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. 2012 Dec 26:3:568.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00568. eCollection 2012.

Volumetric structural magnetic resonance imaging findings in pediatric posttraumatic stress disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder: a systematic review

Fatima Ahmed  1 , Johan Ras, Soraya Seedat
Affiliations

Volumetric structural magnetic resonance imaging findings in pediatric posttraumatic stress disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder: a systematic review

Fatima Ahmed et al. Front Psychol. .

Abstract

Objectives: Structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) studies of anxiety disorders in children and adolescents are limited. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) have been best studied in this regard. We systematically reviewed structural neuroimaging findings in pediatric PTSD and OCD.

Methods: The literature was reviewed for all sMRI studies examining volumetric parameters using PubMed, ScienceDirect, and PsychInfo databases, with no limit on the time frame of publication. Nine studies in pediatric PTSD and six in OCD were suitable for inclusion.

Results: Volumetric findings were inconsistent in both disorders. In PTSD, findings suggest increased as well as decreased volumes of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and corpus callosum; whilst in OCD studies indicate volumetric increase of the putamen, with inconsistent findings for the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and frontal regions.

Conclusions: Methodological differences may account for some of this inconsistency and additional volume-based studies in pediatric anxiety disorders using more uniform approaches are needed.

Keywords: anxiety; pediatric; sMRI; voxel-based morphometry.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Article selection process of structural magnetic resonance imaging studies in obsessive compulsive disorder in children and adolescents.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Article selection process of structural magnetic resonance imaging studies in posttraumatic stress disorder in children and adolescents.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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