PTSD Flashcards
how is PTSD a “disorder of memory” involving conditioned emotional responses?
- Trauma leads to the release of endogenous stress hormones.
- Stress hormones enhance the consolidation of the memory of the event.
- Subsequently, the memory is too easily activated, with consequent symptoms of intrusions, avoidance and hyperarousal.
what was discovered in 1952 and what did it do?
discovery of first neuroleptic, Chlorpromazine
treated psychotic agitation, delusions, hallucinations, anxiety, aggressivity
what are the traditional treatments for PTSD?
Exitinction-based CBT:
- only 1/3 of subjects show lasting, clinically meaningful improvement
SSRIs:
- in depression, no better than placebo for most
- marginally more helpful than placebo in PTSD
- side effect: decreases compliance and counterindications
What is the basis of reconsolidation therapy in treating traumatic stress?
Reconsolidation therapy is based on the pathogenic memory model of traumatic stress, aiming to disrupt the overly consolidated emotional memories that contribute to symptoms.
Explain the role of emotion in memory consolidation.
Emotion enhances memory consolidation by activating stress hormones, including the noradrenergic system, within the amygdala during exposure to emotional stimuli.
How does memory reconsolidation differ from memory consolidation?
Memory consolidation involves the transfer of new learning from short-to long-term storage, while memory reconsolidation is a neurobiological memory updating mechanism that temporarily destabilizes long-term memories during retrieval, allowing for them to be updated with new information
What is the effect of administering propranolol during memory retrieval?
Administering propranolol during memory retrieval disrupts memory reconsolidation mechanisms, impairing memory for previously learned emotional material.
Describe the impact of avoidance on individuals with traumatic stress.
While avoidance may reduce short-term distress, it impairs an individual’s ability to function properly, interferes with maintaining relationships, participating in daily activities, experiencing pleasure, and does not prevent future intrusive memories and distress
How does propranolol affect the amygdala in the context of memory processing?
Propranolol is a beta-blocker that blocks noradrenergic activity in the amygdala, thus disrupting the consolidation or reconsolidation of emotional memories.
What experimental evidence supports the role of adrenergic agonists and antagonists in memory processing?
Administering adrenergic agonists shortly after learning enhances memory consolidation, while administering adrenergic antagonists, like propranolol, reduces memory for emotional material.
How has Dr. Brunet’s work contributed to the understanding of reconsolidation therapy in clinical populations?
Dr. Brunet’s work has demonstrated that reactivating traumatic memories under propranolol reduces traumatic stress symptoms in patients with chronic PTSD, indicating the potential effectiveness of reconsolidation therapy in clinical settings.
(T/F): reconsolidation alters the facts of the memory
FALSE: alters the physical and emotional reaction that is paired with that memory.
what is propranolol? (5)
- James W. Black develops propranolol in late 1950s.
- Propranolol HCl is a lipophilic nonselective beta-adrenergic receptor blocking agent.
- Propranolol competes with beta-adrenergic receptor stimulating agents for available receptor sites.
- Peak effect occurs in 60-90 minutes.
- The biologic half-life is approximately 4 hours.
explain Cahill and McGaugh’s 1994 study
Compared to placebo, propranolol impaired the memory of an emotionally arousing short story among normal individuals.
It did not affect memory of a closely matched but more neutral story.
(T/F): Propranolol Impairs Emotional memory in Healthy Volunteers
True BUT: 4 studies show yes, 2 studies dont.
