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Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: The Many Aspects of the Cognitive Mind Ryan Bevard, Tyler Elder, Karen Funk, Kristin Kleinschmidt, Amber Phenicie, Haley Ward What is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) • Defined as an anxiety disorder that can occur after an individual has been through a traumatic event – During event the individual will think that their life or lives of others are in danger – Sense of fear over having no control to the situation Events Causing Individuals to Develop PTSD – – – – – – Child, Sexual, Physical Abuse Victims Victims of Rape Victims to Serious Accidents Natural Disasters Exposure to Combat Witnesses to any of the above situations Individuals Exposed to Combat Situations • Military Personnel • Opposing Forces/Combatants • Witnesses to Combative Actions – Morina and Ford (2008) Combat Veterans, PTSD and Injuries • Peterson, Baker, and McCarthy (2008) – 2 million personnel deployed from post Vietnam to 2007 • Schneiderman, Braver, and Kang (2008) – Mild traumatic brain injury overlapping with PTSD – Women significant population for PTSD Potential Health Risk Behaviors for Those with PTSD • Vasterling et al (2008) – Symptoms of PTSD – Smoking % – Alcoholic drinks/week in past month PTSD and the Effects of Memory • J Douglas Bremner (1999) – The Lasting Effects of Psychological Trauma on Memory and the Hippocampus •Explains damage to the Hippocampus and the effects of memory Hippocampus •Located in the Medial Temporal Lobe –Involved in Learning and Memory –Sensitive to Stress PTSD and the Hippocampus • Bremner (1999) – Correlations between victims of Child Abuse and Vietnam Veterans – Declarative Memory – Fragmentation of Memories – Dissociative Amnesia MRI of Hippocampus PTSD (Left), Normal (Right) PTSD and Decision Making • Aspects of Study – Neural Correlates and Possible Therapeutic Effects – Effects of Learned Helplessness on DecisionMaking – Development of Decision-Strategies PTSD and Thinking • Barbara C. Fisher, PhD – – – – – – Consequences of PTSD Confused Thinking due to Over-Reactivity Communication Difficulties Selective Attention Issues Emotional Distance Long Term Consequences Hallucination • is “false perception of objects or events involving the senses” – hallucinations are usually sounds of what occurred during the Traumatic event and can occur randomly throughout the person’s life – (Margoob, 2003) Perceptible Stimuli • Temperature of the body or change environment, and pain is found to be extremely sensitive to people with PSTD – alteration in the person normal responses and in their startle responses – pleasure, playfulness, negotiation, and distinguishing relevant stimuli from irrelevant stimuli” becomes hard to experience – Results in difficulty coping with normal body functions and normal situations – (Kivling-Bodén G, and Sundbom E,1996) Smell Disorders • Smelling has been linked to “emotional and aggressive behavior” – associated with schizophrenia – difficulties smelling are correlated to have a hard time “thinking feeling, and have behavioral issues” – (Griffith, 2008) Self-Perception • Person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder feels hopelessness, shame, quilt, and feeling different from others – related to the person inability to accept the fact that the traumatizing event is over (Ruzek, 2007) Nightmares and Flashbacks • Nightmares – Occur during the night as a dream – Relives the experience • Flashbacks – Occur while person is awake – Memories of past traumas – Mind sends person back to experience Research • Bremner, Behavior: The Invisible EpidemicPost Traumatic Stress Disorder, Memory – Examines how memories can be so vivid – Compared both sides of the brain • Found that the right side is active when a flashback occurs • Also there is some changes hippocampus Treatments for Flashbacks • Using the Game of Tetris – Has shown that the more that a person plays the less they will have flashbacks – Reason is that it is a visuospatial • Rapid Eye Movement • Focusing on a safe image Treatment for PTSD • Cynthia Aoki (2008) – Rewriting My Autobiography: The Legal and Ethical Implications of Memory-Dampening Agents • Discusses two main types to treating PTSD – Psychotherapy – Prescriptions Treatment: Psychotherapy • Two types of Psychotherapy • Prolonged Exposure – Focuses on relief from flashbacks and nightmares • Cognitive Therapy – Emphasizes on how the individual interpreted the traumatic event Overview of Psychotherapy • Noted as an effective form of treatment – Not all individuals using psychotherapy become symptom free – Emotional pain/distress from recall may impede the recovery of memories • May lead to prescriptions Treatment: Prescription • Antiepileptic Drugs • Antidepressant Drugs (most common) – Reduce symptoms of PTSD Mind-Dampening Agents • Preliminary studies for prescriptions that dampen the recall of traumatic memories of PTSD – Weaken the responses of PTSD and its recall to memory – Some have been known to delete the memory in its entirity • Not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Topic of Discussion • Should the U.S. Food and Drug Administration allow the production of prescriptions that can dampen or delete memory for PTSD patients?