Trauma appears to increase activity in the amygdala.

This region of the brain helps us process emotions and is also linked to fear responses.

PTSD patients exhibit hyperactivity in the amygdala in response to stimuli that are somehow connected to their traumatic experiences. They exhibit anxiety, panic, and extreme stress when they are shown photographs or presented with narratives of trauma

victims whose experiences match theirs, or if they listen to sounds or words related to their traumatic encounters.

 

The hippocampus, the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and the amygdala are part of the neural circuitry that mediates stress.

 

The hippocampus facilitates appropriate responses to environmental stimuli, so the amygdala does not go into stress mode unnecessarily.

 

The ventromedial prefrontal cortex regulates emotional responses by

controlling the functions of the amygdala.

 

It is thus not surprising that when the hypoactive hippocampus

and the functionally-challenged ventromedial prefrontal cortex stop

pulling the chains, the amygdala gets into a tizzy.