<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Background: Accumulated evidence indicates that exposure to trauma is associated with the development of cognitive impairments and psychiatric symptoms in children and adolescents.Objective: In this case study of a female adolescent of 17 years, we aimed to evaluate how cortical positron emission tomography (PET) abnormalities relate to psychogenic non-epileptic seizure (PNES) dissociative state, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and domestic violence exposure.Methods: Detailed psychiatric and neuropsychological assessment was performed initially, followed by a PET study. The PET imaging was carried out in the resting-state and in the dissociative-state.Results: The adolescent was suffering from multiple episodes of unconsciousness, all found to be psychogenic; thus, PNES was diagnosed. However, at the psychopathology symptom level, the adolescent had heightened impulsivity, hyperactivity, hyperarousal, anxiety, somatic, and dissociative/ functional neurological symptoms present separately or concurrently at some point during her life; thus, the criteria for PTSD and ADHD were also fulfilled. In the resting state, significant hypometabolism was observed in the occipital, occipitotemporal, polar, and mesial parts of the temporal regions bilaterally, fronto-parietal medial and lateral pericental regions, and fronto-temporal and insular region on the left. The most intense metabolism was observed in the posterior cingulate gyrus and the medial parts of the posterior parietal lobe. In the dissociative state, there was a slight increase in the metabolism of the brain globally compared with the resting state, but with identical distribution of the regional changes observed.Conclusions: Widespread cortical PET abnormalities were found, possibly indicating alterations in large-scale brain networks, in a patient with PNES and a dissociative state, PTSD, and ADHD, who was exposed to chronic domestic violence</abstract>

Background: Accumulated evidence indicates that exposure to trauma is associated with the development of cognitive impairments and psychiatric symptoms in children and adolescents.Objective: In this case study of a female adolescent of 17 years, we aimed to evaluate how cortical positron emission tomography (PET) abnormalities relate to psychogenic non-epileptic seizure (PNES) dissociative state, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and domestic violence exposure.Methods: Detailed psychiatric and neuropsychological assessment was performed initially, followed by a PET study. The PET imaging was carried out in the resting-state and in the dissociative-state.Results: The adolescent was suffering from multiple episodes of unconsciousness, all found to be psychogenic; thus, PNES was diagnosed. However, at the psychopathology symptom level, the adolescent had heightened impulsivity, hyperactivity, hyperarousal, anxiety, somatic, and dissociative/ functional neurological symptoms present separately or concurrently at some point during her life; thus, the criteria for PTSD and ADHD were also fulfilled. In the resting state, significant hypometabolism was observed in the occipital, occipitotemporal, polar, and mesial parts of the temporal regions bilaterally, fronto-parietal medial and lateral pericental regions, and fronto-temporal and insular region on the left. The most intense metabolism was observed in the posterior cingulate gyrus and the medial parts of the posterior parietal lobe. In the dissociative state, there was a slight increase in the metabolism of the brain globally compared with the resting state, but with identical distribution of the regional changes observed.Conclusions: Widespread cortical PET abnormalities were found, possibly indicating alterations in large-scale brain networks, in a patient with PNES and a dissociative state, PTSD, and ADHD, who was exposed to chronic domestic violence

Widespread cortical PET abnormalities in an adolescent related to a PNES dissociative state, PTSD, ADHD, and domestic violence exposure

Scandinavian Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Background: Accumulated evidence indicates that exposure to trauma is associated with the development of cognitive impairments and psychiatric symptoms in...

Widespread cortical PET abnormalities in an adolescent related to a PNES dissociative state, PTSD, ADHD, and domestic violence exposure

Article Category: case-report

Published Online: Oct 18, 2018

Page range: 98 - 106

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21307/sjcapp-2018-011

Keywords
dissociation, default mode network, inhibitory control, trauma

© 2018 Dejan Stevanovic et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Widespread cortical PET abnormalities in an adolescent related to a PNES dissociative state, PTSD, ADHD, and domestic violence exposure

Article Category: case-report

Published Online: Oct 18, 2018

Page range: 98 - 106

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21307/sjcapp-2018-011

Keywordsdissociation, default mode network, inhibitory control, trauma

© 2018 Dejan Stevanovic et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
dissociation, default mode network, inhibitory control, trauma