Trauma and Mental Health

In the U.S, approximately 61% of men and 51% of women report experiencing at least one traumatic life event. Consequently, 6 out of every 100 people (6% or 13.5 million) will develop PTSD ( “How Common Is PTSD in Adults?”, 2023). Traumatic incidents occur on a wide spectrum of severity, and the most significant encounters can have a profound effect on the socioemotional wellbeing of those impacted.

Symptoms often involve flashbacks, severe anxiety, irritability, social isolation and general loss of interest or pleasure in activities, causing strain in relationships, limiting career development and worsening quality of life. Statistics on post traumatic substance use paint a grim image of the recovery process, as those with PTSD are found to be 2 to 4 times more likely to develop addiction (46%) (McCauley et al, 2013). As a result, the healing process is often debilitating and non linear, as survivors learn to adapt and adjust to the conditions of their “new normal” while grieving what was lost from their past.

New research published in the Journal of Nature Neuroscience, reveals the brain processes trauma history differently than any other memory. Researchers analyzed 28 brain scans of patients with PTSD as they listened to  recorded narrations of their own memories, involving experiences that ranged from neutral, to sad to traumatic. The scans showed significant differences, as the sad memories demonstrated consistently high involvement of the hippocampus, which organizes and contextualizes memories.

However, when listening to the traumatic experiences, patients exhibited no hippocampal engagement, indicating the brain is in a complete different state when processing the two memories. Reflecting on their findings, Daniela Schiller a researcher at the Icahn School of Medicine described that “The brain doesn’t look like it’s in a state of memory; it looks like it is a state of present experience.” The scans revealed that the traumatic memories engage a different part of the brain known as the posterior cingulate cortex or P.C.C, which is responsible for internally directed thought patterns, such as daydreaming and introspection. The results are notable, as the P.C.C is not known to be a region involved in memory, rather one engaged in processing or organizing “internal experience”. The authors conclude by indicating “traumatic memories are not experienced as memories as such,” but as “fragments of prior events, subjugating the present moment.” (Perl et al, 2023).

These findings prove to be a groundbreaking revelation which will greatly influence future research and treatment of traumatic and mental health disorders.