EMDR Treatment for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, With Focus on Hippocampal Volumes: A Pilot Study

Preliminary study suggesting further consideration of the potential effects of psychotherapy on the neurobiology of psychiatric disorders

Article Abstract

“To the Editor: Recent studies have suggested that hippocampal neurogenesis may be stimulated by successful treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), either by drugs1–4 or by behavioral interventions.5 Three investigations have evaluated the effects of pharmacotherapies and have suggested that antidepressant treatments may increase hippocampal volume.1–3 Lindauer and colleagues6 examined the effects of a psychotherapy intervention, the Brief Eclectic Psychotherapy, on hippocampal volumes and observed no changes on hippocampal volumes upon amelioration of PTSD symptoms. However, the authors recently reported5 the case of a patient treated with Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) who showed an increase in both left- and right-hippocampus upon improvement in PTSD symptoms. The aim of this study was to further investigate the relationship between EMDR treatment and hippocampal volumes in PTSD subjects.”

—Description from publisher

Article Access

Open Access

Bossini, L., Tavanti, M., Calossi, S., Polizzotto, N. R., Vatti, G., Marino, D., & Castrogiovanni, P. (2011). EMDR treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder, with focus on hippocampal volumes: A pilot study. The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 23(2), E1-2. https://doi.org/10.1176/jnp.23.2.jnpe1