Functional brain imaging in posttraumatic stress disorder: a review

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with symptoms of intrusive memories, avoidance, and hyperarousal. Accumulated evidence shows that these symptoms are related to changes in brain areas involved in memory and emotion. The purpose of this paper was to review functional brain imaging studies in PTSD. Pubmed, midline, and psych info were queried for keywords related to PTSD and brain imaging from 1990-2024. The review focused on functional brain imaging using Positron Emission Tomography (PET), single photon emission tomography (SPECT) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and did not include structural or spectroscopic imaging. Studies implicated a network of brain regions involved in memory and emotion including the amygdala, insula, prefrontal cortex, cingulate gyrus and hippocampus. PTSD is associated with alterations in function in brain areas mediating memory and emotion.