New research shows that traumatic memories in people with post-traumatic stress disorder are represented in the brain very differently than “normal” sad autobiographical memories.small The study was published in the journal Nov. 30 natural neuroscience It supports the idea that traumatic memories are distinct cognitive entities from more mundane bad memories. This may provide a biological explanation for why recalling traumatic memories manifests as intrusive thoughts that are different from other negative memories.
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The study was conducted by a team from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, and Yale University. It investigated patients’ real-life personal memories in order to link their lived experiences and brain function.
“For people with PTSD, the retrieval of traumatic memories often presents as an intrusion that is very different from ‘normal’ negative memory processing, but until now the neurobiological reasons for this qualitative difference are poorly understood. study co-author Icahn Mount Sinai said. Neuroscientist Daniela Schiller stated in a statement. “Our data show that the brain does not treat traumatic memories as normal memories, or even as memories at all. We observed that areas of the brain were not activated when remembering traumatic experiences.”
Schiller said. new york times This means that the brain can be in different states for two different memories, depending on which type of memory is being replayed. When remembering a trauma, the brain appears to be processing an experience of something in the present rather than in the past.
What is PTSD?
Post-traumatic stress disorder can occur in people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event, series of events, or set of circumstances.of American Psychiatric Association It states that PTSD can affect mental, physical, social and spiritual well-being. Events that can cause PTSD include natural disasters, war or combat, sexual assault, intimate partner violence, and bullying.
PTSD symptoms are generally categorized into four types. According to the Mayo Clinic. These include intrusive memories, avoidance, negative changes in thinking and mood, and changes in physical and emotional responses. Symptoms are highly individual and include flashbacks, avoidance of certain places or people, and feelings of hopelessness. It may also change over time.
according to Data from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, approximately 6 percent of people in the United States will suffer from PTSD at some point in their lives. Many people with PTSD recover after treatment and no longer meet diagnostic criteria for the disorder.Several Treatments for PTSD include: Cognitive behavioral therapy and cognitive processing therapy. There are also four of his drugs (sertraline, paroxetine, fluoxetine, and venlafaxine) that are conditionally recommended for treating PTSD.
Where does PTSD affect the brain?
previous research We showed that a brain region called the hippocampus governs both the formation and retrieval of episodic memories. PTSD is associated with structural abnormalities in the hippocampus, mainly reduction in its volume. Impairments in hippocampal processes are a focus of research into how PTSD affects the brain.
area called posterior cingulate cortex It is also deeply involved in both story comprehension and memory processing. The PCC is particularly involved in the imaging of more emotional memories.change of PCC function and connectivity are also critical for PTSD The state of the hippocampus.
Differentiate between traumatic and sad memories
inside studyThe research team investigated whether and how the hippocampus and posterior cingulate cortex distinguish between traumatic autobiographical memories and simply sad ones. They used functional magnetic resonance imaging to look at the brains of 28 participants diagnosed with PTSD.
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They asked different questions to each participant. These questions are about their traumatic experiences, sad events, and moments when they felt relaxed. After team members wrote down each person’s story, Read it aloud while undergoing an fMRI scan. fMRI mapped brain activity based on blood flow during the process.
The researchers found that hippocampal activity followed similar patterns of activity across all subjects when recalling sad or relaxing experiences. This suggests that memory formation here is more typical.
But when they read the stories of their traumatic experiences, similar activity in the hippocampus disappeared. The hippocampus of each subject was Individualized and discrete activities. This activity was more disorganized and fragmented throughout the brain, and did not look like the more synchronized patterns the brain exhibits during normal memory formation.
Additionally, more activity appeared in PCC when more PTSD symptoms were present.
How does this impact future PTSD treatment?
This result may explain why PTSD patients have difficulty remembering their traumatic experiences in a consistent manner. These past experiences may also indicate why this is the case. cause incapacitating symptoms In patients with disabilities.
The brains of people with PTSD work differently when remembering traumatic experiences, study co-author Ilan Harpas-Rotem, a clinical psychologist at Yale University, said. stated in a statement. “But when presented with stories of their own traumatic experiences, their brain activity was highly individualized, fragmented, and disorganized. They were nothing like memories at all.”
Future treatments aimed at “returning” traumatic memories to a more typical representation in the hippocampus may be beneficial. According to Harpas Rotemthis study could help psychotherapists guide PTSD patients to build more helpful thought patterns that may help the brain eliminate the sense of immediate threat caused by the trauma. there is.
