Impacts & Biomarkers Flashcards
What are the three main parts of the brain and their primary functions?
Prefrontal Cortex: Thinking, planning, inhibiting actions; goes offline during threats.
Limbic Brain: Emotions, relationships, monitoring danger; develops in early childhood.
Brainstem: Basic functions like breathing, sleep, and threat response; highly responsive to threat throughout life.
What is the autonomic nervous system (ANS), and what are its two branches?
Sympathetic NS: Mobilizes the body for action (e.g., fight or flight).
Parasympathetic NS: Calms the body, returning it to regular function.
What is Polyvagal Theory, and who proposed it?
Proposed by Stephen Porges, the theory explains how the vagus nerve regulates safety and danger responses, shaping human connection and survival strategies.
What are the three stages of autonomic response in Polyvagal Theory?
Ventral Vagal (PNS): Social engagement and safety.
Sympathetic (NS): Fight or flight response to danger.
Dorsal Vagal (PNS): Shutdown response to life-threatening situations.
What are the three main trauma responses outlined by Judith Herman?
Hyperarousal: Ongoing expectation of danger.
Intrusion: Reliving traumatic events through flashbacks or nightmares.
Dissociation: Numbing or compartmentalizing experiences.
How does trauma affect memory?
Trauma disrupts memory organization, often leading to fragmented memories stored in implicit memory systems (e.g., sensations, images) rather than verbal recall.
What is dissociation, and what are its symptoms?
Dissociation involves compartmentalizing traumatic experiences. Symptoms include:
Depersonalization: Feeling detached from one’s body.
Derealization: Feeling detached from reality.
Dissociative amnesia: Memory loss for parts of life or events.
Identity confusion/alteration: Changes in self-perception or identity.
What is epigenetics, and how does it relate to trauma?
Epigenetics studies changes in gene expression caused by experiences, such as trauma. These changes can be passed down through generations, influencing resilience or vulnerability to stress.
What are the findings of the QUT epigenetic study on PTSD, resilience, and posttraumatic growth (PTG)?
PTSD: FKBP5 methylation significant.
Resilience: NR3C1 methylation predicts low resilience.
PTG: NR3C1 and FKBP5 methylation predict PTG, with specific regions linked to heightened or lower PTG.
Why is using methods like epigenetics and EEG important in trauma research?
These methods help identify biological markers of trauma, resilience, and growth, offering insights into underlying mechanisms and guiding personalized interventions.
What role does the vagus nerve play in the autonomic nervous system?
The vagus nerve acts as a neural brake, regulating physiological states through its two branches:
Ventral Vagus: Promotes connection, safety, and calmness.
Dorsal Vagus: Activates shutdown or dissociation in response to life-threatening danger.
What is ‘neuroception’ according to Polyvagal Theory?
Neuroception is the nervous system’s ability to evaluate risk and safety without conscious awareness, responding to cues inside the body, in the environment, and in relationships.
How does trauma impact the autonomic nervous system?
Trauma can attune the nervous system to a low reactivity threshold, leading to misreading of safety and danger cues, altered responses, and difficulty regulating physiological states.
What is hyperarousal, and what are its symptoms?
Hyperarousal is the heightened state of alertness and readiness for danger, with symptoms like:
Sleeping difficulties
Anxiety
Irritability
Aggression
Increased startle response
Chronic irritability and somatic issues (e.g., heart problems).
How can traumatic memories differ from regular memories?
Traumatic memories are often disorganized, fragmented, and stored in implicit memory systems (e.g., body sensations, images), rather than as a coherent verbal narrative.
