Neurobiology review of post-traumatic stress disorder

Throughout life, people are often exposed to traumatic situations, causing the onset of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), whose prevalence reaches 5-10% worldwide. However, despite the large amount of research that addresses the disorder, the scientific evidence regarding neurobiological processes is not yet conclusive. The present review seeks to deep in the knowledge of the most relevant neurobiological characteristics of patients with PTSD. A description is made of the brain areas involved and the effects of PTSD on its functioning, including an analysis of the active commitment of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, hyperactivation and excessive adrenergic response in the autonomic nervous system, as well as a brief description of the animal models most used in research. It must be taken into account that the majority of neuropsychiatric disorders do not involve the specific alteration of a neural network, area or system, but as a whole they present an alteration of different systems simultaneously, which overlap and in turn become evident with relatively specific neurocognitive endophenotypes that, supported by basic research and use with animal models, would provide knowledge of the related cellular and molecular alteration, significant aspects in the evaluation, treatment, and follow-up of patients.