Discussion 16 Flashcards
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Can develop after a traumatic (often life threatening) event.
* Symptoms include:
o Intrusive recollection - cannot forget what occurred to you.re play over and over.
o Avoidance/numbing - avoiding situations that induce that recall
o Hyper-arousal - outdated approach. producing a response greater than it needs to be
change in behavior as a function of experience
A potential theory is that people with PTSD do not shut
down the production of CORT as quickly as “normal”
people, resulting in a lengthened stress response. There could be structural difference in the hippocampus.
PTSD and hippocampi
People with PTSD have smaller hippocampi than those
that don’t. You can find this by taking people who have experienced the same traumatic event and look at at what the hippocampus looks like. Hipocampus is really plastic which is good and bad it can change rapidly encode memory and respond to treatments
Twin studies
examine monozygotic twins of people that
developed PTSD after a stressor, and twins of people that
didn’t.
o Monozygotic twins of PTSD sufferers have smaller
hippocampi than monozygotic twins of non-sufferers
Virtual reality (VR) exposure therapy
Controlled virtual reality environment
o Sights
o Sounds
o Smells
* Gradually increase stressful
components
* Can be used to prevent PTSD
Bring someone into a safe environment and gradually increase that intrusive recollection phenomena. vary stressful components if their experiences getting them to reframe approach and reduce anxiety associated with experience
neuroplasticity
beuty of chemical synapse is that it can and does change. That change is impart responsible for how you adap to an environment that is constantly switching things up.
learning
a relatively permanent change in an organism’s
behaviour as a result of experience, leading to the
acquisition of new understanding, behaviours, knowledge,
attitudes, and skills.
Habituation
learned behaviour in which the response to
a stimulus weakens with repeated presentations. If you are accustomed to living in the country
and then move to a city, you might at first find the sounds of traffic and people extremely loud and annoying. With time, however, you stop noticing most of the noise most of the time. You have habituated to it.
Sensitization
learned behaviour in which the response to
a stimulus strengthens with repeated presentations.
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associative
learning,
a response elicited by linking unrelated stimuli together—by learning that A goes with B
Gill study
Enhancement of the withdrawal response after a shock
(sensitization) is due to increased Ca influx and subsequently more
neurotransmitter release from the presynaptic axon terminal.1. Habituation (Learning to ignore)
Repeatedly touch the siphon → Gill withdrawal gets weaker over timeAplysia “learns” that the touch is harmless. Shows synaptic depression: less neurotransmitter is released at the sensory-to-motor synapse.
2. Sensitization (Heightened response)
Pair a mild touch to the siphon with a strong tail shock. Next time you touch the siphon → Stronger gill withdrawal
Shows synaptic facilitation: more neurotransmitter is released due to modulatory neurons (like those using serotonin).
