Amygdala deep brain stimulation is superior to paroxetine treatment in a rat model of posttraumatic stress disorder.

Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a very debilitating disease refractory to current treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in up to 30 percent of patients, illustrating the need for new treatments of PTSD. Neuroimaging studies have shown increased activity of the amygdala of patients with PTSD.

Objective/hypothesis: To investigate amygdala deep brain stimulation (DBS) as a possible novel treatment for PTSD and compare it to current treatment with a commonly used SSRI, paroxetine, in a rat PTSD model.