Sleep parameters improvement in PTSD soldiers after symptoms remission.

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is a psychotherapy for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is still unclear whether symptoms remission through EMDR therapy is associated with a beneficial effect on one of the PTSD symptoms, sleep disturbance. Our objective was therefore to study sleep parameters before and after symptom remission in soldiers with PTSD. The control group consisted of 20 healthy active duty military men who slept in a sleep lab with standard polysomnography (PSG) on two sessions separated by one month. The patient group consisted of 17 active duty military with PTSD who underwent EMDR therapy. PSG-recorded sleep was assessed 1 week before the EMDR therapy began and 1 week after PTSD remission. We found that the increased REMs density after remission was positively correlated with a greater decrease of symptoms. Also, the number of EMDR sessions required to reach remission was correlated with intra-sleep awakenings before treatment. These results confirm the improvement of some sleep parameters in PTSD after symptoms remission in a soldier's population and provide a possible predictor of treatment success. Further experiments will be required to establish whether this effect is specific to the EMDR therapy.

Involvement of the cerebellum in EMDR efficiency: a metabolic connectivity PET study in PTSD.

BACKGROUND: We recently reported an improvement of precuneus PET metabolism after EMDR therapy in military participants suffering from PTSD. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to investigate the metabolic changes of precuneus connectivity in these participants after such treatment. METHOD: Fifteen participants with PTSD performed a brain 18F-FDG-PET sensitized by virtual reality exposure to war scenes, before and after EMDR treatment. Inter-regional correlation analysis was performed to study metabolic changes of precuneus connectivity through SPMT maps at whole-brain level (p < 0.005 for the voxel, p < 0.05 for the cluster). RESULTS: A decrease of connectivity was observed after EMDR between the precuneus and two significant bilateral clusters of the cerebellum (bilateral Crus I and VI cerebellar lobules, Tmax voxel of 5.8 and 5.3, and cluster size of 343 and 314 voxels, respectively). Moreover, higher cerebellar metabolism before treatment was associated with reduced clinical PTSD scores after EMDR (p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: The posterior cerebellum and its metabolic connectivity with the precuneus are involved in the clinical efficiency of EMDR in PTSD.

Antecedentes: Recientemente informamos una mejora del metabolismo de PET precuneus después de la terapia EMDR en participantes militares que padecen TEPT.Objetivo: El objetivo del presente estudio fue investigar los cambios metabólicos en la conectividad precuneus en estos participantes después de dicho tratamiento.Métodos: Quince participantes con trastorno de estrés postraumático se sometieron a 18F-FDG-PET cerebral sensibilizado por la exposición de realidad virtual a escenas de guerra antes y después del tratamiento con EMDR. El análisis de correlación interregional se realizó para estudiar los cambios metabólicos en la conectividad precuneus a través de mapas SPM-T a nivel de todo el cerebro (p <0.005 para el vóxel, p <0.05 para el grupo).Resultados: Se observó una disminución en la conectividad después de la terapia EMDR entre el precúneo y dos grupos bilaterales significativos del cerebelo (vóxeles Tmax de 5.8 y 5.3 y tamaños de racimo de 343 y 314 vóxeles, respectivamente). Además, un metabolismo cerebeloso más alto antes del tratamiento se asoció con puntuaciones clínicas de TEPT reducidas después de EMDR (p = 0.03).Conclusión: el cerebelo y su conectividad metabólica con el precuneus están involucrados en la eficiencia clínica de EMDR en TEPT.

Increase of precuneus metabolism correlates with reduction of PTSD symptoms after EMDR therapy in military veterans: an 18F-FDG PET study during virtual reality exposure to war.

