Individuals with PTSD and The Effects on the Brain A...

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is triggered by an individual experiencing of a traumatic event. PTSD patients can exhibit varied behaviours which can be subtle or extreme. These behaviours include but are not exhaustive of, anger, fear, dissociative states, amnesia and negative cognition (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013). PTSD research is now able to explain certain changes in the brain which affect these behaviours. In this essay focus will be given to these brain changes and which behaviours they affect in PTSD patients. It is widely accepted that the hippocampus manages memory retrieval. PTSD can cause amnesia involving the event itself or dissociative states where the patient re-lives the event through resemblance of circumstance or hallucination (APA, 2013). Each of these tasks utilise the hippocampus to try and retrieve the memory (Schacter et al, 2012). Animal research has provided evidence that severe stress can damage hippocampal formation (Gilbertson, Shenton, Ciszweski, Kasia, Lasko, Orr, Pitman, 2002). Human research has investigated further by measuring the hippocampal volume on soldiers who were exposed to traumatic events and developed PTSD or where exposed but did not develop PTSD. All of the soldiers’ unexposed twins underwent the same process. All participants were tested for PTSD symptoms, all twins were non PTSD. Once their diagnosis was determined brain imaging scans were carried out and volumes of the hippocampusShow MoreRelatedThe Impact Of Terrorism On The United St ates932 Words   |  4 PagesThese include studies by Morland, Butler and Leskin into the effects of terrorism in the United States; Vazquez, Perez-Sales and Hervas covering the social and individual effects of terrorism in Madrid; Frazier and Berman covering post-traumatic growth in female sexual assault victims; and Joseph, Williams and Yule on psychosocial perspectives on PTSD and treatment (TRG pg 19). 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