What are the most common causes of post-traumatic stress disorder?
The causes of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) do center around a traumatic event. We do know that different types of trauma are associated with different risks for developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the future. So for example, if you are the victim of crime or held hostage or victim of a sexual assault thats associated with a very high risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). If you've been involved in a natural disaster such as a hurricane or flood, that's something that probably isn't as likely to cause post-traumatic stress disorder compared to some of the earlier examples. We can actually construct a spectrum of various traumas and associate the relative risk for developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In terms of the brain structures that are involved in developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) some research points to the amygdala and hippocampus. These structures are important because they are involved in memory. If you recall the diagnostic criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), one of the hallmarks is a real and intrusive recollection or reliving the events. So this points to something going on with memory circuits. So there's research that's going on right now that's trying to figure out whether there are ways to prevent or reverse this enhanced memory of a traumatic event. Some believe that if that can be understood, it might be possible to even prevent PTSD from developing in patients who, in people who've been traumatized. Or it might lead to other kinds of interventions for treating it.
