Some individuals continue to have posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms for many years. How could the hippocampus be involved in this persistent posttraumatic stress disorder?
What will be an ideal response?
Answer: A good answer will include the following key points.
? People who develop long-lasting PTSD often have a prior history of psychological problems.
? They are also more likely to have smaller than normal hippocampi.
? MRI studies have been used to demonstrate that the hippocampal damage precedes PTSD rather than being a result of PTSD.
? The hippocampus is involved in autobiographical memory and may be the reason why some trauma survivors have difficulty in reacting to their memories as events from their past, which may be why they keep reliving them in the present.
? Many cases of PTSD seem to be a result of impaired neurological and cognitive functioning that existed before the trauma took place.
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