The retrieval of a memory can initiate processes in our brain that actively consolidate and

Studying the brain has been an affective result in finding out the various neurochemicals that are involved with PTSD. Brain imaging systems nowadays focus on two brain structures, the amygdala and the hippocampus. The amygdala is involved with how we learn about our fear and hippocampus plays a role with our memory formation. Some research focuses on a hormonal system known as hypothalamic-pituitary

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder can do a range of things to the brain. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder makes the victim continuously remember the event. It was originally known as “shell shock” where vets were struggling going through daily life. Finally after the Vietnam War Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder was “identified and given its name.” When these discoveries were made, proper treatment was then given to the victims. Research shows that

Memory dampening drugs are used when someone wants to forget or “dampen” the emotion that is associated with a memory, usually traumatic ones. The memory dampening drug that is most often discussed is called propranolol, it is used widely with those with PTSD. There is some debate about whether or not these memory dampening drugs are ethical for those using them. One organization on the end of the debate that believe memory dampening drugs are unethical and change people beyond who they truly are is the President’s Council of Bioethics (PCB), they are against the use of memory dampening drugs to suppress memory.

More specifically, they describe how traumatic events trigger "a surge of stress chemicals" that impairs the prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and hippocampus (Hopper, 2014). Impairment of these brain regions affects what "is most likely to get encoded into memory," thus altering the ability of trauma survivors to accurately recall the events and details of traumatic events (Hopper, 2014). They cite "research" on brain physiology as evidence of their claims. For example, the authors cite "recent studies" to suggest the hippocampus enters a "super-encoding state" during a traumatic event, thus increasing the vividness of specific memories (Hopper, 2014). The specificity of such a "super-encoding state," however, also means that other memories are not encoded in our memory—thus, the appearance that trauma survivors have fragmented and incomplete memories. In conclusion, the authors state that an increased understanding of brain physiology may have implications on the admissibility of trauma survivors' statements in

Traumatic events also produce profound and lasting changes in physiological arousal, emotion, cognition, and memory. Moreover, traumatic events may result in the severance of these normally integrated functions from one another. Traumatized individuals may also suffer from the memories of the tragic or horrifying experiences they have undergone. Frequently, as a result of these many symptoms, it becomes inevitable for the individual to develop certain complications associated with trauma-related disorders, such as posttraumatic stress disorder.

CPT is based on the social cognitive theory of PTSD. This theory focuses on how the traumatic event is understood and how it is being coped with by the client who is struggling to regain control over his or her life. CPT also refers to the emotional processing theory of PTSD which is an extension of information processing theory by Foa, Steketee, and Rothbaum (Mullen, Holliday, Morris, Raja, and Surís 2014). This theory states PTSD emerges from the development of fear in one’s memory that creates avoidance behavior and provokes one to escape these memories. Mental fear builds stimuli, responses, and meaning elements (Mullen, Holliday, Morris, Raja, and Surís 2014). Therefore anything that is associated with the trauma may provoke fear that leads to the concept of escaping and avoidance behavior. In individuals with PTSD, the fear is known to be easily accessible. When the fear is activated by the reminders of one’s trauma, one builds intrusive symptoms due to the information trying to process and enter one’s consciousness. In order for an individual to avoid these feelings and thoughts, one tries to avoid it which leads to the avoidance symptoms of PTSD which include yet are not limited to depression, alienation (Mullen, Holliday, Morris, Raja, and Surís 2014). Emotional Processing Theory states the repetitive exposure of trauma in a safe environment such as a therapeutic setting, helps reduce PTSD symptoms by calming and addressing one’s fear (Mullen, Holliday, Morris,

One of the most common treatment options for PTSD is cognitive behavior therapy. Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is a therapy in which one recognizes the ways of thinking that keep them stuck and tries to work through it. One of the first steps in CBT is being aware of your thoughts and feelings and understanding what is triggering the PTSD. Those who suffer from PTSD often blame themselves for what happened, and feel that if they would have done something different they could have changed the outcome. In CBT, one goes through their thoughts to see whether or not they are accurate. The blame that one feels is an inaccurate thought that is causing distress. During therapy, the goals is not to change what happened, but alter what one tells themself about the event in a positive way to decrease the PTSD symptoms. By doing this the PTSD symptoms slowly disappear and the results start to show. Michael Phillips and Shirley Wang wrote in their newspaper article that various studies show two-thirds of the people who complete CBT have alleviated their PTSD symptoms (Phillips and Wang 2). This shows that over half of the people who receive CBT treatment show signs of improvement. CBT is covered by the Department of Veterans Affairs and is one of the treatments that are most highly

