Frontal Lobe Circuitry in PTSD (1 CE)

This course is for:  Clinical Psychologists, Counselors, and Nurses

Course By: Tamara Avery, PsyD

Content By: Selemon, L. D., Young, K. A., Cruz, D. A., & Williamson, D. E. (2019). Frontal lobe circuitry in posttraumatic stress disorder. Chronic Stress, 3, 1-17. 

Course Description: Symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) include hyperarousal, avoidance of trauma-related stimuli, re-experiencing of the trauma, and mood changes. Three frontal lobe circuits were identified and focused on to understand PTSD symptomatology: 1) the conditioned fear extinction circuit, 2) the salience circuit, and 3) the mood circuit. This study focuses on the frontal cortical areas that form links in circuitry pertinent to PTSD symptoms. Network analyses reveal altered amygdala-frontal connectivity and failure to suppress the default mode network during cognitive engagement. Overall, widespread frontal lobe dysfunction in PTSD provides a neurobiologic basis for the core symptomatology of the disorder, as well as for executive function impairment.  

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify the purpose of the study and the methods related to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and cortical areas as examined in the article
2. Analyze the data by exploring the statistical tests used in conjunction with the discussed findings
3. Integrate the study limitations with the identified areas of future research

Course Outline:

• Read and understand Frontal Lobe Circuitry in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
• Review the Course Description and Learning Objectives
• Consider the factors related to cortical area abnormalities in PTSD coupled with the statistical findings from the accompanying article
• Work through the post-test questions; keep in mind that answer selections should be derived from the respective article
• Return to the article for clarification regarding frontal lobe dysfunction in PTSD, or for any missed questions

Implicit biases incorporate an association that occurs outside of conscious awareness that may resultantly lead to a negative patient evaluation derived from irrelevant characteristics, i.e., gender and/or race. A systematic review of the literature was conducted. Thirty-five studies identified the existence of implicit bias in healthcare professionals; all correlational studies evidenced a significant positive relationship between implicit bias levels and lower quality of care (FitzGerald & Hurst, 2017). Continued research in health care settings, combined with greater method homogeneity, should be employed to examine the occurrence and prevalence of implicit biases in healthcare settings as a strategic approach for mitigating related disparities (FitzGerald & Hurst, 2017).

Approvals: