Main description:

In the last decade, theories on the development and maintenance of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have highlighted the important role of changes in the trauma memory, in that traumatic memories seem to be qualitively different from other, nontraumatic memories. Deficits in trauma memory have been postulated but not always demonstrated. Some recent research suggests that alterations of traumatic memories go along with neurobiological changes and that these changes in patients with PTSD also affect general memory functions. In addition, empirical research on learning processes in PTSD patients, such as cue and context conditioning as well as extinction memory has advanced the theoretical understanding of the development and maintenance of PTSD as well as therapeutic strategies. In that regard, pharmacological interventions (e.g., cognitive enhancers) that influence extinction memory have been suggested to be a fruitful route to explore in PTSD therapy. In addition to PTSD, other consequences of traumatic experiences such as amnesia and personality disorders have been investigated from both a neurobiological and a psychological perspective.