The document discusses post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and its effects on the brain. It describes the symptoms of PTSD which include intrusive memories, avoidance, negative changes in thinking and mood, and changes in physical and emotional reactions. It outlines the role of different parts of the brain in PTSD such as the amygdala, prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and hypothalamus. Specifically, it discusses how trauma affects these brain regions and causes long-term dysregulation of stress response systems. The document then provides an example of how PTSD treatment helped reduce symptoms in a 15-year-old boy who experienced childhood abuse.

1. UNDERSTANDING THE BRAIN:
THE NEUROBIOLOGY OF EVERYDAY LIFE
-FINAL PROJECT
PTSD
- L. Marina Clementia

2. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

3. ▪ Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder that may occur in
people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event such as a natural
disaster, a serious accident, a terrorist act, war/combat, or rape or who have been
threatened with death, sexual violence or serious injury.
(American Psychiatric Association).

5. Intrusive memories
▪ Recurrent, unwanted distressing memories of the traumatic event
• Reliving the traumatic event as if it were happening again (flashbacks)
• Upsetting dreams or nightmares about the traumatic event
• Severe emotional distress or physical reactions to something that reminds you of the
traumatic event.
Avoidance
▪ Trying to avoid thinking or talking about the traumatic event
• Avoiding places, activities or people that remind you of the traumatic event

6. Negative changes in thinking and mood
• Negative thoughts about yourself, other people or the world
• Hopelessness about the future
• Memory problems, including not remembering important aspects of the traumatic event
• Difficulty maintaining close relationships
• Feeling detached from family and friends
• Lack of interest in activities you once enjoyed
• Difficulty experiencing positive emotions
• Feeling emotionally numb

7. Changes in physical and emotional reactions
• Being easily startled or frightened
• Always being on guard for danger
• Self-destructive behavior, such as drinking too much or driving too fast
• Trouble sleeping
• Trouble concentrating
• Irritability, angry outbursts or aggressive behavior
• Overwhelming guilt or shame.
For children 6 years old and younger, signs and symptoms may also include:
• Re-enacting the traumatic event or aspects of the traumatic event through play
• Frightening dreams that may or may not include aspects of the traumatic event

8. For a person to be diagnosed with PTSD, however, symptoms
must last for more than a month and must cause significant
distress or problems in the individual's daily functioning. Many
individuals develop symptoms within three months of the
trauma, but symptoms may appear later and often persist for
months and sometimes years. PTSD often occurs with other
related conditions, such as depression, substance use, memory
problems and other physical and mental health problems.

9. PTSD AND THE BRAIN
Hypothalamus
Mid-Anterior
Cingulate Cortex
Prefrontal cortex
Hippocampus
Amygdala

10. Functions of Amygdala:
- Sets flight and fight response to the stimuli,
- The formation and storage of emotional memories,
- Fear conditioning,
- Memory consolidation
Functions of Prefrontal cortex(PFC)
- Emotional Regulation
- Initiating voluntary, conscious behaviours
- Regulating attention,
- Decision making,
- Interpretating emotions
▪

11. Functions of Mid-Anterior Cingulate Cortex:
• Emotional awareness
• Registering physical pain
• Regulating autonomic functions like heart rate and blood pressure
Functions of Hippocampus:
- Regulation of smell, spatial coding, memory(store long time memories)
- Memory consolidation.
Function of Hypothalamus:
- The hypothalamic- pituitary- adrenal axis (HPA) is the central coordinator for humans in
response to a stress.
- The hypothalamus releases hormones like cortisol that helps in managing and directing the
efforts to a stressor.
There will be dysfunctions in these areas of the brain those who are affected by PTSD.

12. Lasting effects of trauma on the brain,
showing long- term dysregulation of
norepinephrine and cortisol systems and
vulnerable areas of hippocampus,
amygdala, and medial prefrontal cortex
that are affected by the trauma .
GC, glucocorticoid.,
ACTH , adrenocorticotrophin hormone.,
CRF, corticotrophin releasing factor ., NE,
norepinephrine., HR, heart rate.,
BP, blood pressure., DA, dopamine.,
BZ, benzodiazepine.,
GC, glucocorticoid.

13. PTSD and my cousin
A 15 year old boy who has been suffering from PTSD for the
last two years. He is a verbally and physically abused kid
since his childhood. Due to the traumatic events and the
frequent conditioned thoughts about the traumatic events he
had been re-experiencing it in the nightmares. Many
counselling sessions were attended and the recovery rate
was quite high for more than 2 years and again he started to
re-experience the traumatic event which was happened in
his late-childhood. By Dr. Peggy Mason ‘s lectures about
memory – sematic and episodic memories, it helped me to
relate with the little boy’s concern.
We always remember the situations which we are
emotionally charged and we are not worried of forgetting
about the situations which we are not emotionally connected.

14. Here, all he needed is to take away the negative emotions which he was experiencing it
many times. For this process as Dr. Mason said, beta blockers will help in flight, fly and react
responses. Keeping that in my mind and the knowledge about the beta blockers as well as
doctor’s suggestion, the little one took beta blockers everyday at night. Beta blockers not only
helps in reducing the blood pressure and heart rate. It has a wide impact on PTSD too.
As the beta-blockers were in-taken by the child. He was exposed to the triggers of the
traumatic event , he could able to experience the event without any negative emotion, He
didn’t relate anything personally and thus, became free from all negative emotions of the past
and now he started seeing his parents on a different side.The little one’s memory has changed.

15. First and foremost I like to thank Dr. Peggy Mason for the wonderful course.The
University of Chicago, thank you. Coursera, for the greatest outcome thank you !. And to my
fellow peers, thank you.
Having a deep eagerness to study about human brain since my high-school, this course
about the neurobiology has nailed it.Thank you Dr. Mason for the mesmerizing sessions
once again. Learning by practicing is one of the important factor for learning something
new.The Demonstration of each and every topics made me to understand even more wider
and in bigger perspective.
The whole concept about the nervous system provided a deeper knowledge. Each and
every week of neurobiology lectures were admirable. Learning about new concepts and
the new way of approaching those concepts is my new step for the love towards
neuroscience.Thanks a ton.

16. ▪ Kessler RC., Sonnega A., Bromet E., et al. Posttraumatic stress disorder in the national
comorbidity survey. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1995;52:1048–1060.
▪ Bremner J(2006)., Traumatic stress: Effects on the brain. Dialogues clin neurosci. 8(4): 445-
461
▪ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-mindful-self-express/201809/how-ptsd-and-
trauma-affect-your-brain-functionin.
▪ https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/post-traumatic-stress-disorder/symptoms-
causes/syc-20355967.
▪ https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/ptsd/what-is-ptsd.

17. Thank you