PTSD

An estimated 20 percent of the 1.7 million men and women who have served in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been diagnosed with PTSD, they said. Previous research has shown that veterans with PTSD have a risk of suicide, and that more soldiers committed suicide than died as a result of combat in Afghanistan in 2012.The research, which was completed by researchers at the New York University School of Medicine and presented Saturday at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatry Association, also found that the effects of chronic trauma were persistent in specific areas of the brain even when the patient is not engaged in cognitive or emotional tasks.

The study authors claim that their findings could provide new insight into which area of the brain provokes traumatic symptoms, and could represent a key step forward towards the development of improved diagnostic and treatment options for PTSD – a condition which can cause flashbacks, nightmares, disturbing memories and emotional instability in those suffering from the anxiety disorder.Regions of the brain that have been linked to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in military veterans continue to perform abnormally, even if there is no external stress present, according to new research published in the journal Neuroscience Letters.“The PTSD group also showed elevated brain activity in the anterior insula, a brain region that regulates sensitivity to pain and negative emotions,” the university explained. “Moreover, the PTSD group had lower activity in the precuneus, a structure tucked between the brain’s two hemispheres that helps integrate information from the past and future, especially when the mind is wandering or disengaged from active thought.”


tags: treatment ,ptsd,