A Meta-Analysis of Hippocampal and Amygdala Volumes in Patients Diagnosed With Dissociative Identity Disorder
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Date
2021-01-12
Authors
Blihar, David
Crisafio, Anthony
Delgado, Elliott
Buryak, Marina
Gonzalez, Michael
Waechter, Randall
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Taylor & Francis Group
Abstract
Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), an illness characterized by
multiple personality states, has long been a controversial diagnosis
within the psychiatric community. Demonstrating
a neuroanatomical basis for the disorder may help to resolve
the controversy. Current literature on the neuroanatomy associated
with DID has focused on the hippocampus and amygdala
and are inconclusive. This meta-analysis pools the results from
n = 3 studies to compare the mean size of these two structures
between DID patients, non-DID patients, and healthy controls.
Patients diagnosed with both DID & PTSD were found to have
smaller hippocampi bilaterally (p< .001) compared to healthy
controls; no significant difference was seen in the amygdala.
When comparing DID to PTSD patients, the left hippocampus
was smaller (p< .001), with a trend for a smaller right hippocampus
(p = .06). A comparison of the amygdala was not possible
due to a lack of data. These findings suggest that a smaller
hippocampus is seen in DID patients beyond what is seen for
PTSD, provides neuroanatomical evidence for the memory
impairment often seen in DID patients (i.e., amnesia experienced
by the host and alters), and presents a potentially novel
means to understand this disorder.
Description
14 pages
Keywords
Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), multiple personality disorder, MRI, neuroanatomy, hippocampus, amygdala
Citation
David Blihar, Anthony Crisafio, Elliott Delgado, Marina Buryak, Michael Gonzalez & Randall Waechter (2021) A Meta-Analysis of Hippocampal and Amygdala Volumes in Patients Diagnosed With Dissociative Identity Disorder, Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 22:3, 365-377, DOI: 10.1080/15299732.2020.1869650