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PTSD brain mechanisms revealed using data from survivors of 2015 Paris terrorist attacks
Memory suppression is vital to positive adaptation following traumatic experiences, according to findings of a brain imaging study conducted in survivors of a terrorist attack and published in Science.
“Our findings provide a new mechanism to explain why traumatic memories persist in some individuals but not in others,” Pierre Gagnepain, PhD, research associate at National Institute for Health and Medical Research in France, told Healio Psychiatry. “Further, they suggest that the system that allows the control over memories might, if compromised, contribute to the persistence of traumatic memories. The efficacy with which unwanted memories are controlled may help patients combat PTSD and may promote resilience.”
According to Gagnepain and colleagues, traditional PTSD models link the persistence of painful, intrusive memories to memory dysfunction. To deepen research regarding the connection between traumatic events and subsequent PTSD, the researchers implemented neutral and inoffensive intrusive memories in a lab setting among a group of 102 individuals exposed to the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks, as well as 73 nonexposed individuals who were not in Paris during the attacks. A total of 55 exposed individuals had been diagnosed with PTSD.
The researchers reported that upon reexperiencing intrusive memories, nonexposed individuals and exposed individuals without PTSD could adaptively suppress memory activity; however, exposed individuals with PTSD could not. They noted that these findings underscored that those with PTSD experience a deficiency of the mechanisms that regulate and suppress the activity of brain regions associated with memory during an intrusion, particularly that of the hippocampus. Conversely, the individuals without PTSD had the functioning of these mechanisms preserved, which allowed them to fight the intrusive memories, according to the researchers.
“These findings suggest that new treatments could be designed to stimulate and restore control capacity without appealing to trauma,” Gagnepain said. “Most current therapies for PTSD focus on the traumatic memory. Therapy focused on the control system without appealing to the trauma could be a good complement to increase the success of trauma-focused therapy.” – by Joe Gramigna
Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.