Vassar College

One study conducted an study on paitents with DID and compared brain scans with healthy individuals with no psychiatric issues. The study indicated that patients with DID are seen to have smaller hippocampal (19.2% smaller) and smaller amygdalar volume (31.6 % smaller) compared to healthy subjects. This is a common pattern that is found amongst individuals who have ptsd or have a history of exposure to traumatic stress. 

Case Study: DID and volume changes in the brain

Vermetten E, Schmahl C, Lindner S, Loewenstein RJ, Bremner JD. Hippocampal and amygdalar volumes in dissociative identity disorder. Am J Psychiatry. 2006 Apr;163(4):630-6. doi: 10.1176/ajp.2006.163.4.630. PMID: 16585437; PMCID: PMC3233754.

Subjects: 
15 patients diagnosed with DID (mean age: 43) were compared to 23 healthy subjects (mean age: 34). All subjects were female. All subjects were verified and interviewed to ensure consistency with each group (DID and Healthy). 

Method: 
MRI machines were used to take brain scans of the brain. Sagittal images were taken along with specific MRI parameters to capture images of the area of comparison


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