PURPOSE: The prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is higher among veterans, and can lead to disastrous consequences such as suicide. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is recommended in first-line psychotherapies for PTSD. Virtual reality exposure (VRE) coupled with 18F-FDG PET imaging can highlight the activated brain regions during stress exposure. The objective of this study is to identify, after EMDR therapy, the regions of brain metabolism that evolve during the stress exposure of a war scene with symptomatic remission in a group of military veterans suffering from PTSD, and to secondarily search for predictive metabolic features. METHODS: We recruited 15 military veterans suffering from PTSD who performed an 18F-FDG PET sensitized by the exposure to a virtual war scene, before (T0) and after (T1) EMDR therapy. Statistical parametric mapping was used to compare brain metabolism before and after treatment and to study correlations between metabolism and evolution scores on PTSD clinical scales (PTSD Checklist Scale, PCLS; Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale, CAPS). RESULTS: The metabolic activity of the precuneus was increased after EMDR therapy (p < 0.005 uncorrected, k > 180) and correlated with clinical improvement with the CAPS scale (r = -0.73 and p < 0.001). Moreover, the precuneus metabolic value before therapy predicted the clinical improvement on the PCLS scale (T1-T0) after EMDR (r = -0.667 and p < 0.006). CONCLUSION: The clinical improvement in military patients with PTSD after EMDR is related to increased precuneus metabolism upon VR stress exposure.

[Impulsivity: What are the consequences on compliance to rehabilitation?]. / L'impulsivité : quelles conséquences sur l'adhésion aux soins ? Présentation d'une étude réalisée en addictologie.

INTRODUCTION: Impulsivity is a transnosographical dimension with major consequences on medical care with which psychiatrists are frequently confronted. Furthermore, compliance is a major variable that can affect the efficiency of therapeutics and hospitalizations in psychiatry. A study was carried out in three drug and alcohol rehabilitation hospitalization units to find out if impulsivity can have consequences on compliance. METHOD: The studied population was composed of 85 patients aged from 18 to 70, hospitalized for one or more addiction disorders in a psychometric hospital in Vannes (France). Impulsivity was measured for all patients with the BIS-11 at the beginning of the rehabilitation program. Because no tool to evaluate a total rehab program compliance existed, a scale, used at the end of the hospitalization, was created to measure patient compliance. This score was composed of two simple numeric scales (one used by the nurses and one used by the patient's psychiatrist) and a coefficient of hospitalization duration that was the ratio of completed to planned days of hospitalization. Correlations were made between the different dimensions: impulsivity and compliance, impulsivity and hospitalization conditions, compliance and hospitalization conditions (voluntary or involuntary, planned by a psychiatrist or not, etc.). RESULTS: The main statistically significant result of the study was a negative correlation existing between the motor dimension of impulsivity and compliance (r=-0.37 and P=0.001). The other dimensions of impulsivity showed no significant correlation with compliance score. The study revealed that the different hospitalization conditions showed no link with compliance or impulsivity. CONCLUSION: These original results show that motor impulsive patients need an adaptation of the rehabilitation programs. Shorter programs might be more efficient.

Childhood neglect predicts disorganization in schizophrenia through grey matter decrease in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.

OBJECTIVE: Psychosocial trauma during childhood is associated with schizophrenia vulnerability. The pattern of grey matter decrease is similar to brain alterations seen in schizophrenia. Our objective was to explore the links between childhood trauma, brain morphology and schizophrenia symptoms. METHOD: Twenty-one patients with schizophrenia stabilized with atypical antipsychotic monotherapy and 30 healthy control subjects completed the study. Anatomical MRI images were analysed using optimized voxel-based morphometry (VBM). Childhood trauma was assessed with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, and symptoms were rated on the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS) and Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS) (disorganization, positive and negative symptoms). In the schizophrenia group, we used structural equation modelling in a path analysis. RESULTS: Total grey matter volume was negatively associated with emotional neglect (EN) in patients with schizophrenia. Whole-brain VBM analyses of grey matter in the schizophrenia group revealed a specific inversed association between EN and the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Path analyses identified a well-fitted model in which EN predicted grey matter density in DLPFC, which in turn predicted the disorganization score. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that EN during childhood could have an impact on psychopathology in schizophrenia, which would be mediated by developmental effects on brain regions such as the DLPFC.