The Impact of Traumatic Memories on Brain Function

A study conducted by researchers at Yale University and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai found that traumatic memories engage a different area of the brain, the posterior cingulate cortex (P.C.C.), which is usually involved in internally directed thought. The study suggests that traumatic memories are not experienced as memories but as fragments of prior events, subjugating the present moment. The findings may help explain the vivid and intrusive nature of traumatic memories and have implications for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Clinicians can use these findings to develop therapies that bring context to traumatic memories and help patients view them as distant from the present.