Prompt Cast
The Neuroscience of Fear, Trauma, and PTSD: Extinguishing Fears and Alleviating Symptoms
TLDR This podcast explores the neuroscience of fear, trauma, and post-traumatic stress disorders, discussing ways to extinguish fears and alleviate symptoms using behavioral therapies, drug therapies, and brain-machine interfaces. It covers topics such as the HPA axis, the amygdala, endogenous opioids, fear extinction, narrative therapy, EMDR, social connection, ketamine and MDMA as potential treatments, the role of the insular cortex, breathing protocols, and legal substances for anxiety and PTSD.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
The podcast discusses the neuroscience of fear, trauma, and post-traumatic stress disorders, as well as the ways to extinguish fears and alleviate symptoms using behavioral therapies, drug therapies, and brain-machine interfaces.
07:19
The HPA axis is a three-part system in the brain that triggers the release of stress hormones and chemicals, which can create long-lasting fear responses and even change gene expression, but can also be leveraged to extinguish fear responses and replace them with non-fearful associations.
14:39
The amygdala is a critical component of the threat reflex and is responsible for generating fear responses by integrating various types of information, and it has multiple outputs that can trigger different brain areas and responses such as freezing, fight, flight, and the release of endogenous opioids.
21:43
Endogenous opioids are released in response to threats or perceived threats, numbing us against pain, while the amygdala also activates the dopamine system associated with reward and addiction, and the prefrontal cortex allows for top-down processing to override reflexes and provide a new narrative to the threat response.
28:52
Fear is our ability to attach narrative, meaning, and purpose to the generic response of the threat reflex, and while fear can be an adaptive response, certain memories can be dangerous and limit our behavior in maladaptive ways, and the fear system is designed to embed memories of previous experiences in order to activate the threat reflex in anticipation of future events.
36:26
The fear system can be activated by one-time traumatic events or by a series of experiences, and the fear response is mediated by changes in synaptic strengths and the activation of the NMDA receptor, which can be weakened to undo fears and traumas.
43:47
Behavioral therapies, such as prolonged exposure therapy, cognitive processing, and cognitive behavioral therapy, have been shown to reduce fears and traumas by using language to retell and recount traumatic events, gradually diminishing the anxiety response with each retelling.
51:32
Retelling traumatic or fearful events in detail can gradually diminish the fear response, leading to fear extinction and the formation of new non-traumatic associations.
59:10
Narrative is a powerful tool for rewiring our fear circuitry and forming new relationships to previously traumatic or fearful events, and therapies like EMDR may work by reducing activation of the amygdala and related circuitries through lateral eye movements.
01:06:50
EMDR therapy is most effective for single event traumas or fearful experiences that can be described within a brief narrative, but it does not fully tap into all aspects of extinguishing and relearning associated with fear and trauma, and social connection is important for reducing the levels of tachycinin and mitigating the effects of trauma and fear.
01:14:48
Social isolation amplifies fear and trauma, while social interactions can relieve fear and trauma by diminishing the levels of tachycinin and suppressing the circuits associated with fear and trauma.
01:22:52
Ketamine and MDMA are being explored for their potential in treating trauma and fear by inducing dissociation and remapping new emotional experiences onto old ones, respectively.
01:30:22
MDMA leads to increased levels of dopamine and serotonin, resulting in feelings of connection and resonance, and the release of oxytocin, which is associated with bonding, making it a potentially useful treatment for trauma.
01:38:24
A recent study published in the journal Science explores the role of the insular cortex in assessing and reducing fear and anxiety, and suggests that through a simple protocol, the relationship between external events and internal responses can be recalibrated to potentially reduce fear and trauma.
01:46:05
Researchers have found that specific breathing protocols, such as calming breathing and cyclic hyperventilation, can have significant effects on stress reduction and autonomic arousal, potentially providing relief from trauma, anxiety, and PTSD.
01:53:17
Deliberate self-directed entry into short bouts of stress can be a promising approach for alleviating trauma and fear, but caution should be taken, especially for those with anxiety or panic disorders.
02:00:34
Cava, saffron, and inositol are three legal over-the-counter substances that have shown promising effects in reducing anxiety and improving symptoms of PTSD and trauma.
Categories:
Health & Fitness
Science
