Neuro:PTSD Flashcards
Amygdala mediates behavioral autonomic and physiological responses to _________ cues
Olfactory
How does the amygdala impact anxiety/fear responses?
Drives automatic anxiety/fear responses
The amygdala is crucial when a _________ stimulus becomes associated with a reward or fear-inducing ___________ stimulus
Neutral/conditioned, unconditioned
What is damaged in Kluver-Bucy syndrome?
Complete amygdala damage
How is personality impacted with Kluver-Bucy Syndrome?
Personality becomes very docile
How is behavioral inhibition impacted with Kluver-Bucy Syndrome?
Behavioral inhibition is lost, which can lead to inappropriate sexual behavior/advances
How is feeding impacted with Kluver-Bucy Syndrome?
Loss of inhibition of feeding
How is fear impacted with Kluver-Bucy Syndrome?
Reduced/absent fear of new environments or other specific novel stimuli
Activity in amygdala correlates with subjective level of _____________
anxiety/fear
Amygdala enhances memory for highly ___________ or ____________ emotional stimuli/events
Positive or negative
The amygdala drives behavioral, autonomic and hormonal responses to _________ and _________ stimuli
Stress and negative
What is trauma defined as?
An event that is a real or perceived life-threatening event or a real or perceived risk of serious injury
Having frequent bouts of __________ is a sign of PTSD
Anxiety
Hyper-________ or Hyper-________ are signs of PTSD
Hyper-vigilance or Hyper-arousal
Feeling constantly on edge, on guard against threats, often inappropriate for the situation is a sign of ________
PTSD
Insomnia/Nightmares/Flashbacks are signs of ________
PTSD
What are triggers in PTSD?
Specific, non-threatening sensory cues, situations or environments that trigger intense fear
Those with PTSD show avoidance. What does this mean?
Withdrawing from social contact or being in public situations
What type of emotional reactions are shown in PTSD?
Volatile emotional reactions
To be considered PTSD, symptoms and signs must persist for how long?
More than 1 month
With PTSD, do symptoms cause a significant disruption of daily life?
Yes
The minority of trauma-exposed individuals will develop _______
PTSD
Elevated amygdala activity is linked to elevated ___________ symptoms
Anxiety-related
Amygdala can be excessively activated by what type of stimuli?
Negative, angry or threatening
How is amygdala impacted after injection of yohimbine which increases synaptic release of NE?
Elevated amygdala activity
Drugs of abuse impact anxiety in what way?
Dampen anxiety so are often used by PTSD patients to ‘self-medicate’
How is basal cortisol release impacted in PTSD?
Reduced
First line Rx of PTSD
Selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
2nd line Rx of PTSD
Other anti-depressants
Triggers can continue to happen due to a failure in _____________ to conditioned stimulus
Extinction
Triggers can continue to happen to a failure to distinguish between _________ and _____________
Conditioned stimulus and similar stimulus/contexts
Learning that the conditioned stimulus no longer predicts the experienced outcome (shocks in mice experiment) is known as what?
Extinction of conditioned fear
Activity in dorsal anterior cingulate cortex promotes _________ reactions to cues through activation of the _____________
Fear reactions to cues through activation of the amygdala
Activity in the peri-genial cortex reduces _________ via inhibition of the __________
Fear via inhibition of the amygdala
Activity of dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and peri-genual cortex in PTSD
Hyperactive Dorsal anterior cingulate cortex
Hypoactive peri-genual cortex
What type of therapy can be used to help extinguish fear to trigger stimuli in PTSD
Psychological therapies
What are some techniques that can be used in psychological therapy to treat PTSD symptoms?
Exposure therapy
Flooding
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
