Precuneal activity during encoding in veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder.

Impaired attention and memory are symptoms frequently associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Previous studies have identified fronto-temporal alterations during encoding in patients with PTSD. We examine the role of the precuneus (located in the posteromedial parietal lobe) that is known to play a role in memory, but has largely been neglected in PTSD research. Male veterans with and without PTSD (n=12 per group) were subjected to fMRI during encoding of 12 neutral, non-trauma related word pairs. The precuneus was less activated in veterans with PTSD, which correlated significantly with the severity of PTSD. Like fronto-temporal regions the precuneus is differentially activated during memory formation in veterans with PTSD.