Plasma gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms in trauma-exposed women: a preliminary report.
Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2021;
238:1541-1552. [PMID:
33620549 DOI:
10.1007/s00213-021-05785-z]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2020] [Accepted: 02/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE
Aberrations in the stress response are associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom development, maintenance, and severity. Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), the brain's primary inhibitory neurotransmitter, may play a key role in stress recovery.
OBJECTIVES
In this preliminary study, we examined whether plasma GABA levels differed between women with PTSD and trauma-exposed healthy controls.
METHODS
Thirty participants provided plasma samples during two phases of the menstrual cycle: the early follicular phase and the mid-luteal phase. During each phase, blood was drawn after 45 min of rest, and after mild and moderately stressful psychophysiological tasks. Plasma GABA levels were measured using HPLC-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).
RESULTS
In analyses using PTSD diagnosis as a categorical group variable, women with and without a diagnosis of PTSD did not differ in plasma GABA levels (ps > .18). However, in analyses examining PTSD symptom severity as a continuous variable, there was a trend-level positive association between more severe PTSD symptoms and higher plasma GABA levels across the four blood draws (p = .06). In analyses examining DSM-IV PTSD symptom clusters separately, dysphoria symptoms were positively and significantly associated with plasma GABA levels (p = .03). Similarly, there was a trend-level positive association between avoidance cluster symptoms and plasma GABA levels (p = .06). Plasma GABA levels were not modulated by experimentally induced stress or menstrual cycle phase.
CONCLUSIONS
Dysregulation in GABA may be a neurobiological marker and/or potential treatment target for women with PTSD symptom profiles characterized by prominent dysphoria and avoidance cluster symptoms.
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