An Integrative View on the Biopsychology of Stress and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Abstract

An alarming propensity of various psychological and physiological disease states are associated with stress and trauma-related illnesses such as PTSD. This underscores the necessity to adopt a comprehensive and integrative perspective. Therefore, this chapter elucidates an integrative biopsychological view derived from interdisciplinary fields of research: clinical psychology, neuroscience, genetics and epigenetics, psychoneuroimmunology, mitochondria, and gut microbiota. The first section summarises the effect of traumatic stress, traumatic load, the role of the fear/trauma network linked with PTSD. The next section reviews latest findings on brain and cognitive alterations in PTSD and proposes a model that aims to provide a novel perspective on different treatment approaches. The third section outlines the prospective role of genetics and epigenetic alterations in PTSD. The fourth section provides pivotal insights from biomolecular studies on the role of altered mitochondrial functioning, oxidative stress, and immune regulation in psychological/traumatic stress and PTSD. Gut microbiota research is gaining momentum, hence the final section outlines the implications of gut microbiota in stress and PTSD. Overall, we have endeavoured to provide a state-of-the-art integrative view on the biopsychology of PTSD and its comorbidities.