Neurophysiological Considerations in the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder A Neurocognitive Perspective

• Published in: International Handbook of Traumatic Stress Syndromes pp. 795 - 801
• Main Author: Everly, George S.
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Boston, MA Springer US
• Series: The Plenum Series on Stress and Coping
• Subjects: Limbic System; Posttraumatic Stress Disorder; Ptsd Patient; Relaxation Response; Traumatic Event
• ISBN: 9781461362197; 1461362199
• DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4615-2820-3_67

With the exception of the sudden death phenomenon, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) represents the single most severe and recalcitrant variant of pathogenetic stress arousal known to modern medicine (Everly, 1989). Its symptomatology includes both psychiatric and somatic manifestations (Everly, 1989) which often prove to be enigmatic to traditional treatment approaches. In this chapter, I will offer a reconsideration of the neurophysiology of PTSD wherein PTSD is viewed within the context of the “disorders of arousal” nosological genre as formulated in earlier research (Everly & Benson, 1989). Such a reformulation will give rise to a neurophysiological rationale for the use of therapeutic interventions designed to lower the “state-and-trait” levels of neurophysiological arousal within the PTSD patient. Indeed, it may be argued that successful treatment of the PTSD patient is contingent upon the successful diminution of manifest arousal.