My stroke was probably the most stressful event in my life. What protocol needs to be created to stop these damaging stress effects from the stroke? It looks like we might have days to treat this so possibly no need to get this done in the first hours. But never mind, NOTHING will get done on this because we have NO strategy to update and NO leadership to execute that strategy.
http://www.neuroscientistnews.com/research-news/late-effects-stress-new-insights-how-brain-responds-trauma
Mrs. M would never forget that day. She was walking along a busy road
next to the vegetable market when two goons zipped past on a bike. One
man's hand shot out and grabbed the chain around her neck. The next
instant, she had stumbled to her knees, and was dragged along in the
wake of the bike. Thankfully, the chain snapped, and she got away with a
mildly bruised neck. Though dazed by the incident, Mrs. M was fine
until a week after the incident.
Then, the nightmares began.
She would struggle and yell and fight in her sleep every night with
phantom chain snatchers. Every bout left her charged with anger and
often left her depressed. The episodes continued for several months
until they finally stopped. How could a single stressful event have such
extended consequences?
A new study by Indian scientists has gained insights into how a
single instance of severe stress can lead to delayed and long-term
psychological trauma. The work pinpoints key molecular and physiological
processes that could be driving changes in brain architecture.
The team, led by Sumantra Chattarji from the National Centre for
Biological Sciences (NCBS, India) and the Institute for Stem Cell
Biology and Regenerative Medicine (inStem), Bangalore, India, has shown
that a single stressful incident can lead to increased electrical
activity in the brain's amygdala. This activity sets in late, occurring
ten days after a single stressful episode, and is dependent on a
molecule known as the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDA-R), an ion
channel protein on nerve cells known to be crucial for memory functions.
The amygdala, a small, almond-shaped groups of nerve cells, is
located deep within the temporal lobe of the brain where it is known to
play key roles in emotional reactions, memory and making decisions.
Changes in the amygdala are linked to the development of post-traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD), a mental condition that develops in a delayed
fashion after a harrowing experience.
Previously, Chattarji's group had shown that a single instance of
acute stress had no immediate effects on the amygdala of rats. But ten
days later, these animals began to show increased anxiety, and delayed
changes in the architecture of their brains, especially the amygdala.
"We showed that our study system is applicable to PTSD. This delayed
effect after a single episode of stress was reminiscent of what happens
in PTSD patients," says Chattarji. "We know that the amygdala is
hyperactive in PTSD patients. But no one knows as of now, what is going
on in there," he adds.
Investigations revealed major changes in the microscopic structure of
the nerve cells in the amygdala. Stress seems to have caused the
formation of new synapse connections in this region of the brain.
However, until now, the physiological effects of these new connections
were unknown.
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