Urinary dopamine and turn bias in traumatized women with and without PTSD symptoms

Abstract

Turning biases are known to occur in the direction of the brain hemisphere with decreased dopamine (DA). Although elevations in urinary DA have been shown in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), evidence for dysregulation of dopaminergic activity in the brain is lacking. Turn bias and urinary DA levels were examined in mothers of childhood cancer survivors. As expected, cancer trauma mothers with PTSD symptoms ( n=14) had higher urinary DA levels than trauma mothers without PTSD symptoms ( n=7) and controls ( n=8) ( P=0.01). Groups were also significantly different in prevalence of left turn bias ( P=0.03). All controls (100%) showed a left turn bias compared to 75 and 37.5% prevalence among trauma mothers with and without PTSD, respectively. Urinary DA levels and turn bias rates were not correlated. Results lend support for further exploration of DA in traumatized groups with and without PTSD.