Functional Neuroanatomical Correlates of Traumatic Stress Revisited 7 Years Later, This Time with Data

Seven years ago, we wrote a paper about the functional neuroanatomical correlates of the effects of stress on memory; however, at that time, there were no data on the effects of stress on the brain in human subjects. Since then, an abundance of research has been carried out using neuroimaging to investigate the neuroanatomical correlates of the effects of stress on memory. These studies have corroborated our initial hypotheses that the functional neuroanatomy of stress involves a circuit of brain areas involved in both stress and memory function, including the hippocampus, amygdala, cingulate and medial prefrontal cortex, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. These studies have gone a long way toward advancing our understanding of the neuroanatomical correlates of traumatic stress. This understanding, in turn, will promote the development of future treatment advances for stress-related psychiatric disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder. Psychopharmacology Bulletin. 2003;37(2):6-25.