Abstract

Studies have shown that early life trauma may influence neural development and increase the risk of developing psychological disorders in adulthood. We used magnetic resonance imaging to examine the impact of early life trauma on the relationship between current posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and cortical thickness/subcortical volumes in a sample of deployed personnel from Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom. A group of 108 service members enrolled in the Translational Research Center for Traumatic Brain Injury and Stress Disorders (TRACTS) were divided into those with interpersonal early life trauma (EL-Trauma+) and Control (without interpersonal early life trauma) groups based on the Traumatic Life Events Questionnaire. PTSD symptoms were assessed using the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale. Cortical thickness and subcortical volumes were analyzed using the FreeSurfer image analysis package. Thickness of the paracentral and posterior cingulate regions was positively associated with PTSD severity in the EL-Trauma+ group and negatively in the Control group. In the EL-Trauma+ group, both the right amygdala and the left hippocampus were positively associated with PTSD severity. This study illustrates a possible influence of early life trauma on the vulnerability of specific brain regions to stress. Changes in neural morphometry may provide information about the emergence and maintenance of symptoms in individuals with PTSD.