When it comes to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), much of the clinical research focuses on improving the condition rather than predicting it. But a new study conducted at Tufts University has revealed brain markers that indicate who is more likely to develop PTSD when exposed to trauma. It has to do with how one area is activated.
One of the difficult aspects of understanding PTSD is understanding why some people are victims of PTSD and others are not, even though they have experienced similar trauma. In pursuit of that answer, Tufts researchers decided to focus on one aspect of his condition known as hyperarousal. This is, according to the study’s first author, Cecilia Hinojosa, “a constant feeling of needing to monitor one’s surroundings for potential threats.”
In planning the study, Hinojosa and her team decided to focus on identical twins. This helped control biodiversity. In the test group, twins were studied, one of whom had experienced trauma and developed PTSD, and the other who had not experienced trauma. One examined a brother who had not experienced any trauma.
Study participants were placed in a functional MRI (fMRI) machine that maps brain activity when individuals are exposed to various stimuli. In this case, the twins were all presented with images of surprised and expressionless faces.
In individuals who developed PTSD in response to trauma, researchers found increased activity in the brain’s amygdala. The amygdala is the area involved in the fear response, especially the flight, fight, or freeze response.
The same regions were activated in twins of PTSD participants who had not experienced trauma. Conversely, the amygdala did not show increased activity in control brains without PTSD. This led the researchers to conclude that there is a clear link between the activation of this brain region and the propensity to develop PTSD.
In addition to looking at amygdala activity in the test group, researchers also found decreased activity in a region of the brain known as the medial frontal gyrus. Not a threat. They only saw this activity in PTSD siblings, not twins.
Researchers believe that the findings could help keep PTSD-prone people away from the role that could cause the condition, or “provide treatment as soon as they experience trauma to prevent the development of PTSD symptoms.” I hope that it is possible.” That goal is similar to that of Indiana University School of Medicine researchers who reported in 2019 that a blood test could identify people most likely to develop PTSD.
Hinjosa and her team say the next step in their study is to increase the sample size and introduce women into the test group.
This research Psychiatric Research Journal.
Source: Tufts University
