Leo Sher
Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York, USA
Neurobiology of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. Hauppauge, New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2010, 376 pages.

This chapter reports on the symposium, “Translational neuroscience may inform treatment development for posttraumatic stress disorder” (Chair – Leo Sher, M.D., Co-Chair – Alexander Neumeister, M.D.) that was held on June 28, 2009 during the 9th World Congress of Biological Psychiatry (June 28-July 2, 2009, Palace of Congresses (Le Palais des Congrès de Paris), Paris, France). Compelling animal and human data indicate that stress compromises neurotrophic functions producing neural atrophy and reducing neuroplasticity resulting in dysfunction in brain circuitry associated with PTSD. This problem has been identified as the most important priority for studies of the neurobiology of PTSD. This symposium was the first translational interdisciplinary attack on this problem, from molecular neuroscience to treatment and targets major gaps in our understanding of the neurobiology, neural circuitry, phenomenology, and treatment of PTSD. Four research works were presented at the symposium: “Early postnatal stress: Impact on neural circuits and relevance to psychophysiology” by Machiko Matsumoto (Japan), “Long term alterations in brain and neurobiology in PTSD” by Eric Vermetten (Netherlands), “Mechanisms of resilience: Lessons from PET imaging” by Alexander Neumeister (USA) and “Neurobiology of suicidal behavior in PTSD and implications for suicide prevention” by Leo Sher (USA).