PTSD: The Changed Brain Flashcards
What is the lifetime prevalence of PTSD in the general American population?
3.6% - 9.7%
What percentage range of individuals who experience trauma will go on to have PTSD?
7% to 24%
What percentage of people will recover from PTSD?
56%
Describe the perspectives of Freud, Pavlov, and Mowrer on anxiety/PTSD?
Freud: unconscious sexual urges and infantile aggression
Pavlov: conditioned response affected by temperament
Mowrer: learning theory – we don’t like anxiety, so we act to reduce things that are stressful
When did PTSD get added to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual?
With the DSM III (1980)
Those with PTSD often have persistently elevated levels of __________, which activates the amygdala.
CRH
Lack of ____________ influence on the amygdala may play a role in prolonging the fear.
medial prefrontal cortex
Research indicates that the hippocampus might play what role in PTSD?
It might be responsible for the memory deficit seen in those with PTSD – perhaps making people with PTSD unable to recall safe contexts.
What five features make up PTSD?
A: exposure to death, threatened death, violence, or sexual injury
B: presence of recurring thoughts or dreams regarding the incident, flashbacks, distress at exposure to things that trigger thoughts of the incident
C: avoidance of things that relate to the incident
D: negative alterations in cognitions or mood when thinking about the incident
E: marked increase in arousal
What is ASD?
Acute stress disorder
How do ASD and PTSD differ?
ASD must be diagnosed within the first month after the traumatic event (though later than 3 days after the event); if it persists longer than a month, then it becomes PTSD.
What are three caveats to the main five diagnostic categories of PTSD?
1) The symptoms must last longer than a month
2) The symptoms cannot be due to a substance intake (such as alcohol or drugs)
3) The symptoms must cause clinically significant depression or mood distubance
