Talk Therapy may Help Alleviate Symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Statistics show that approximately 7.8 percent of Americans will experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in their lifetime, with women (10.4 percent) twice as likely as men (5 percent) to develop the issue.

This psychiatric disorder can occur following the experience or witnessing of an horrific event (often war) that has traumatized an individual and can be re-lived through fearful memories.

Fortunately, there are options for those suffering from the issue, and cognitive behavioral therapy is one of them. A recent study looks at how this type of treatment can help to not only reduce symptoms but affect the underlying biology of the disorder, itself.

Lead study author Dr. Szabolcs Keri at the National Institute of Psychiatry and Addictions and University of Szeged in Hungary recruited 39 individuals diagnosed with PTSD. The control group consisted of 31 individuals who had been exposed to traumatic events but did not develop symptoms of PTSD. The individuals with PTSD then received 12 weeks of cognitive behavioral therapy and those without the symptoms received no therapy.

Before and after the study period, researchers measured volumes of certain brain regions through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and collected blood samples to measure changes in a gene expression of FKBP5, a gene that's known for developing PTSD and plays a role in regulating stress hormones.

While patients showed lower FKBP5 gene expression and smaller hippocampal and medical orbitofrontal cortex volumes that involve learning, memory and emotion regulation before the study, after the 12 week period, many positive changes were associated with the therapy. For instance, an increased FKBP5 expression was noted as well as an increased hippocampal volume.

"The results show that structural changes in the brain, such as the shrinkage of the hippocampus, are reversible in trauma victims. Talk therapy may help normalize these alterations and improve symptoms," Keri said, via a press release. "Furthermore, the regeneration of hippocampus correlated with the expression of a gene that balances the activity of the stress hormone cortisol at the level of cells."

More information regarding the study can be found via the journal Biological Psychiatry.