Does trauma-focused psychotherapy change the brain? A systematic review of neural correlates of therapeutic gains in PTSD.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Meta-analytic results indicate that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with hypoactivation of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), hyperactivation of the amygdala, and volume reductions of the hippocampus. Effective psychotherapeutic treatments were hypothesized to normalize these neural patterns via upregulation of prefrontal structures, which in turn downregulate limbic regions.

Objective

To gain a sound understanding of the effects of successful psychotherapy on the brain, neural changes from pre- to post-treatment in PTSD patients will be aggregated.

Method

A systematic literature search identified 24 original studies employing structural or functional MRI measurements both before and after treatment of patients diagnosed with PTSD.

R

SUBMITTER: Manthey A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8354020 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature