Lesion To The Right Amygdala

[ikop]

It is known that the right amygdala is the center of fear and responsible for most symptoms of PTSD.

My qustion is why not not to make a small lesion in the right amygdla - it probably will lead to a significant Reducing of hyperarosual ,startle response etc, much more than any drug


They do lesion to in the thalamus with a 75-100 % reduction ofessential tremor.

It is surgical possible. No doubt about it .

And you should know people without amygdala can not experience fear at all , but I am talking only about a small tissue reduction in the amygdala .

It should be much more effectibe than drugs , cbt, emdr and even ganglion block.

So why not ???

Here are 2 links

A rat with amygdala

A rat with lesion to the amygdla

Look at the behavioral differences.

And I am not talking about removing it, just make a small tissue lesion.

Just think about it . It is not fiction . It can be done even today

 

[Flamengo]

Can you have your amygdla surgically removed? :) I want to take mine out! LOL!

I had a procedure called Stellate Glanglion block which has been around since the 20s but being looked at for PTSD. (Dr. Lipov in Chicago has used it) It supposedly numbs that bundle of nerves which then turns off the sympathetic nervous system and allows the brain to heal from PTSD. I wonder if it works in a similar manner which you suggest. I wish I could just remove my amyglda; I'm sick of living this way.

 

[ikop]

There is no need to remove the amygdala. There are two options. One is irreversible (lesion) the second one is reversible (dbs). There is a treatment called dbs - deep brain stimulation.

"Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a surgical treatment involving the implantation of a medical device called a brain pacemaker, which sends electrical impulses to specific parts of the brain. DBS in select brain regions has provided remarkable therapeutic benefits for otherwise treatment-resistant movement and affective disorders such as chronic pain, Parkinson's disease, tremor and dystonia" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_brain_stimulation.

Instead of making a lesion to the amygdala it is possible to target this regeion with DBS. There will be a human tirals for this procedure in the near future.

Two years ago they did this procedure to traumatized rats and the DBS normalized their behavior. "Deep brain stimulation of the amygdala alleviates post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in a rat model." http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20537659

It is very likely that DBS will result in supressing the hyper startle response, hyperarusoal, hypervigilance and diminish overall anxiety and feeling of threat.

What we can do is , propagandize the option of targeting the amygdala with DBS, by writing about it in forums, sending letters to doctors, researchers, telling about this option to the VA and etc, in order to make the treatment available for severe unresponsive types of PTSD.

If it is used for depression, ocd and essential tremor (80% reduction of tremor) there is no reason it could no be used for PTSD. The tech is available and not new, only the aplication.

 

[Flamengo]

WOW! I'm going to try to reach the people on that ncbi and inquire about having this done! I'm willing to join in spreading the word about this being a possible answer to PTSD.