Increased medial prefrontal cortical thickness and resilience to traumatic experiences in North Korean refugees

Abstract Little is known regarding structural brain changes in traumatized refugees and the association with psychopathology. In the present study, the cortical thickness in North Korean refugees and the association with psychological symptoms were explored. North Korean refugees with lifetime post-...

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Autores principales:	Hyunwoo Jeong, Yu Jin Lee, Nambeom Kim, Sehyun Jeon, Jin Yong Jun, So Young Yoo, So Hee Lee, Jooyoung Lee, Seog Ju Kim
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/8cc13159a5284c809c76a9753c62c034
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:8cc13159a5284c809c76a9753c62c0342021-12-02T16:26:30ZIncreased medial prefrontal cortical thickness and resilience to traumatic experiences in North Korean refugees10.1038/s41598-021-94452-62045-2322https://doaj.org/article/8cc13159a5284c809c76a9753c62c0342021-07-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-94452-6https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Little is known regarding structural brain changes in traumatized refugees and the association with psychopathology. In the present study, the cortical thickness in North Korean refugees and the association with psychological symptoms were explored. North Korean refugees with lifetime post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD group, n = 27), trauma-exposed North Korean refugees without lifetime PTSD (trauma-exposed control (TEC) group, n = 23), and healthy South Korean controls without traumatic experiences (HC group, n = 51) completed questionnaires assessing depression, anxiety, somatization, and PTSD symptoms. The cortical thickness was measured by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using FreeSurfer. Age- and sex-adjusted cortical thickness of the right medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) was greater in the TEC group than in the HC group. However, significant differences were not observed between the PTSD and HC groups. Increased right mPFC thickness was significantly correlated with less anxiety and somatization after controlling for age and sex in the TEC group, but not in the PTSD or HC groups. North Korean refugees who did not develop PTSD after trauma showed increased right mPFC thickness, which was associated with less severe psychiatric symptoms. These findings indicate that increased mPFC thickness might have helped to reduce PTSD and psychiatric symptoms after trauma, and likely reflects resilience achieved by potentially enhancing emotional regulation in the mPFC.Hyunwoo JeongYu Jin LeeNambeom KimSehyun JeonJin Yong JunSo Young YooSo Hee LeeJooyoung LeeSeog Ju KimNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-9 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Hyunwoo Jeong Yu Jin Lee Nambeom Kim Sehyun Jeon Jin Yong Jun So Young Yoo So Hee Lee Jooyoung Lee Seog Ju Kim Increased medial prefrontal cortical thickness and resilience to traumatic experiences in North Korean refugees
description	Abstract Little is known regarding structural brain changes in traumatized refugees and the association with psychopathology. In the present study, the cortical thickness in North Korean refugees and the association with psychological symptoms were explored. North Korean refugees with lifetime post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD group, n = 27), trauma-exposed North Korean refugees without lifetime PTSD (trauma-exposed control (TEC) group, n = 23), and healthy South Korean controls without traumatic experiences (HC group, n = 51) completed questionnaires assessing depression, anxiety, somatization, and PTSD symptoms. The cortical thickness was measured by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using FreeSurfer. Age- and sex-adjusted cortical thickness of the right medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) was greater in the TEC group than in the HC group. However, significant differences were not observed between the PTSD and HC groups. Increased right mPFC thickness was significantly correlated with less anxiety and somatization after controlling for age and sex in the TEC group, but not in the PTSD or HC groups. North Korean refugees who did not develop PTSD after trauma showed increased right mPFC thickness, which was associated with less severe psychiatric symptoms. These findings indicate that increased mPFC thickness might have helped to reduce PTSD and psychiatric symptoms after trauma, and likely reflects resilience achieved by potentially enhancing emotional regulation in the mPFC.
format	article
author	Hyunwoo Jeong Yu Jin Lee Nambeom Kim Sehyun Jeon Jin Yong Jun So Young Yoo So Hee Lee Jooyoung Lee Seog Ju Kim
author_facet	Hyunwoo Jeong Yu Jin Lee Nambeom Kim Sehyun Jeon Jin Yong Jun So Young Yoo So Hee Lee Jooyoung Lee Seog Ju Kim
author_sort	Hyunwoo Jeong
title	Increased medial prefrontal cortical thickness and resilience to traumatic experiences in North Korean refugees
title_short	Increased medial prefrontal cortical thickness and resilience to traumatic experiences in North Korean refugees
title_full	Increased medial prefrontal cortical thickness and resilience to traumatic experiences in North Korean refugees
title_fullStr	Increased medial prefrontal cortical thickness and resilience to traumatic experiences in North Korean refugees
title_full_unstemmed	Increased medial prefrontal cortical thickness and resilience to traumatic experiences in North Korean refugees
title_sort	increased medial prefrontal cortical thickness and resilience to traumatic experiences in north korean refugees
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/8cc13159a5284c809c76a9753c62c034
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Increased medial prefrontal cortical thickness and resilience to traumatic experiences in North Korean refugees

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