["PTSD And The Brain" Presented by the National Center for PTSD.]
Today, we're going to talk about the neurobiology of your post traumatic stress disorder.
[Dr. Stoltz, a doctor in his 60s, stands at a whiteboard in front of a group of his patients.]
We'll focus on several parts of your brain that we understand best.
[We see an image of a brain on the whiteboard.]
Here are the amygdala, the hippocampus, and the prefrontal cortex.
And for this, I will need a brave volunteer.
[Tony, a young man in the group, raises his hand to volunteer.]
Wonderful! Come on up, Tony.
The body includes an ancient stress response system. Tony, do you have any idea what that might be?
Tony: Yeah - the fight, flight, or freeze thing; right?
Precisely.
[Tony joins Dr. Stoltz at the whiteboard. There is a marble machine on the desk next to the whiteboard.]
Here, take a look at this marble machine.
The body's fight, flight, or freeze stress response system is complicated, but I'll show you the most important stuff.
Imagine that you just confronted a life-threatening situation, which shall we say, gets the marble moving.
[Dr. Stoltz hands Tony a marble. Tony drops the marble onto the track at the top of the marble machine.]
The response system kicks into high gear, and most often, when the dangerous situation ends,
the fight, flight, freeze response shuts off.
Tony: Ding! [Dr. Stoltz chuckles]
[The marble hits a bell at the bottom of the track.]
But with PTSD, your stress response system doesn't know when to quit.
Tony, would you be comfortable sharing what PTSD is like for you?
Tony: Well, I got back from Afghanistan about a year ago, but I'm still anxious or angry all the time.
I don't sleep well . . . I'm . . . it's like I'm always on guard.
[Dr. Stoltz writes the words, 'Traumatic Event' on the whiteboard just above the image of the brain.
So when Tony, or any of you for that matter, experienced your trauma,
the amygdala, your brain's threat detector, set the stress response system into motion.
[Dr. Stoltz taps the whiteboard to make images of lightning bolts appear that points toward the brain
to show that traumatic events can affect the brain.]
Your body released adrenaline and other stress hormones, giving you that surge of energy
that helped you respond to the threat.
[Dr. Stoltz writes, "Stress Hormones" on the whiteboard, and the image of the brain fills with color
to show the stress hormones working after a traumatic event.]
Tony: But, my deployment was over a year ago.
Yes, that's where the hippocampus comes in.
It converts short-term to long-term memory,
and helps you remember where and when danger happens so that you can avoid it in the future.
With PTSD, something could remind you of that trauma,
and your hippocampus wrongly assumes that you're in that situation again.
[Dr. Stoltz moves back to the marble machine. He adjusts some angles on the track
and places a trampoline at the end of a ramp in the middle of the marble machine.]
That sends a signal to your amygdala that it's time to go, go, go . . . this happens over and over again.
[Dr. Stoltz drops five marbles onto the track.
All the marbles shoot off the ramp and fly at Tony. He can't catch them.]
Eventually, in more and more situations, you can't deal with things like you used to;
and it's hard to feel good about anything.
Tony: So, what can I do?
First, you need to know that your brain is flexible. It can adapt.
Your brain's prefrontal cortex is responsible for thinking, planning, decision-making,
and shutting down the stress response.
When you have PTSD and your amygdala is firing so much,
it's hard to put the brakes on.
With practice, you can bring your prefrontal cortex and amygdala back into balance.
Evidence-based talk therapies can teach your mind and body to more effectively cope with stress.
Talk therapy can strengthen your prefrontal cortex to help you stop
the stress response system from going into overdrive.
Certain medications can help you manage PTSD symptoms too.
You have options.
The best thing to do is talk with your provider about the best plan for you.
Finally, check out the National Center for PTSD at: WWW.PTSD.VA.GOV
They have so many resources for you: videos, brochures, mobile apps . . .
[Dr. Stoltz hands a business card to Tony. On it is the contact information for the National Center for PTSD.]
Tony: Thanks! I'll check it out.
If you feel you may be experiencing PTSD, talk with your healthcare provider.
[We cut to an image of a marble rolling down the track.]
And be sure to go to the National Center at: WWW.PTSD.VA.GOV today to learn more.