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Related Concept Videos

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder01:27

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric condition that arises following exposure to traumatic events such as natural disasters, forced displacement, or severe accidents. It significantly impairs individuals' ability to cope with daily activities and disrupts their emotional and psychological equilibrium.
Symptoms and Behavioral Manifestations
A spectrum of distressing symptoms characterizes PTSD. Recurrent flashbacks, where individuals involuntarily relive traumatic events, are a...
Role of Hippocampus in Memory01:19

Role of Hippocampus in Memory

The hippocampus, a critical brain structure, plays an essential role in memory processing, particularly in the formation and retrieval of memory. This small, seahorse-shaped region is located within the medial temporal lobe, with one hippocampus in each brain hemisphere. Experimental studies involving lesions in the hippocampi of rats have demonstrated significant impairments in tasks such as object recognition and maze navigation, indicating the hippocampus involvement in both recognition and...
Traumatic Memory01:20

Traumatic Memory

Emotionally traumatic events often lead to memories that are exceptionally vivid and enduring, sometimes persisting with remarkable clarity throughout an individual's life. A classic example of this phenomenon is a person who survives a car accident. Even years later, they may recall every detail of the event with startling accuracy — the screeching of the tires, the jarring impact, and the acrid smell of burning rubber. Such vividness contrasts sharply with how an individual remembers mundane...
Dissociative Disorders01:27

Dissociative Disorders

Dissociative disorders represent complex psychological conditions characterized by disruptions in consciousness, memory, identity, or perception. These disruptions cause individuals to experience a disconnection from their thoughts, emotions, and memories. The phenomenon is not merely an occasional lapse in attention but a profound alteration in mental functioning that can severely impact daily life.
Dissociative Fugue
A hallmark feature of dissociative disorders is the dissociative fugue...
Amnesia01:13

Amnesia

Amnesia is a condition marked by long-term memory loss, which impairs the ability to recall past events or create new memories.
The severity and duration of memory loss vary depending on the type and underlying cause. Amnesia is classified into two main types: retrograde and anterograde.
Retrograde amnesia is marked by the loss of memories formed before the onset of the condition. Patients may recall distant past events but often forget those occurring shortly before the incident.
Anterograde...
Dissociative Amnesia01:21

Dissociative Amnesia

Dissociative amnesia is a complex psychological condition that manifests as an inability to recall personal information, often tied to traumatic or stressful events. Unlike general amnesia, individuals with this condition retain the ability to perform routine activities and procedural tasks, such as operating a phone or navigating public transportation, yet experience profound gaps in autobiographical memory. These lapses may encompass significant life events, such as suicide attempts or...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 1, 2026

Investigations on Alterations of Hippocampal Circuit Function Following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
10:59

Investigations on Alterations of Hippocampal Circuit Function Following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Published on: November 19, 2012

Hippocampal dysfunction effects on context memory: possible etiology for posttraumatic stress disorder.

Dean T Acheson1, Jodi E Gresack, Victoria B Risbrough

  • 1Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), Veterans Affairs VISN22, CA, USA.

Neuropharmacology
|May 21, 2011
PubMed
Summary

Hippocampal dysfunction may explain why individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) experience fear in safe contexts. Poor hippocampal function could lead to generalized fear responses, contributing to PTSD development.

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Developing Neuroimaging Phenotypes of the Default Mode Network in PTSD: Integrating the Resting State, Working Memory, and Structural Connectivity
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Developing Neuroimaging Phenotypes of the Default Mode Network in PTSD: Integrating the Resting State, Working Memory, and Structural Connectivity

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Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 1, 2026

Investigations on Alterations of Hippocampal Circuit Function Following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
10:59

Investigations on Alterations of Hippocampal Circuit Function Following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Published on: November 19, 2012

Developing Neuroimaging Phenotypes of the Default Mode Network in PTSD: Integrating the Resting State, Working Memory, and Structural Connectivity
10:43

Developing Neuroimaging Phenotypes of the Default Mode Network in PTSD: Integrating the Resting State, Working Memory, and Structural Connectivity

Published on: July 1, 2014

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Psychiatry
  • Cognitive Psychology

Background:

  • Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with hippocampal volume reductions and functional impairments.
  • The precise role of hippocampal dysfunction in the etiology and maintenance of PTSD remains unclear.
  • Individuals with PTSD exhibit fear responses to trauma reminders in contexts where danger is not present.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine clinical and preclinical literature supporting the theory of hippocampal dysfunction as a primary factor in PTSD etiology.
  • To discuss future research directions for testing hypotheses related to hippocampal function in PTSD.

Main Methods:

  • Review of clinical and preclinical literature on hippocampal function and PTSD.
  • Analysis of animal studies on hippocampal roles in associative learning and contextual memory.
  • Examination of human neuroimaging findings in PTSD.

Main Results:

  • Animal studies indicate the hippocampus is crucial for associating contextual stimuli with aversive events.
  • Disruption of hippocampal function favors learning discrete cue associations over configural associations.
  • This suggests impaired hippocampal function may bias individuals towards forming generalized fear responses.

Conclusions:

  • Hippocampal dysfunction is proposed as a primary contributory factor to PTSD etiology.
  • Impaired configural memory due to hippocampal dysfunction may lead to fear generalization.
  • Further research is needed to validate the role of the hippocampus in PTSD development and maintenance.