What Part of the Brain Does PTSD Effect?

Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is a anxiety disorder that afflicts victims of traumatic events, such as war and sexual assault. The areas of the brain that are effected by PTSD are those involved in emotion and memory.

Amygdala

• The amygdala is the part of the brain that is responsible for emotions. It is in the temporal lobe of the brain, which is in front of the hippocampus, and is deals with fear conditioning.

Hippocampus

• The hippocampus is located in the medial temporal lobe of the brain, and its function is converting short-term memories to long-term memories. The more severe the PTSD symptoms are, the smaller the hippocampus is.

Frontal Lobe

• The frontal lobe is the lobe located by the forehead, and is where working memory is. Working memory is the memory responsible for storing phone numbers and other information to be used immediately.

HPA Axis

• The HPA axis includes the hypothalamus, pituitary gland (both in the brain) and adrenal glands, which is on top of the kidney. The HPA axis is involved in the neurotransmitters noradrenaline, dopamine and serotonin.

Treatment

• PTSD patients can benefit from a combination of therapy and medication that increases the amount of serotonin or noradrenaline.