Brain tissue analysis may help explain enduring mysteries about PTSD
A post-mortem analysis of brain tissue from people who had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may help explain enduring mysteries about the disorder, such as why women are more susceptible to it and whether a dampened immune system response plays a role in dealing with stress, a team headed by Yale University researchers has found.
The analysis of gene expression patterns in brain tissue located in four regions of the prefrontal cortex areas of the brain associated with higher cognitive function and executive control revealed distinct differences in those who had been diagnosed with PTSD and those who had not. Major differences in gene activity particularly affected two cell types in PTSD patients interneurons, which inhibit neural activity, and microglia, immune system cells in the central nervous system, the researchers report Dec. 21 in the journal
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A post-mortem analysis of brain tissue from people who had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may help explain enduring mysteries about the disorder, such as why women are more susceptible to it and whether a dampened immune system response plays a role in dealing with stress, a team headed by Yale University researchers has found.
The analysis of gene expression patterns in brain tissue located in four regions of the prefrontal cortex areas of the brain associated with higher cognitive function and executive control revealed distinct differences in those who had been diagnosed with PTSD and those who had not. Major differences in gene activity particularly affected two cell types in PTSD patients interneurons, which inhibit neural activity, and microglia, immune system cells in the central nervous system, the researchers report Dec. 21 in the journal