lecture 15 | PTSD & OCD | Bartos

t/f

over a life-time more than half of the US population will experience a traumatic event that meets criteria for a PTSD stressor

true

what are risk factors for traumatic events?

female

lower education and intelligence

prior personal or family psychiatric history

childhood abuse or neglect

what is normal trauma symptoms?

developing trauma symptoms in response to a traumatic event that decrease with time and fully resolve w/in days or weeks

what are the diagnoses in trauma and stressor-related disorders?

• Reactive attachment disorder

• disinhibited social engagement disorder

• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

• Acute Stress Disorder

• Adjustment Disorder

what is the DSM-5 definition of stressor?

exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence in one (or more) of the following ways

• direct exposure

• witnessing the trauma

• learning that a relative or close friend was exposed to a trauma

• indirect exposure to aversive details of the trauma, usually in the course of professional duties

what is needed for a diagnosis of acute stress disorder?

a. exposure to a stressor

b. presence of at least 9 of the following

• Intrusion symptoms: distressing memories, distressing dreams, flashbacks, psych or physical reactions to reminders

• negative mood: blunted affect

• dissociative symptoms: amnesia for event, altered sense of reality

• avoidance symptoms: avoiding internal cues, avoiding external cues

• arousal symptoms: sleep disturbance, irritability, hypervigilance, problems w/ concentration, exaggerated startle response

what is the difference between acute stress disorder and PTSD?

acute stress disorder is shorter-lived - lasts 3 days to 4 weeks

PTSD - symptoms persist for at least 1 month

what is the neurobiology of PTSD?

-abnormalities of sympathetic branch

increased glucocorticoid receptor sensitivity in the HPA axis

dysregulation in the limbic system

overactivity of amygdala and underactivity of hippocampus and anterior cingulate cortex

define obsessions

recurrent and persistent thoughts, urges or images that are experienced as intrusive and unwanted

define compulsions

repetitive behaviors or mental acts that an individual feels driven to perform in response to distress caused by an obsession or according to rules that must be applied rigidly