PTSD and the brain
Presenter:
Brain Facts
Time:
3:56
Summary
People who experience a traumatic event such as abuse, violence, or a natural disaster may develop post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. In the brain, the stress of the trauma, combined with the memory of it, forms especially strong memories. People with PTSD may experience flashbacks, anxiety, and intense fear when something triggers those memories. Therapy can help people understand their triggers and how to manage the stress responses that come with it.
Transcript
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, also known as PTSD, occurs in people who have experienced one or more traumatic events. These include or but not limited to childhood abuse, natural disasters or sexual violence. It is characterized by flashbacks, problems with concentration and anxiety. PTSD forms in the brain as a combination of stress responses and memory formation. For example, let's hear walking on a street and you see an aggressive dog running towards you. What is happening in the brain?
First the stimuli gets in the brain, signaling alertness and then sending it to the other parts of the brain for processing, the hippocampus, a part of the limbic system is where the new events memories are laid down, new sensor signals are transcribed in the cortex, and then they're then transmitted to the hippocampus when we are faced with a threat, just like the dog running towards you, the message is sent to the mocdala, a part of the limbic system responsible for fear and aggression and assesses the threat and sends a message to the brainstem to activate the stress response. This activates the HPA axis, the hypothalamic pituitary and adrenal system, which work together to communicate with adrenal glands to help regulate functions like heart rate, digestion and respiration. These signals release stress hormones such as inappropriate and norepinephrine, which triggers physical responses such as increasing heart rate.