"Our results indicated that PTSD patients had alterations in both gray matter and white matter in comparison with other individuals who experienced similar psychological trauma from the same earthquake," Dr. Gong said. "Importantly, early in the course of PTSD, gray matter changes were in the form of increased rather than decreased cortical thickness, as opposed to most reported observations from other studies of PTSD. This might result from a neuroinflammatory or other process that could be related to endocrine changes or a functional compensation."
Dr Gong added that the left precuneus is well known to be important in visual processing and is more active in PTSD patients during memory tasks. "It's possible that changes in the precuneus may comprise a neural alteration related to visual flashback symptoms in PTSD," he said.