Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-dh8gc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-03T09:05:35.894Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Acute Stress Reactions: Can Biological Responses Predict Posttraumatic Stress Disorder?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 November 2014

Richard A. Bryant
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

What biological responses characterize those acute trauma reactions that develop into chronic psychiatric disorder? The need to understand the genesis of posttraumatic psychological disorders has resulted in much attention on biological reactions in the initial aftermath of trauma exposure. This review outlines the prevailing biological models of acute stress reaction and critiques the available evidence concerning biological responses to trauma that are associated with subsequent psychological disorder. The roles of peritraumatic dissociation and vulnerability factors for acute stress reaction are also reviewed. The major challenges for research on psychobiological responses to trauma are highlighted.

Type
Review Article
Information
CNS Spectrums , Volume 8 , Issue 9: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder , September 2003 , pp. 668 - 674
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2003

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1.Feinstein, A. Posttraumatic stress disorder: a descriptive study supporting DSM-III-R criteria. Am J Psychiatry. 1989;146:665–666.Google ScholarPubMed
2.Hillman, RG. The psychopathology of being held hostage. Am J Psychiatry. 1981;138:1193–1197.Google ScholarPubMed
3.Cardeña, E, Spiegel, D. Dissociative reactions to the San Francisco Bay Area earthquake of 1989. Am J Psychiatry. 1993;150:474–478.Google Scholar
4.Sloan, P. Post-traumatic stress in survivors of an airplane crash-landing: A clinical and exploratory research intervention. J Trauma Stress. 1988;1:211–229.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
5.Freinkel, A, Koopman, C, Spiegel, D. Dissociative symptoms in media eye-witnesses of an execution. Am J Psychiatry. 1994;151:1335–1339.Google Scholar
6.North, CS, Smith, EM, McCool, RE, Lightcap, PE. Acute postdisaster coping and adjustment. J Trauma Stress. 1989;2:353–360.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7.Bryant, RA, Harvey, AG. Initial posttraumatic stress responses following motor vehicle accidents. J Trauma Stress. 1996;9:223–234.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
8.Riggs, DS, Rothbaum, BO, Foa, EB. A prospective examination of symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder in victims of nonsexual assault. J Interpers Violence. 1995;10:201–213.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
9.Rothbaum, B, Foa, E, Riggs, D, Murdock, T, Walsh, W. A prospective examination of post-traumatic stress disorder in rape victims. J Trauma Stress. 1992;5:455–475.Google Scholar
10.Ehlers, A, Mayou, RA, Bryant, B. Psychological predictors of chronic posttraumatic stress disorder after motor vehicle accidents. J Abnorm Psychol. 1998;107:508–519.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
11.Schnyder, U, Moergeli, H. The course and development of early reactions to traumatic events: Baseline evidence from a nonintervention follow-up study. In: Orner, RJ, Schnyder, U, eds. Reconstructing Early Intervention After Trauma: Innovations in the Care of Survivors. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press; 2003:206–217.Google Scholar
12.Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 4th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association; 1994.Google Scholar
13.Spiegel, D, Koopman, C, Cardeña, E, Classen, C. Dissociative symptoms in the diagnosis of acute stress disorder. In: Michelson, LK, Ray, WJ, eds. Handbook of Dissociation: Theoretical, Empirical, and Clinical perspectives. New York, NY: Plenum Press; 1996:367–380.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
14.Harvey, AG, Bryant, RA. Acute stress disorder: a synthesis and critique. Psychol Bull. 2002;128:886–906.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
15.Bryant, RA. Early predictors of posttraumatic stress disorder. Biol Psychiatry. 2003;53:789–795.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
16.Charney, DS, Deutch, AY, Krystal, JH, Southwick, SM, Davis, M. Psychobiologic mechanisms of posttraumatic stress disorder. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1993;50:295–305.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
17.Pitman, RK, Shalev, AY, Orr, SP. Posttraumatic stress disorder: emotion, conditioning and memory. In: Corbetta, MD, Gazzaniga, M, eds. The New Cognitive Neurosciences. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Plenum Press; 2000.Google Scholar
18.Orr, SP, Lasko, NB, Metzger, LJ, Berry, NJ, Ahern, CE, Pitman, RK. Psychophysiologic assessment of women with posttraumatic stress disorder resulting from childhood sexual abuse. J Consult Clin Psychol. 1998;66:906–913.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
19.Pitman, RK, Orr, SP, Forgue, DF, DeJong, J, Claiborn, JM. Psychophysiologic assessment of posttraumatic stress disorder imagery in Vietnam combat veterans. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1987;4:970–975.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
20.Davis, M. The role of the amygdala in fear and anxiety. Ann Rev Neurosci. 1992;15:353–375.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
21.LeDoux, J. Fear and the brain: where have we been and where are we going? Biol Psychiatry. 1999;44:1229–1238.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
22.Cahill, L, McGaugh, JL. Modulation of memory storage. Curr Opin Neurobiol. 1996;6:237–242.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
23.Shalev, AY, Rogel-Fuchs, Y. Psychophysiology of the posttraumatic stress disorder: from sulphur fumes to behavioral genetics. Psychosom Med. 1993;55:413–423.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
24.Shalev, AY, Peri, T, Brandes, D, Freedman, SM, Orr, SP, Pitman, RK. Auditory startle response in trauma survivors with posttraumatic stress disorder: a prospective study. Am J Psychiatry. 2000;157:255–261.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
25.Rauch, SL, Whalen, PJ, Shin, LM, McInerney, SC, Macklin, ML, Lasko, NB. Exaggerated amygdala response to masked facial stimuli in posttraumatic stress disorder: a functional MRI study. Biol Psychiatry. 2000;47:769–776.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
26.Shin, L, McNally, RJ, Kosslyn, SM, et al.Regional cerebral blood flow during script-driven imagery in childhood sexual abuse-related PTSD: a PET investigation. Am J Psychiatry. 1999;156:575–584.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
27.Bremner, JD, Staib, LH, Kaloupek, D, Southwick, SM, Soufer, R, Charney, DS. Neural correlates of exposure to traumatic pictures and sound in Vietnam combat veterans with and without posttraumatic stress disorder: a positron emission tomography study. Biol Psychiatry. 1999;45:806–816.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
28.Bremner, JD. Does stress damage the brain? Biol Psychiatry. 1999;45:797–805.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
29.Shalev, AY, Orr, SP, Peri, T, Schreiber, S, Pitman, RK. Physiologic responses to loud tones in Israeli patients with posttraumatic stress disorder. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1992;49:870–875.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
30.McFarlane, AC, Weber, DL, Clark, CR. Abnormal stimulus processing in posttraumatic stress disorder. Biol Psychiatry. 1993;34:311–320.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
31.Krystal, JH, Kosten, TR, Southwick, S, Mason, JW, Perry, BD, Giller, EL. Neurobiological aspects of PTSD: review of clinical and preclinical studies. Behav Ther. 1989;20:177–198.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
32.Post, RM, Weiss, SRB, Smith, M. Sensitization and kindling; implication for the evolving neural substrates of posttraumatic stress disorder. In: Friedman, MJ, Charney, DS, Deutch, AY, eds. Neurobiological and Clinical Consequences of Stress: From Normal Adaptation to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Philadelphia, Pa: Lippincott-Raven; 1995.Google Scholar
33.Yehuda, R. Sensitization of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in posttraumatic stress disorder. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1997;821:57–75.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
34.Kolb, LC. A neuropsychological hypothesis explaining posttraumatic stress disorder. Am J Psychiatry. 1987;144:989–995.Google Scholar
35.Shalev, AY, Sahar, T, Freedman, S, et al.A prospective study of heart rate responses following trauma and the subsequent development of posttraumatic stress disorder. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1998;55:553–559.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
36.Bryant, RA, Harvey, AG, Guthrie, R, Moulds, M. A prospective study of acute psychophysiologic arousal, acute stress disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder. J Abnorm Psychol. 2000;109:341–344.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
37.Blanchard, EB, Hickling, EJ, Galovski, T, Veazey, C. Emergency room vital signs and PTSD in a treatment seeking sample of motor vehicle accident survivors. J Trauma Stress. 2002;15:199–204.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
38.Pitman, RK, Sanders, KM, Zusman, RM, Healy, AR, Cheema, F, Lasko, NB, Cahill, L, Orr, SP. Pilot study of secondary prevention of posttraumatic stress disorder with propranolol. Biol Psychiatry. 2002;51:189–192.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
39.Cahill, L, Prins, B, Weber, M, McGaugh, JL. Beta-adrenergic activation and memory for emotional events. Nature. 1994;371:702–704.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
40.Felmingham, K, Bryant, RA, Gordon, E. Tonic arousal in acute stress disorder. Psychiatry Res. In press.Google Scholar
41.Brown, GP, Blitzer, RD, Connor, JH, et al.Long-term potentiation induced by theta frequency stimulation is regulated by a protein phosphatase-1-operated gate. J Neurosci. 2000;20:7880–7887.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
42.Reidel, G, Micheau, J. Function of the hippocampus in memory formation: desperately seeking resolution. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2001;25:835–853.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
43.Klimesch, W, Doppelmayr, M, Pachinger, T, Ripper, B. Brain oscillations and human memory performance: EEG correlates in the upper alpha and theta bands. Neurosci Lett. 1997;238:9–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
44.Sakowitz, OW, Schurmann, M, Basar, E. Oscillatory frontal theta responses are increased upon bisensory stimulation. Clin Neurophysiol. 2000;111:884–893.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
45.Klimesch, W, Doppelmayr, M, Russegger, H, Pachinger, T. Theta band power in the human scalp EEG and the encoding of new information. Neuroreport. 1996;7:1235–1240.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
46.Basar, E, Schurmann, M, Sakowitz, O. The selectively distributed theta system: functions. Int J Psychophysiol. 2001;39:197–212.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
47.Shalev, AY, Peri, T, Brandes, D, Freedman, SM, Orr, SP, Pitman, RK. Auditory startle response in trauma survivors with posttraumatic stress disorder: a prospective study. Am J Psychiatry. 2000;157:255–261.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
48.Caggiula, AR, Antelman, SM, Aul, E, Knopf, S, Edwards, DJ. Prior stress attenuates the analgesic response but sensitizes the corticosterone and cortical dopamine responses to stress 10 days later. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 1989;99:233–237.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
49.Felmingham, K, Bryant, RA. Autonomic and cortical responses in acute and chronic posttraumatic stress disorder. Paper presented at: Annual Meeting of the International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies; December 6-9, 2001; New Orleans, LA.Google Scholar
50.Griffin, MG, Resick, PA, Mechanic, MB. Objective assessment of peritraumatic dissociation: psychophysiologic indicators. Am J Psychiatry. 1997;154:1081–1088.Google ScholarPubMed
51.Griffin, M, Nishith, P, Resick, P. Peritraumatic dissociation in domestic violence victims. Paper presented at: the Annual Meeting of the International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies; November 7-10, 2002; Baltimore, MD.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
52.Kaufman, ML, Kimble, MO, Kaloupek, DG, et al.Peritraumatic dissociation and physiological response to trauma-relevant stimuli in Vietnam combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2002;190:167–174.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
53.Ladwig, K-H, Marten-Mittag, B, Deisenhofer, I, et al.Psychophysiologic correlates of peritraumatic dissociative responses in survivors of life-threatening cardiac events. Psychopathology. 2002;35:241–248.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
54.Nishith, P, Griffin, MG, Poth, TL. Stress-induced analgesia: prediction of posttraumatic stress symptoms in battered versus nonbattered women. Biol Psychiatry. 2002;51:867–874.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
55.Heim, C, Ehlert, U, Hellhammer, DH. The potential role of hypocortisolism in the pathophysiology of stress-related bodily disorders. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2000;25:1–35.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
56.Charney, DS, Heninger, GR, Breier, A. Noradrenergic function in panic anxiety. Effects of yohimbine in healthy subjects and patients with agoraphobia and panic disorder. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1984;41:751–763.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
57.Charney, DS, Woods, SW, Goodman, WK, Heninger, GR. Neurobiological mechanisms of panic anxiety: biochemical and behavioral correlates of yohimbine-induced panic attacks. Am J Psychiatry. 1987;144:1030–1036.Google ScholarPubMed
58.Munck, A, Guyre, PM, Holbrook, NJ. Phsyiologuical function of glucocrticoids in stress and their relation to pharmacological actions. Endocr Rev. 1984;94:9779–9783.Google Scholar
59.Chrousos, GP, Gold, PW. The concepts of stress and stress system disorders. Overview of physical and behavioral homeostasis [published correction appears in JAMA. 1992;268:200].Google Scholar
JAMA. 1992;267:1244–1252.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
60.Rose, RM. Overview of endocrinology of stress. In: Brown, G, ed. Neuroendocrinology and Psychiatric Disorder. New York, NY: Raven Press; 1984:95–122.Google Scholar
61.Yehuda, R, Southwick, SM, Nussbaum, G, Wahby, V, Mason, JW, Giller, EL. Low urinary cortisol excretion in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder. J Nerv Ment Dis. 1990;178:366–369.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
62.Yehuda, R. Neuroendocrinology of trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder. In: Yehuda, R, ed. Psychological Trauma. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press; 1998:97–125.Google Scholar
