Impact of trauma on emotional systems neurobiology

描述(申请人提供)：创伤后应激障碍(PTSD)的特征是对创伤经历的持久和侵入性记忆，以及一般的高度唤醒。目前涉及创伤后应激障碍的神经系统模型强调了情绪调节系统的异常，涉及杏仁核高反应，并伴随着来自前额叶内侧区域(如前扣带回皮质)的自上而下调节减少。然而，以前很少有研究考察创伤对杏仁核和内侧前额叶皮质之间功能相互作用的影响，特别是在参与和调节情绪唤起反应的背景下。这项拟议的研究的目的是调查创伤和创伤后应激障碍对支持和调节情绪唤醒反应的大脑区域的影响。与其他精神疾病相比，环境因素在创伤后应激障碍中具有独特的作用，因为创伤事件是创伤后应激障碍的触发因素，创伤的强度和持续时间与症状严重程度相关。此外，双胞胎研究表明，遗传因素导致了这种疾病的易感性。这项拟议研究的另一个目标是通过关注FKBP5基因的遗传多态来检验创伤后应激障碍的基因x环境交互作用模型，FKBP5是HPA轴系统中编码辅助伴侣的基因，因为危险等位基因已被证明可以预测创伤后创伤后应激障碍的发展，我们小组已经对该基因进行了广泛的研究。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is characterized by persistent and intrusive memories of traumatic experiences, and general hyper-arousal. Current models of the neural systems involved in PTSD highlight abnormalities in an emotion regulation system involving amygdala hyper-reactivity accompanied by reduced top-down regulation from medial prefrontal regions such as anterior cingulate cortex. However, few previous studies have examined the effects of trauma on functional interactions between the amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex, particularly within the context of engaging and regulating emotional arousal responses. The purpose of the proposed research is to investigate the effects of trauma and PTSD on the brain regions that support and regulate emotional arousal responses to affective stimuli. Environmental factors are uniquely involved in PTSD relative to other psychiatric disorders, as traumatic events serve as a trigger for PTSD, and the intensity and duration of trauma is correlated with symptom severity. In addition, twin studies suggest that heritable factors contribute to vulnerability to the disorder. An additional goal of the proposed research will be to examine gene x environment interaction models of PTSD by focusing on genetic polymorphisms in FKBP5, a gene coding for a co-chaperone in the HPA axis system, as risk alleles have been shown to predict PTSD development after a trauma, and this gene has been studied extensively by our group.