Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common and severe psychiatric disorder precipitated by exposure to a psychologically distressing event. PTSD is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. PTSD is characterized by the presence of three distinct, but co-occurring, symptom clusters. Reexperiencing symptoms describe spontaneous, often insuppressible intrusions of the traumatic memory in the form of images or nightmares that are accompanied by intense physiological distress. Avoidance symptoms involve restricting thoughts and distancing oneself from reminders of the event, as well as more generalized emotional and social withdrawal. Hyperarousal symptoms reflect more overt physiological manifestations, such as insomnia, irritability, impaired concentration. The estimated lifetime prevalence of PTSD among adult Americans is about 8%, with women (10%) twice as likely as men (5%) to have PTSD at some point in their lives.Research evidence suggests that PTSD has a neurobiological basis. Stressful events in early life affect the neural circuit associated with fear related processes, and consequently may alter the lifelong sensitivity to emotional stress. Current research on the neurobiology of PTSD include the utilization of functional brain imaging; molecular genetic research; the incorporation of cross-system research including neuroendocrine, neurochemical, and neuroimmunological systems. The future of PTSD neurobiological research will center upon efforts to integrate the disparate findings within and among numerous biological systems. The results of the most recent research studies will be presented in this book. “Neurobiology of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder” is mostly for M.D. or Ph.D. level professionals but may be of significant interest to mental health counselors, medical and psychology students, and lay people.
Publisher: Nova Science Publishers

Editors: Leo Sher and Alexander Vilens

Table of Contents:

Preface

Part I. Pathophysiology and clinical manifestations of PTSD

Chapter 1. Structural and functional neuroimaging in PTSD: A Neurobiological update
Jeffrey Chee Leong Looi^1,2, Marco Pagani³, Davide Nardo⁴, Beverley Raphael¹ and Lars-Olof Wahlund².
¹Australian National University Medical School, Canberra, Australia; ²Karolinska Institute, Huddinge, Stockholm, Sweden; Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, Rome, Italy; ³Karolinska Hospital, Solna, Stockholm, Sweden; ⁴Sapienza University of Rome, Italy

Chapter 2. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) studies in PTSD
Noriyuki Kitayama.
Kitayama Clinic, Tokyo, Japan; Showa University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan

Chapter 3. Voxel based morphometric study of brain structure in patients with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Yang Chunlan¹, Wu Shuicai1, Bai Yanping¹, Hou Cailan² and Gao Hongjian¹.
¹College of Life Science and Bioengineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, China; ²Institute of Mental Health, Central South University, Changsha, China

Chapter 4. Reward and motivational systems in post-traumatic stress disorder
Igor Elman, Evelyne Tschibelu, Steven Lowen and David Borsook.
McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, Massachusetts, USA

Chapter 5. Representation of reward in PTSD
Uta Sailer.
University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

Chapter 6. Genetic substrates of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Review of extant research and neurobiologically informed future directions
Ananda B. Amstadter¹, Kristyn Zajac¹, Nicole R. Nugent² and Karestan C. Koenen³.
¹Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, US; ²Bradley Hasbro Children’s Research Center, Providence, Rhode Island, US; ³Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Chapter 7. Early postnatal stress and emotional vulnerability – Focus on neural circuits underlying fear memory in rats-
Machiko Matsumoto, Hiroko Togashi.
School of Pharmaceutical Science, Health Sciences University of Hokkaido, Ishikari-Tobetsu, Hokkaido, Japan

Chapter 8. Neurobiology of PTSD: Effects on the spinal cord
Hirotaka Sakamoto^1,2, S. Marc Breedlove³, Mitsuhiro Kawata².
¹Okayama University, Kashino, Ushimado, Setouchi, Okayama, Japan; ²Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kawaramachi-Hirokoji, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan; ³Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA

Chapter 9. Sleep disturbances in Posttraumatic stress disorder
Mitsunari Habukawa, Masaharu Maeda, Naohisa Uchimura.
Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan

Chapter 10. Neurobiology of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Childhood and Adolescence
Panagiota Pervanidou, Gerasimos Kolaitis and George P. Chrousos.
Athens University Medical School, Aghia Sophia Children’s Hospital, Athens, Greece

Chapter 11. EEG asymmetries in survivors of severe motor accidents: Association with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and its treatment as well as Posttraumatic Growth
Sirko Rabe¹ and Anke Karl².
¹Saxonian Hospital Großschweidnitz, Saxony, Germany; ²School of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, U.K.

 

Part II. Comorbidity of PTSD with other psychiatric or neurological disorders

Chapter 12. Developmental traumatic experiences, PTSD and substance abuse vulnerability: The neurobiological link
Gilberto Gerra¹, Lorenzo Somaini², Amir Zaimovic³, Maria Lidia Gerra⁴, Icro Maremmani⁵, Mario Amore⁴ and Roberto Ciccocioppo⁶.
¹Health and Human Development Section, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Vienna, Austria; ²Addiction Treatment Centre, Local Health Unit, Biella, Italy; ³Addiction Treatment Centre, Local Health Unit, Parma, Italy; ⁴University of Parma, Parma, Italy; ⁵University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy; ⁶University of Camerino, Camerino, Italy

Chapter 13. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)
Magda Tsolaki.
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece

Chapter 14. Traumatic stress, PTSD and complex partial seizure-like symptoms
Petr Bob.
Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic

Chapter 15. Brain adenosine signaling in psychological trauma and comorbid depression
Thomas R. Minor, Traci N. Plumb, Christopher J. Schell and Anh K. Pham.
University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA

Chapter 16. Traumatic stress, depression and suicide
Leo Sher.
Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York, USA

 

Part III. Pharmacotherapy and treatment development

Chapter 17. Pharmacotherapy of PTSD: An evidence-based review
Lakshmi N. Ravindran¹, Murray B. Stein² and Arun V. Ravindran¹.
¹University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; ²University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA

Chapter 18. The role of NMDA receptors in the pathophysiology and treatment of anxiety syndromes
Viviane Labrie^1,2 and John C. Roder^1,2.
¹Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; ²University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Chapter 19. Extinction of fear conditioning: Relevance of recent findings for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder
Lia R.M. Bevilaqua, M. Cammarota, J.H. Medina and I. Izquierdo.
Pontificia Universidade Catolica de Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brasil; Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Chapter 20. A Preliminary Look at the Potential Role of the Endocannabinoid System in the Management of PTSD
George A. Fraser
Mental Health Services, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Chapter 21. The use of anesthesia in an animal model of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Vinuta Rau, Michael S. Fanselow and Edmond I Eger.
University of California, San Francisco, California, USA

Chapter 22. Translational neuroscience and treatment development for posttraumatic stress disorder
Leo Sher.
Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York, USA

Index