygdala and hippocampal size reduction in trauma-exposed individuals in the previous issue.