The biology of post-traumatic stress disorder

Insights into the biology of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) offer great optimism for successful treatment, especially if provided at an early stage of its development. Treatment involves facilitation of the processing of deeply imprinted sensory memories of traumatic events with high survival content. The increasing prevalence of PTSD worldwide provides a huge medical challenge because of its toxic impact on individuals and society, and demands more vigorous detection and treatment. Neuroscience has emphasized the need to graft biologically based treatments to the psychosocial rootstock to make the subject truly biopsychosocial.