Research Pinpoints Neurobiological Basis for Key PTSD Symptoms

In a new brain-imaging study, researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center have linked an opioid receptor in the brain — associated with emotions — to a narrow cluster of trauma symptoms; including sadness, emotional detachment and listlessness. The study, published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, holds important implications for targeted, personalized treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a condition that affects more than 8 million Americans. The new study confirms a growing body of evidence linking a particular set of symptoms to specific brain circuits and chemicals, and bolsters a shift within the field of psychiatry away from one-size-fits-all-treatments, and more toward individualized medication regimens that target highly specific neurobiological components. “We know from previous clinical trials that antidepressants, for example, do not work well for dysphoria and the numbing symptoms often found in PTSD,” said one of the study’s authors. “Currently, available antidepressants are just not linked specifically enough to the neurobiological basis of these symptoms in PTSD. Going forward, our study will help pave the way toward development of better options.” To read more about this study, click here.