Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Substance Use Disorder: Neuroimaging, Neuroendocrine, and Psychophysiological Findings

Abstract

(from the chapter) Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that results from exposure to a traumatic event. The experience of such an event is the first diagnostic criterion specified by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders-IV (DSM IV-TR; American Psychiatric Association APA], 2000), and is defined as "the experience, witnessing, or confronting of an event that involves actual or threatened death or serious injury, or other threat to one's physical integrity" (Criterion A.1) accompanied by a reaction which involves "intense fear, helplessness, or horror" (Criterion A.2). Remaining criteria specify that such a traumatic event is followed by a constellation of symptoms including persistent re-experiencing of the event (Criterion B), avoidance/ numbing (Criterion C), and increased physiological arousal (Criterion D). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved) (chapter)