Trauma, Fear and Anxiety Flashcards
Recurrent panic attacks
Panic disorder
Fear of uncomfortable social interactions
Social phobia
Excessive worrying
Generalized anxiety disorder
Key diagnostic features of PTSD do not include:
- Life threatening trauma
- Physiologic changes
- Re-experience of trauma
- Avoiding reminders of trauma
- Being on guard
- Associated problems
Physiologic changes are not diagnostic.
Associated problems may include depression, substance abuse, social discord, self-destructive, suicide
What percent of PTSD patients have chronic problems?
82%
What are treatments for PTSD?
CBT
Exposure therapy
Desensitization
What brain structure is central to theories of learned fear?
Amygdala
Which brain regions contribute to amygdala input?
sensory thalamus, sensory cortex, rhinal (transition) cortex, hippocampus, medial prefrontal cortex
To which brain structures does the amygdala output?
cingulate gyrus, lateral hypothalamus, periventricular nucleus, right parietal cortex
What role does the hippocampus play in fear?
Context
does not cue fear conditioning
What brain structure is required for both context and cues for fear conditioning?
Amygdala
What neurotransmitter is critical for synaptic transmission and plasticity?
NMDA
What is NMDA critical for?
synaptic transmission and plasticity
How does synaptic plasticity play into PTSD?
fear memory (in the lateral amygdala)
What is required for long-lasting plasticity?
Protein synthesis in amygdala –> consolidation of fear memories
