This is a long post Here is what I have found in my research into PTSD, I will admit right from the start that I know I have a controversial opinion that PTSD is curable. Because this site doesn't allow links to other sites, and some of my documents have been printed out, or are in texts, I will just be referencing what is relative to this discussion, as I don't want to have to type 20 pages. To begin with I will quote Dr. Mark Goulston, writer of Post traumatic stress for dummies, I have included this for people who may not be aware of the possibilities of brain damage from PTSD:
“When researchers look at the brains of people with PTSD, they see some interesting differences. However, there's a big chicken-and-egg problem: Do these differences increase your risk for PTSD, or do they result from PTSD? It's a question experts can't answer for sure yet, although they have some clues. One of the most consistent findings in people with PTSD is that many of them have smaller-than-average hippocampus. The hippocampus is a little seahorse-shaped part of the brain. There's one on the left sideof your brain and one on the right. This little brain region is a hard worker whose main job is to help you store new memories. Unfortanetly it is highly susceptible to stress. But her's the question: Does the stress of trauma and its aftermath cause the hippocampus to shrink in people with PTSD or is it the other way around? That is, are people with small hippocampi (that's plural) more prone to develop PTSD after a trauma? Or – another possibility - could a mix of both scenerios occur? Here are some studies that come down on different sides of the issue:
A few years ago, a twin study looked at two groups of men. The first group included Vietnam vets who developed PTSD and thier non-vet twins who did not have PTSD In the second group were vets who didn't develop PTSD and their non-vet twins (who also didn't have PTSD)
The study found that the military vets with PTSD had smaller hippocampi than the vets without PTSD (no surpirse there). But her's the kicker: their non-combat twins also had smaller hippocampi than either the non=PTSD military vets or thier twins. So this study clearly pointed to a mall hippocampus as a risk factor for PTSD.
On the flip side, many studies show the chronic elevation of cortisol, a stress-related hormone, can damage brain cells leading to smaller hippocampus. These studies point the finger at the trauma itself and the resulting stress as the causes of hippocampal shrinkage” Here is a look at a new study Quoted from J. Douglas Bremner, M.D “How Psychological Trauma Affects the Hippocampus and Memory":
Childhood abuse and other sources of extreme stress can have lasting effects on the parts of the brain that are involved in memory and emotion. The hippocampus, in particular, seems to be very sensitive to stress.8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16 Damage to the hippocampus from stress can not only cause problems in dealing with memories and other effects of past stressful experiences, it can also impair new learning.17,18 Exciting recent research has shown that the hippocampus has the capacity to regenerate nerve cells ("neurons") as part of its normal functioning, and that stress impairs that functioning by stopping or slowing down neuron regeneration.19,20””
Although related to depression more studies "How does your brain work in depression?" Two of the structures in your brain that are important not only in depression but also in stress and trauma are the hippocampus and the amygdala. These structures are located in the limbic system, or the primitive, reptilian part of the brain: the part of the brain responsible for “fight or flight,” the part of the brain responsible for our basic survival instincts. In depressed people whose depression was left untreated by antidepressants or therapy, the hippocampus was physically reduced by 10%. This reduction affects memory, because there are fewer cells to process memory. This finding was reported in the American Journal of Psychiatry. In individuals who received antidepressant medication, no such shrinkage was found.” According to Wikipedia, London cab drivers from having to know all the routes have an increased hippocampus Early research is showing that it is possible to re-grow the hippocampus “stress causes high levels of cortisol, the "fight or flight" hormone. It used to be thought that new brain cells are not created after physical maturity, but now it's known that new brain cells grow on a brain structure called the hippocampus, and that cortisol diminishes growth of new brain cells on the hippocampus, and apparently serotonin facilitates regrowth of brain cells on the hippocampus.”
The use of SSRI anti depressants and excersise increase seretonin levels helping the hippocampus here is an excerpt from Ron Sterling, M.D., on the subject “After you read this column you will be able to impress your friends with at least three big words. Those words are corticotropin releasing factor (CRF), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and the hippocampus. You probably already know that the latest antidepressants increase certain already existing chemicals in our brains such as serotonin. You might also know that antidepressants can take a long time to work. There is a reason for why it takes a while for them to work and it has to do with the regrowth of nerve cells, not just an increase in certain chemicals in the brain. CRF is the main culprit in depression. Stress dramatically increases CRF levels in the human brain. CRF is toxic to nerve cells in the hippocampus.
"So, Dr. Ron, what is the hippocampus?" Think of the hippocampus as a horseshoe-shaped brain structure that sits inside the brain. It's two ends point forward and it crosses from one side to the other toward the back of the head. It contains most of the norepinephrine and serotonin found in the brain. It is essentially our mood control centre. By using special MRI imaging techniques, many studies have found a link between a smaller hippocampus and moderate to severe depression. What makes a hippocampus smaller? Right, high CRF levels shrink the hippocampus. You might wonder how people who are always stressed avoid having their hippocampus damaged and ending up depressed. That is where BDNF comes in. BDNF is made by nerve cells and it stimulates them to grow and make more connections to other nerve cells. The hippocampus normally has large amounts of BDNF. However, under stress, BDNF in the hippocampus of rats can be dramatically depleted. So, the cycle goes like this: Stress increases CRF; high CRF levels damage the hippocampus; stress decreases BDNF; nerve cells lose the ability to produce certain chemicals; depression follows. Is there anything that can help? In rats, either Prozac-type antidepressants or exercise alone increase BDNF levels and protect against the bad effects of CRF.
"So, Dr. Ron, what does rat research have to do with humans?" I forgot to tell you one other thing about the hippocampus. It is one of the "oldest" parts of the brain. Unlike the cerebral cortex, that huge, new, added-on part of the human brain that makes us the thinking animals that we are, the hippocampus exists in almost all mammals, in a similar form and having a similar function as it does in humans. No tool yet exists to measure BDNF in the human hippocampus. However, given what we know about human CRF levels and stress, the relationship between a smaller hippocampus and depression, and how antidepressants actually help the hippocampus regrow, it all fits -- CRF bad, BDNF good! Exercise good!”
This is from an article quoting many resources “Is there hope? Yes. "Brain cell growth. For decades it has been considered a fundamental truth that adult brains never grow new cells. But one of the most exciting recent discoveries in memory research is that neurons do multiply." "EMDR therapy combines a somatic therapeutic approach with eye movements or other forms of rhythmical stimulation, such as hand taps or sounds that stimulate and integrate the left and right hemispheres of the brain." “ Another article, with many resources “A first bilateral MRI-based measurement of hippocampal volume was obtained at baseline, when the patient met the CAPS criteria for a PTSD diagnosis and the total score on the DTS was 51. The baseline hippocampus volumes were 2,838.91 mm3 for the left hippocampus and 3,259.00 mm3 for the right hippocampus. After 8 weeks of EMDR treatment (one 90 minute session/week), the patient no longer met the CAPS criteria for PTSD and the DTS total score had decreased from 51 to 8. The second MRI showed that the left and right hippocampus volumes were 3,196.24 and 3,599.40 mm3 respectively. Therefore, the increase in hippocampus volume was 357.33 mm3 (left) and 340.40 mm3 (right) respectively. “ Okay there are some studies, I may believe in them more strongly than others, but from these articles and others I see that an increase in Seritone levels, excercise, reduced stress that comes with coping skills learnt with PTSD that the brain can regrow.
