Neurobiology of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and its Frontostriatal Implications: a short review

Abstract

Throughout its evolutionary course, stress has remained as an adaptive response to stimuli that may jeopardize the integrity of an organism. Within this perspective, we can classify the stressors as psychological,physical or harmful to cardiovascular stability. However, when intense stressful events occur, there is a possibility of developing PTSD. This disorder makes use of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, which is commonly activated during stress and is kept activated even when the stressful stimulus has ended months ago. The consequences of this condition are observed at the neuroendocrine, neurochemical and anatomical level. This review aims to give a brief report of the neurobiology of stress, PTSD, and its implications in various structures,such as the amygdala, hippocampus and prefrontal cortex.