Non-Invasive Technique Blocks a Conditioned Fear in Humans
Scientists have for the first time selectively blocked a conditioned fear memory in humans with a behavioral manipulation. Participants remained free of the fear memory for at least a year. The research builds on emerging evidence from animal studies that reactivating an emotional memory opens a 6-hour window of opportunity in which a training procedure can alter it.
Anxious and Healthy Adolescents Respond Differently to an Anxiety-provoking Situation
When anxious adolescents were anticipating evaluation from peers whom they had rated as less desirable—an anxiety-provoking situation—their scans showed increased activation of the amygdala, a fear processing, almond-shaped hub deep in the brain.
Evidence-Based Prevention is Goal of Largest Ever Study of Suicide in the Military
Study investigators aim to move quickly to identify risk and protective factors for suicide among soldiers and provide a science base for effective and practical interventions to reduce suicide rates and address associated mental health problems.
Hurricane Katrina Survivors Lack Access to Mental Health Services
A study published on December 17, 2007, details how the majority of Hurricane Katrina survivors who developed mental disorders after the disaster are still not receiving the mental health services they need, and many who were receiving mental health care prior to the hurricane have not been able to continue with treatment.
Memory-sustaining Enzyme May Help Treat PTSD, Cognitive Decline
Study finds chemically blocking an enzyme in a specific area in the brain’s cortex, or outer mantle, can erase a long-term memory of an aversive event that had been learned. The erasing occurred even if the blocking agent was administered weeks after the event and appeared to be permanent.
Answers to Your Most Frequently Asked Questions About PTSD
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened. Traumatic situations that can trigger PTSD include violent personal assaults such as rape or mugging, military combat, natural disasters, and automobile accidents. If left untreated, PTSD can become extremely disabling.
New Research Report on Comorbidity of Addiction and Other Mental Illnesses
New research report, Comorbidity: Addiction and Other Mental Illnesses, summarizes the state of the science regarding the complex relationship between substance abuse and other mental disorders. The release of this report is timely given the increasing prevalence and link between post traumatic stress disorder and substance abuse.
PTSD Can Lead to a More Severe Course and Worse Outcomes When Coupled With Substance Abuse
The first multi-center study of PTSD among individuals seeking treatment for an SUD has found a greater prevalence of PTSD among those who were drug- rather than alcohol-dependent, and that having PTSD was associated with a more severe course and worse outcome for an SUD.
PTSD Is Not a New Disorder
Although careful research and documentation of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) began in earnest after the Vietnam War, it is not a new disorder. There are written accounts of similar symptoms that go back to ancient times, and there is clear documentation in the historical medical literature starting with the Civil War. There are particularly good destrictions of posttraumatic stress symptoms in the medical literature on combat veterans of World War II and on Holocaust survivors.
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