四川大学最新PNAS文章

　　

生物通报道，去年举世震惊的汶川大地震不仅夺走了无数人的生命，也给幸存者带来脑功能的变化，四川大学华西医院的研究人员首次披露了部分幸存者脑功能变化的论题，相关成果文章High-field MR imaging reveals an acute impact on brain function in survivors of the magnitude 8.0 earthquake in China发表在最新一期的PNAS上。

 

研究人员对2008年中国汶川地震的未受伤幸存者的大脑进行扫描，扫描数据显示了此次事件之后对他们的大脑网络的急性影响。首次发现人们在应对地震这样的巨大灾难时，脑内负责情绪、记忆的功能系统在25天内就出现了客观的功能改变。”

 

参与研究的幸存者年纪在20岁到60岁之间，都有地震亲身经历，有的看到了房屋倒塌、有的亲人受伤、有的亲人在地震中遇难。报名参与研究的民众远远超过44名，在其中挑选出的44名幸存者具有一定的代表性：即身体无任何损伤，情绪波动较大。

 

通过心理评估和脑成像检查，并对44名民众进行追踪随访，得出的结论是44名民众在脑内海马、杏仁核、苍白球、右侧额叶这些区域脑功能活动增强，而系统的协调性减弱。

 

据中新网介绍，该研究对了解正常人在遭遇灾难后为什么会发生焦虑、抑郁以及创伤后应激障碍等提供了客观的功能影像依据。尤其是对探索创伤相关疾病如创伤后应激障碍的发病机制奠定了基础，同时为今后创伤后药物和心理治疗的及时介入提供了客观的依据。

 

生物通推荐原文摘要

High-field MRI reveals an acute impact on brain function in survivors of the magnitude 8.0 earthquake in China

 

Su Luia, Xiaoqi Huanga,b, Long Chena, Hehan Tanga, Tijiang Zhanga, Xiuli Lia, Dongming Lia, Weihong Kuangb, Raymond C. Chanc, Andrea Mechellid, John A. Sweeneye and Qiyong Gonga,f,1

aHuaxi MR Research Center, Department of Radiology, and

bDepartment of Psychiatry, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China;

cInstitute of Psychology, Neuropsychology, and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, and Institute of Psychology, Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 10001, China;

dSection of Neuroimaging, Division of Psychological Medicine and Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, United Kingdom;

eCenter for Cognitive Medicine, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL 60612; and

fDivision of Medical Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3BX, United Kingdom

Edited by Marcus E. Raichle, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, and approved July 27, 2009 (received for review December 17, 2008)

 

【bstract】

Besides the enormous medical and economic consequences, national disasters, such as the Wenchuan 8.0 earthquake, also pose a risk to the mental health of survivors. In this context, a better understanding is needed of how functional brain systems adapt to severe emotional stress. Previous animal studies have demonstrated the importance of limbic, paralimbic, striatal, and prefrontal structures in stress and fear responses. Human studies, which have focused primarily on patients with clinically established posttraumatic stress disorders, have reported abnormalities in similar brain structures. At present, little is known about potential alterations of brain function in trauma survivors shortly after traumatic events. Here, we show alteration of brain function in a cohort of healthy survivors within 25 days after the Wenchuan earthquake by a recently discovered method known as “resting-state” functional MRI. The current investigation demonstrates that regional activity in frontolimbic and striatal areas increased significantly and connectivity among limbic and striatal networks was attenuated in our participants who had recently experienced severe emotional trauma. Trauma victims also had a reduced temporal synchronization within the “default mode” of resting-state brain function, which has been characterized in humans and other species. Taken together, our findings provide evidence that significant alterations in brain function, similar in many ways to those observed in posttraumatic stress disorders, can be seen shortly after major traumatic experiences, highlighting the need for early evaluation and intervention for trauma survivors.