ptsd Part Of The Brain That Shrinks (ptsd)

[betrayed]

The shrink I saw yesterday explained something to me about when you have PTSD he pointed out a small portion of the brain and said it shrinks and then (BLANK) happens................I dont remember what he said does anyone know what I am talking about, he said with medication it could grow back in 5 years

cAN ANYONE FILL IN THE BLANK?

Edited November 17, 2006 by FLHRCI

[Tbird]

all i get is a blank B)

seriously i have had that trauma especially long term trauma, such as in a combat zone, long period of domestic abuse, or long periods of trauma as a child permenantely changes the brain chemistry but damned if i can remember where i read it. i know i talked to my therapist about it and pretty sure she confirmed there are real physical changes that happen.

[carlie]

DUH -- Any chance ya'll are talking about Brain Atrophy ???

I've got it and am willing to share -- lol

carlie

[timetowinarace]

I posted some links a few days ago about possible sources to brain volume loss. PTSD and depression among them.

Off the top of my head(pun not intended), I think it is the hippocampus that loses volume. And yes, it's called Atrophy.

The research I read said that it can be stopped or slowed with treatment such as intidepressants but I don't recall it being reversed.

Time

[betrayed]

I was talking to my son (studying to become Physicians Asst) on the phone he said he beleives what I am talking about is the hippocampus............he wrote a research paper on it. I will get him to forward his paper

sure wish I hade tape recorded the doctors visit B)

Edited November 18, 2006 by FLHRCI

[nlualum82]

try WebMD, search an article titled :

antidepressants protect brain

It is the hippocampus and it controls memory and learning. Certainly explains a lot for me. I got even more depressed and stressed because I couldn't retain anything at work. Finally settled by doing the same thing in the same place every night rather than being able to move around to all the operations - like everyone else!

Gary

[Guest allan]

Patterns of Brain Atrophy Rate in PTSD

Patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) exhibit a wide range of neuropsychological deficits, and atrophy in brain regions such as the hippocampus has been reported. Although there have been numerous magnetic resonance imaging studies of PTSD, most have reported cross-sectional results using region of interest analyses, where only a few anatomical locations of the brain are investigated. Voxel-wise structural image analysis provides a way of looking for anatomical variation without prior hypotheses about the location and extent of the anatomical variation. In this project, we propose to investigate the spatial pattern of longitudinal tissue atrophy in subjects with PTSD compared to normals, and additionally to correlate performance on neuropsychological tests with neurodegeneration. We are uniquely qualified to accomplish these goals, as we have developed novel voxel-wise morphometric methods for automated investigation of spatial patterns of atrophy rate, and because of our access to a sample of longitudinal images and clinical data from patients diagnosed with and without PTSD. The results of this project will lead directly to a better understanding of the temporal course of PTSD and its relation to underlying brain anatomy.

PI: Valerie Cardenas-Nicolson

Funding Source: Department of Defense