New research reveals that the way people with post-traumatic stress disorder remember traumatic events differs significantly in the brain from the way they remember “regular” sad autobiographical memories. A recent study published in the journal Nature Neuroscience on November 30 supports the concept that traumatic memories stand apart from ordinary bad memories as distinct cognitive experiences. This may offer a biological explanation for why recalling traumatic memories can trigger intrusive thoughts, unlike other negative recollections.
[Related: PTSD found in 1 in 4 adults in Flint, Michigan, after water crisis.]
The study was carried out by a team from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York and Yale University. It explored real-life personal memories of patients to establish a connection between their experiences and the functioning of their brains.
“For people with PTSD, the recall of traumatic memories often emerges as intrusions that are notably different from the processing of ‘regular’ negative memories. However, until now, the neurobiological causes of this qualitative difference have been poorly understood,” said study co-author and Icahn Mount Sinai neuroscientist Daniela Schiller, in a statement. “Our data indicate that the brain does not process traumatic memories like regular ones, or perhaps even as memories at all. We observed that brain regions known to be involved in memory are not activated when recalling a traumatic experience.”
Schiller explained to The New York Times that the brain can be in a different state when recollecting two different memories, depending on the type of memory being recalled. When remembering trauma, the brain appears to be processing current experiences rather than past ones.
The American Psychiatric Association states that PTSD can affect mental, physical, social, and/or spiritual well-being. PTSD symptoms typically fall into four categories, according to The Mayo Clinic: intrusive memories, avoidance, negative changes in thinking and mood, and changes in physical and emotional reactions. Symptoms can be very individual, such as flashbacks, avoiding particular places or people, and feelings of hopelessness, and may vary over time.
Data from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs indicates that approximately six percent of people in the US will experience PTSD at some point in their lives. Cognitive behavioral therapy and cognitive processing therapy are among the treatments for PTSD. Additionally, four medications have a conditional recommendation to treat PTSD: sertraline, paroxetine, fluoxetine, and venlafaxine.
Earlier studies have demonstrated that the hippocampus, a brain region, oversees the formation and retrieval of episodic memories.
