Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130518153257.htm
Source: Science Daily
No author
Published: May 18, 2013

Bio Media Report

Summary:  This article is on the disorder called Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD.  PTSD is commonly found in war veterans, and is characterized by flashbacks, nightmares, or scary thoughts, almost always from stressful combat scenes.  The main is cause is experiencing chronic trauma.

  This article is the first step into the minds of these victims when they are not under the influence of external triggers.  Their brains were monitored in a restful environment in an MRI scan.  Results found that the areas of the brain that monitor fear, nervousness, and pain were simply more active at all times, even when not triggered by an explosion sound or enemy face.  Probably even more fascinatingly, the area of the brain that separates past form present and memories from reality was actually lower in activity.  This is the possible cause of the terrifying flashbacks.

Relevance to Class:  This article is about a disorder in the brain.  We have studied not only the brain itself, but specific diseases and disorders of the brain and the nervous system.  This article went into how different regions of the brain are affected, and how they respond.  We also learned about regions of the brain.