Brain changes linked to PTSD and depression after death
Official title: Site 3/3, Understanding PTSD through Postmortem Targeted Brain Multiomics
Funded at Mclean Hospital · NIH-11335762 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Using detailed molecular analyses of donated brains to learn how PTSD and depression affect specific brain regions.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Mclean Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Belmont, United States) |
| Project start | July 25, 2018 |
| Project end | February 28, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $902,371 |
| NIH project number | 5R01MH117292-07 |
| Project ID | NIH-11335762 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are individuals (or their next-of-kin) who can arrange postmortem brain donation for someone who had PTSD, major depressive disorder, or no psychiatric diagnosis.
✕Less likely to help
People seeking immediate treatment or clinical therapies while alive are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this postmortem research.
What this research studies
If I or a loved one agreed to brain donation, researchers would examine tissue from people who had PTSD, major depression, or no psychiatric diagnosis to find biological differences. The team will focus on regions tied to fear and mood (amygdala, hippocampus, dorsal raphe) and use DNA genotyping, DNA methylation (bisulfite sequencing), and RNA analyses including alternative splicing. This project adds about 300 new brains to prior data and is run across McLean, the Lieber Institute, and the University of Texas. The goal is to identify molecular signatures that distinguish PTSD from depression and from neurotypical brains.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Could reveal biological markers or pathways that help guide future tests or treatments for PTSD and depression.
How similar studies have gone: Prior postmortem molecular studies have produced useful leads about psychiatric disorders, and this larger, targeted multi-omic effort builds on that work but is relatively novel in scale and scope.
Where this research is happening
-
Mclean Hospital
Belmont, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Ressler, Kerry J. — Mclean Hospital
- Study coordinator: Ressler, Kerry J.
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.