Evidence for altered brain reactivity to norepinephrine in Veterans with a history of traumatic stress

作者：Rebecca C. Hendrickson, Murray A. Raskind, Steven P. Millard, Carl Sikkema, Garth E. Terry, Kathleen F. Pagulayan, Ge Li, Elaine R. Peskind · 发表于：Neurobiology of Stress · 年份：2018 · DOI：10.1016/j.ynstr.2018.03.001 · 被引用次数：38 · 研究领域：Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research、Stress Responses and Cortisol、Traumatic Brain Injury Research

BACKGROUND: Increases in the quantity or impact of noradrenergic signaling have been implicated in the pathophysiology of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This increased signaling may result from increased norepinephrine (NE) release, from altered brain responses to NE, or from a combination of both factors. Here, we tested the hypothesis that Veterans reporting a history of trauma exposure would show an increased association between brain NE and mental health symptoms commonly observed after trauma, as compared to Veterans who did not report a history of trauma exposure, consistent with the possibility of increased brain reactivity to NE after traumatic stress. METHODS: Using a convenience sample of 69 male Veterans with a history of combat-theater deployment, we examined the relationship between trauma-related mental health symptoms and the concentration of NE in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). CSF NE levels were measured by HPLC in CSF from morning lumbar puncture. Behavioral symptoms associated with diagnoses of PTSD, depression, insomnia, or post-concussive syndrome (PCS), which together cover a wide variety of symptoms associated with alterations in arousal systems, such as sleep, mood, concentration, and anxiety, were assessed via self-report (PTSD Checklist [PCL] for PTSD, Patient Health Questionnaire 9 [PHQ9] for depression, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index [PSQI] for sleep problems including insomnia, and Neurobehavioral Symptom Inventory [NSI] for PCS) and structured...