February 13, 2024
A new study, led by scientists at the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has identified an area within the brain's frontal cortex that may coordinate animals' responses to potentially traumatic situations.
As shared in an NIH news release, "Understanding where and how neural circuits involving the frontal cortex regulate such functions, and how such circuits could malfunction, may provide insight about their role in trauma-related and stress-related psychiatric disorders in people."
The study's senior author, Andrew Holmes, PhD, Senior Investigator in NIAAA's Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, was quoted saying, "Experiencing traumatic events is often at the root of trauma-related and stress-related psychiatric conditions, including alcohol use disorder (AUD) . . . Additionally, witnessing others experience traumatic events can also contribute to these disorders."
Click here to access the relevant NIH news release for more information, and click here to access the study itself.