63.Yehuda, R, Kahana, B, Binder-Brynes, K, Southwick, SM, Mason, JW, Giller, EL. Low urinary cortisol excretion in Holocaust survivors with posttraumatic stress disorder. Am J Psychiatry. 1995;152:982–986.Google ScholarPubMed
64.Yehuda, R, Boisoneau, D, Lowy, MT, Giller, EL Jr.Does-response changes in plasma cortisol and lymphocyte glucocorticoid receptors following dexamethasone administration in combat veterans with and without posttraumatic stress disorder. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1995;52:583–593.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
65.Yehuda, R, Teicher, MH, Trestman, RL, Levengood, RA, Siever, LJ. Cortisol regulation in posttraumatic stress disorder and major depression: a chronological analysis. Biol Psychiatry. 1996;40:79–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
66.Resnick, HS, Yehuda, R, Acierno, R. Acute post-rape plasma cortisol, alcohol use, and PTSD symptom profile among recent rape victims. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1997;821:433–436.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
67.Hawk, LW, Dougall, AL, Ursano, RJ, Baum, A. Urinary catecholamines and cortisol in recent-onset posttraumatic stress disorder after motor vehicle accidents. Psychosom Med. 2000;62:423–434.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
68.Yehuda, R, McFarlane, AC, Shalev, AY. Predicting the development of posttraumatic stress disorder from the acute response to a traumatic event. Biol Psychiatry. 1998;44:1305–1313.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
69.McFarlane, AC, Atchison, M, Yehuda, R. The acute stress response following motor vehicle accidents and its relation to PTSD. In: Yehuda, R, McFarlane, AC, eds. Psychobiology of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. New York, NY: New York Academy of Sciences; 1997:433–436.Google Scholar
70.Delahanty, DL, Raimonde, AJ, Spoonster, E. Initial posttraumatic urinary cortisol levels predict subsequent PTSD symptoms in motor vehicle accident victims. Biol Psychiatry. 2000;48:940–947.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
71.Resnick, H, Yehuda, R, Pitman, RK, Foy, DW. Effect of previous trauma on acute plasma cortisol level following rape. Am J Psychiatry. 1995;152:1675–1677.Google ScholarPubMed
72.Shalev, AY. Acute stress reactions in adults. Biol Psychiatry 2002;51:532–543.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
73.Murhurg, MM, McFall, ME, Lewis, N, Veith, RC. Plasma norepinephrine kinetics in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder. Biol Psychiatry. 1995;38:819–825.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
74.Marshall, RD, Blanco, C, Printz, D, Liebowitz, MR, Klein, DF, Coplan, J. A pilot study of noradrenergic and HPA axis functioning in PTSD vs. panic disorder. Psychiatry Res. 2002;110:219–230.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
75.Sullivan, GM, Coplan, JD, Kent, JM, Gorman, JM. The noradrenergic system in pathological anxiety: a focus on panic with relevance to generalized anxiety and phobias. Biol Psychiatry. 1999;46:1205–1218.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
76.Meaney, MJ, Diorio, J, Francis, D, et al.Early environmental regulation of forebrain glucocorticoid receptor gene expression: implications for adrenocortical responses to stress. Dev Neurosci. 1996;18:49–72.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
77.Liu, D, Tannenbaum, B, Caldji, C, et al.Maternal care, hippocampal glucocorticoid receptor gene expression and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal response to stress. Science. 1997;277:1659–1662.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
78.Yehuda, T, Resnick, HS, Schmeidler, J, Yang, RK, Pitman, RK. Predictors of cortisol and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxy-phenylglycol responses in the acute aftermath of rape. Biol Psychiatry. 1998;43:855–859.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
79.Morgan, CA 3rd, Wang, S, Southwick, SM, et al.Plasma neuropeptide-Y concentrations in humans exposed to military survival training. Biol Psychiatry. 2000;47:902–909.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
80.Morgan, CA 3rd, Rasmusson, A, Wang, S, Hoyt, G, Hauger, RL, Hazlett, G. Neuropeptide-Y, cortisol, and subjective distress in humans exposed to acute stress: replication and extension of previous report. Biol Psychiatry. 2002;52:136–142.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
81.Broqua, P, Wettstein, JG, Rocher, MN, Gauthier-Martin, B, Junien, JL. Behavioral effects of neuropeptide Y receptor agonists in the elevated plus-maze and fear potentiated startle procedures. Behav Pharmacol. 1995;6:215–222.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
82.Heilig, M, MacLeod, S, Koob, GK, Britton, KT. Anxiolytic-like effect of neuropeptide Y (NPY), but not other peoptides, in an operant conflict test. Regul Pept. 1992;41:65–69.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
83.Guthrie, R, Bryant, RA. A psychophysiologic study of acute stress disorder in firefighters. Paper presented at: Annual Meeting of the International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies; November 7-10, 2002; Baltimore, MD.CrossRefGoogle Scholar