This can range from a natural disaster, to sexual assault, to war.

Now in Iraq and Afghanistan 30% of soldiers are returning home to develop PTSD.

The Vietnam War was the first time that PTSD

was truly recognized as both a psychological and brain disorder. Before it had been refereed

to as shell shock. Now the diagnosis is surrounded by re-experiencing symptoms, avoidance symptoms,

and hyper-arousal symptoms.

Survival is an instinct that all people have because their fight or flight response. A fight or

flight response is caused by the sympathetic nervous system which prepares the body for

action by dialating the pupils and increasing the heart rate. In veterans with PTSD this

response is damaged since their sympathetic nervous system was so consistently alarmed during combat.

There's three brain areas that are damaged or changed in people that develop PTSD:

the amygdala, the pre-frontal cortex, and the left hippocampus.

In the limbic system, the amygdala is responsible for dealing with memories that are emotionally charged.

Studies have shown that those with PTSD have a smaller amygdala.

However, it is unknown whether this is because those with a smaller amygdala are

more apt to develop PTSD or because the trauma actually shrinks it. Further it was shown

that severity, frequency and duration of trauma does not cause the amygdala to shrink.

This suggests that it is more likely that those with a smaller amygdala are more susceptible to PTSD.

Further, the relationship between the pre-frontal cortex and the amygdala is

essential. F-MRI scans have shown the connection between the amygdala and a conditional free

response. Meanwhile, the prefrontal cortex is associated with the extinction of fear.

This suggests further that a large contributing factor to the development of PTSD is the dysfunction

of the ventral-medial prefrontal cortex- amygdala circuit. While the amygdala is considered

hyper-responsive, the prefrontal cortex is considered hypro-responsive. The hypro-responsivity

is postulated to be the reason that fear extinction occurs in people with PTSD.

One of the most prominent symptoms of PTSD are nightmares or flashbacks. These are involuntary memories of their time in combat.

Scientifically and politically there's much that can be done to help veterans suffering with PTSD.

Studies have proven that 0% percent of those with an amygdala lesson develop PTSD.

On a neurological level PTSD is a disease of the amygdala.

The answer is not no amygdala. Instead, time and money should be spent researching

weather people are born with a smaller amygdala or it shrinks after the war. Then, as a precursor

to enter any branch of the military people would have to be tested for a smaller amygdala.If

they have one, they should be given the option either to enter the army at their own risk,

or not. This could save lives. Further, at this time, there are so many nuanced ways

in which people are dealing with the issue. Virtual reality games have proved to be a

great help.It was recently found that playing Tetris can severely help those with PTSD.

For patients, focusing on the highly engaging visual, spatial task can significantly reduce the recurrence of flashbacks.

Ultimately for any progress to be made, this issue must be taken on by scientists, the government, the people, and veterans themselves.