Neural Network Architecture in Respnse to Traumatic Stress: Psychophysiology of the Defence Cascade and Implications for PTSD and Dissociative Disorders

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Thomas Elbert
• Subject Area: Personality Psychology, Clinical and Medical Psychology, Methodology
• Term: from 2006 to 2014
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 23057254

This project investigates structural and functional changes in the brain of individuals who have experienced severe and repetitive traumatic stress. It aims 1) to link specific structural and functional alterations of the brain to characteristics of the stress (such as frequency and type of stressor, developmental period during which stressors occurred), 2) to relate these changes to the behavioural and clinical symptoms of trauma spectrum disorders, and 3) prospectively in longitudinal investigations and in collaboration with project B6, to see whether and how cerebral indicators of trauma-induced alterations are modified over time and by therapeutic intervention.

• DFG Programme: Research Units
• Subproject of: FOR 751: The Science of Social Stress (SOSS): Understanding the Interaction of Mind, Brain and Culture in the Response and Adaptation to Stress
• Participating Person: Dr. Margarete Schauer