Study Examining Effects of Distress on Brain may Help Make Treatments for PTSD
November 20th, 2009 |
A GoodTherapy.org News Headline
Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, has been gaining attention recently as its prevalence among military personnel becomes more widely known, but this mental health concern is certainly not limited to men and women in the armed forces. Able to effect people of all ages in many different situations, the issue is often addressed with psychotherapy or medications, or some combination therein, but more effective treatments are actively being sought. In a newly-published study, researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham have investigated the brain’s responses to unexpected and unpleasant audio stimuli, mapping how people react to events and how anticipation plays a role in these reactions. The researchers found that emotional responses were far stronger when events were unexpected, and hope to be able to use this information to help shed light on the specific etiology of PTSD.
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I wonder when I read about experiments that involve unpleasant experiences for the volunteers. Aren’t they too risking doing themselves damage by subjecting themselves to them? I can understand wanting to participate in the more pleasant ones, not something like this.