Memory is defined as “the mental capacity to encode, store, and retrieve information” (American Psychological Association, 2002). It is a part of the means by which humans function. The process of forming and recalling memories involves various complex neurological processes and disruptions to these processes can result in loss of memory or the inability to form new memories. Amnesia is a memory disorder, in which, due to trauma or a head injury, certain parts of the memory is inaccessible. The two main types of amnesia are anterograde amnesia and retrograde amnesia. Anterograde amnesia refers to the inability to create new memories (Mastin, 2010). “Retrograde

According to the Mississippi Scale for Combat-Related PTSD, “about eight percent of veterans have seen significant decreases in their post traumatic stress disorder symptoms over the past decades, however sixteen percent had their symptoms become significantly worse”(Handwerk 2). If double the percentage of veterans who experience their symptoms get better, are having their symptoms worsen over time then obviously the treatments for the disease are not properly working. Even though some anti depressant medicine is prescribed to help ease the symptoms, the most common form of treatment for post traumatic stress disorder is Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT). The most common form of CBT is Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) in which veterans learn to “understand how the trauma changed their thoughts and feelings” (What is PTSD? 3). Psychologist who treat veterans feel that “avoiding fears and trauma perpetuates problems, rather than processes them” which means that by pretending their trauma never happened will lead to the disease worsening, however

The human brain is extremely complex, top scientists and surgeons still struggle to comprehend how it works. The way that the brain can process information and help a person to problem solve is amazing, but another part of the brain can hold memories. Some are good--like a memory of a family vacation or of family holidays--but there are also frightening memories that can haunt a person until his or her death, if they don’t get help. For a very long time researchers have focused on combatant PTSD, for very good reason, but now a problem has risen among civilians, and they have not been focused on the growth of PTSD right here in regular everyday people’s lives. Not just soldiers can be affected; civilian men, women, and children can be

PTSD, as outlined in the 2013 edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) falls under the category of Trauma and Stressor-Related Disorders, and depicts the perfect storm of excessive adrenergic activation, exposure to intense emotional stimuli, and the influence on memory. The criteria include a category of arousal symptoms, with obvious adrenergic components. For example, arousal symptoms may be manifested as sleep disturbances, hypervigilance, concentration difficulties, and an exaggerated startle response. In fact, research shows that there is an overactive noradrenergic function in those with PTSD (Ravindran & Stein, 2009). These pair with a second set of symptoms that relate to and are informed by memory. PTSD includes a component of intrusion symptoms associated with the traumatic event(s). Intrusion symptoms include: 1) Involuntary, and intrusive memories of the traumatic event; 2) Recurrent distressing dreams in which the content and/or affect of the dream are related to the traumatic event(s); 3) Dissociative reactions (e.g., flashbacks) in which the individual feels or acts as if the traumatic event(s) were recurring; 4) Intense or prolonged psychological distress at exposure

The importance of understanding the underlying psychological mechanisms by which both memories are repressed and

After a new memory is learnt, it enters the process of encoding during which the memory is labile and capable of disruption until it becomes stabilised over a period of time (Nader & Einarsson, 2010; Nader et al, 2000). This process is called consolidation and originally consisted of the theory that once stabilised in the brain, it remains fixed (Suzuki et al, 2004). This theory has been rebutted by the acceptance of reconsolidation, a theory that imposes the ideology that when memories are retrieved, through similar experiences (Lee, 2009), they become labile until,

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects 7.7 million American adults and can also occur during childhood. PTSD is an anxiety disorder that stems from a recent emotional threat such as a natural, disaster, war, and car accidents. PTSD usually occurs from an injury or coming close death. A person who has experienced a past traumatic event has a heightened chance of being diagnosed with PTSD after a current trauma. PTSD can also be determined by looking at one’s genes, different emotions, and current or past family setting. Normally, when a person without PTSD goes through a traumatic event the body releases stress hormones, which in time returns back to normal; However, a person with PTSD releases stress hormones that do not return

The amygdala is known to learn from exposure to fear and store assessment of threat–related stimuli. The prefrontal cortex is involved in extinction and the retention of fear and is connected to the amygdala. Finally, the hippocampus encodes the context during fear learning process and sends it to the amygdala. People with PTSD have hyper-activity in the amygdala, while having hypo-activity in the prefrontal cortex and there is reduction of the hippocampus volume. This reduction may limit proper evaluation and categorization of the experience. A study on Vietnam soldiers revealed that lesions in the amygdala and prefrontal cortex resulted in the absence of PTSD. To get further into the molecular level studies been done on the hormonal system. “Stress is known to contribute to the pathogenesis of a variety of disorders, including the majority of psychiatric like major depression and posttraumatic stress disorder.” (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3825244/pdf/DM30-02-343616.pdf). Research has revealed evidence that a hormonal system known as the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is the one that gets disrupted in people with PTSD. The hormonal system is involved in normal stress reactions, so the disruption of this system in people with PTSD creates this “false alarm”. It has been suggested by some scientist that the dysfunction of the HPA system results in hippocampal damage in people with PTSD. Damage in the hormones is caused by damage to