PTSD + Trauma Flashcards
What is a type 1 trauma?
single incident trauma that is unexpected
What is a type 2 trauma?
ongoing abuse that is repetitive and expected
What type of trauma leads to a higher risk of PTSD?
type 2 - 3 fold increase
Where does your fight or flight response originate?
PAG or ventral tegmental area
What happens when there is an unescapable threat?
tonic immobility occurs
What is tonic immobility?
involuntary state of motor inhibition eg rigidity, paralysis, muscle tremors, chills, decreased vocalisation
What is the role of the Reptillian brain?
helps to escape from predators
the brain activity shifts from ventromedial prefrontal cortex -> periaqueductal gray in the midbrain
What does activity in PAG correlate to?
dread of being captured
What is the criteria for PTSD?
traumatic event intrusive symptoms - flashbacks avoidance symptoms negative alteration in cognition and mood duration >1month increased arousal and reactivity distress and impairment in social or occupational functioning MAY HAVE: depersonalisation and derealisation
What does depersonalisation mean?
observing yourself from a distance
What does derealisation mean?
world around you doesnt feel real
What is complex PTSD?
PTSD symptoms AND: cognitive disturbances - low self esteem, self blame, hopelessness etc identity disturbance emotional dysregulation chronic interpersonal difficulties dissociation somatosisation tension reduction activities = binge eating and purging, self mutilation
What is the hippocampus responsible for?
the stress response
What is seen in the hippocampus due to PTSD?
decreased size - due to high cortisol levels and receptor levels
What is the role of the amygdala?
role in fear during both trauma and its recollection
What are the 3 regions of the brain?
mammalian brain/limbic system
reptillian brain
frontal cortex
What is the mammalian brain responsible for?
emotional and somatosensory memory
attachment
What is the reptillian brain responsible for?
autonomic arousal
instinctive responses/impulses
What is the frontal cortex responsible for?
regulatory abilities
cognitive and executive functioning
What is LTP? What is its role?
a chemical substance, released from the hippocampus that processes connecting axons and dendrites to make new memories
Where is LTP generated?
hippocampus
What is a risk factor for PTSD?
an already small hippocampus
What is the order of the limbic system?
sensory input -> thalamus -> amygdala -> storage
What part of the limbic system do olfactory inputs bypass?
thalamus
