Chronic Pain and Chronic Stress: Two Sides of the Same Coin?

Pain and stress share significant conceptual and physiological overlaps. Both phenomena challenge the body's homeostasis and necessitate decision-making to help animals adapt to their environment. In addition, chronic stress and chronic pain share a common behavioral model of failure to extinguish negative memories.

Cortical thickness reduction in combat exposed U.S. veterans with and without PTSD.

We investigated the extent of cortical thinning in U.S. Veterans exposed to combat who varied in the severity of their posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms.

Fear extinction and memory reconsolidation as critical components in behavioral treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder and potential augmentation of these processes.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with alterations in critical brain regions such as the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex. This brief review has two objectives: (1) to discuss research examining extinction and reconsolidation processes as mechanisms in PTSD psychotherapy, and (2) present possibilities for augmenting extinction and reconsolidation within treatment through alterations to therapeutic interventions and novel approaches. A key component of many effective PTSD therapies is exposure, which involves intentional confrontation and processing of the traumatic memory.

A longitudinal examination of anxiety disorders and physical health conditions in a nationally representative sample of U.S. older adults.

Background: There has been growing interest in the relation between anxiety disorders and physical conditions in the general adult population. However, little is known about the nature of this association in older adults. Understanding the complex relationship between these disorders can help to inform prevention and treatment strategies unique to this rapidly growing segment of the population.