Dr. Michael
Fanselow, a successful researcher and professor at the University of
California, Los Angeles began his lecture by mentioning the effects and
implications of PTSD. He reported that 10-20 percent of people go on to
experience PTSD symptoms due to suffering from a traumatic event. In America,
more than 8 million people ages 18 and above suffer from symptoms of PTSD. In
regards to Dr. Fanselow’s research, he goes on to talk about what happens in a
traumatic experience that could cause symptoms of PTSD in individuals. PTSD can
also lead to depression and changes in in long term mood and behavior. In Dr.
Fanselow’s articles “Induction and Expression of Fear Sensitization Caused by
Acute Traumatic Stress” he and other researchers explore the effects of corticosterone
(CORT), in stress enhanced fear learning (SEFL) within rodents. Researchers
then discovered that the SEFL is allowed by CORT to make changes to the
basolateral amygdala (BLA) through increasing the expression of excitatory
receptor GluA1 AMPA. Researchers used metyrapone, a synthesis blocker to test
the necessity of CORT. The results implied that CORT changes at moments of
stress are paramount for SEFL. The research also solidifies the idea that preventing
the up-regulation of GLuA1 helps prevent SELF from developing a stressor, thus
helping mitigate the effects of PTSD.
On the other hand,
PTSD is affected through many factors other than just manipulating receptors
within the brain. PTSD is also shown to be affected through experiments on the
immune system. In the news article titled “Immunization Could Halt
Post-Traumatic Stress” the author compiles research information from Chistopher
Lowry, a neuroscientist at the university of Colorado boulder, in which Lowry
discusses results from experiments testing the link between fear and immune
response. Lowry’s team mentions that
soldiers who have high levels of inflammatory protein CRP in their blood are
more likely to develop PTSD. In order to test the hypothesis that tweaking the
immune system directly affects fear and anxiety. Scientists injected mice with common
bacteria M. vaccae and saw that mice that
were injected were more proactive in dealing with aggressors. To test the loss
of fear and anxiety, rats were conditioned to fear a sound associated with an
electric shock to the foot. The scientists then extinguished this fear in immunized
rats and control group rats. The results showed that immunized rodents lost
symptoms of fear and anxiety much quicker than the control group. These results
could mean that clinical treatments could be effective in patients who suffer
from PTSD symptoms, as this form of immunomodulation, coupled with therapy can
speed up the process of combatting PTSD.
All in all, both
these research articles in conjunction show that PTSD is a very complex
disorder, and there are many factors which hold influence over how it affects
an individual. Treatments for symptoms of PTSD are not limited to just genetics
and receptors in the brain, but also include somatic responses as well as alterations
in the immune system. By putting together the neural and biological factors
behind PTSD, researchers can further their studies and effectiveness in treatments
regarding fear and anxiety. Through Dr. Fanselows research we can gain further
insight into the mechanisms of PTSD, and apply what we learned from Christopher
Lowry’s work to help discover an effective treatment option for those who
suffer from PTSD. I hope to see more results from these studies as a handful of
people in the states suffer from this disorder.
Works Cited
Reardon, S. (2015, June 15). Immunization
Could Halt Post-Traumatic Stress. Retrieved from
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/immunization-could-halt-post-traumatic-stress/.
Perusini, J. N., Meyer, E.
M., Long, V. A., Rau, V., Nocera, N., Avershal, J., … Fanselow, M. S. (2015).
Induction and Expression of Fear Sensitization Caused by Acute Traumatic
Stress. Neuropsychopharmacology, 41(1), 45–57. doi:
10.1038/npp.2015.224
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