Study: Witnessing trauma triggers unique brain changes

For years, the post -traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has mainly been investigated in people who experience trauma firsthand. But what about those who are witnessing – military veterans, first responds, health workers or bystanders for violence – who form 10 percent of all PTSD cases?

New research by Virginia Tech, published in Plos One, reveals that witness of trauma causes unique brain changes, different from that caused by experiencing trauma from first hand. The study is the first to shed light on the molecular differences between directly acquired PTSD and bystander PTSD and can release the way for changes in how the disorders are treated.

Currently, patients with directly acquired PTSD and bystander PTSD are being treated in the same way – with a combination of therapy and medication. Our research suggests that indirect trauma and direct trauma create different biological responses, which could mean that they require different treatment strategies that focus on different brain paths. “

Timothy Jarome, The most important researcher of the project and university teacher Neurobiology at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Insight into how observation leads to PTSD

Jarome’s research focuses on understanding the neurobiological mechanisms behind memory -related disorders, including PTSD, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. His interest in bystander PTSD arose after learning about PTSD symptoms reported to people who witnessed the deadly collapse of 2021 of a condominium in Miami.

“People who saw it from the other side reported that they were suffering from nightmares, insomnia and fear,” he said. “They showed symptoms of PTSD, but did not go through it or have no connection with the people in the building. We tried to understand the brain mechanisms behind how that happened.”

For the study, researchers concentrated on protein changes caused by an anxiety stimulus in three important brain areas involved in anxiety memory: the amygdala, the front cingulate cortex and the retro -splenial cortex. They discovered that witness of trauma caused different protein breakdown patterns in all three regions compared to the directly experienced trauma.

Moreover, they have discovered gender -specific differences in how male and female brain process indirect fear memories. These findings build on earlier research from the Jarome laboratory, which identified a specific protein, known as K-63 Ubiquitine, linked to PTSS development in women.

“Our findings emphasize significant biological differences in how male and female brains react to witness trauma,” said the main author of the newspaper, Shaghayegh Navabpour, a former Ph.D. Student in translational biology, medicine and health that is now postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University. “These differences can help explain why women are twice as likely as men to develop PTSD, which leads to more targeted treatments that consider these gender -specific factors.”

In future research, Jarome hopes to investigate how these molecular routes can be used to develop more precise PTSD therapies. He also hopes to investigate the role of empathy, which comes from another brain area that is called the front insular cortex, in bystander PTSD.

The vital role of student researchers

The research was funded by a $ 420,000 subsidy from the National Institute of Mental Health, which is part of the National Institutes of Health. In addition to supporting equipment and material costs of the research, the subsidy helped to pay the stipends of graduated and non -bredged research assistants in the project.

“At Academic Institutions, students – non -graduated, graduated and postdocs – are the driving force for research,” Jarome said. “Although faculty members can protect financing to do the projects, the reality is that the work is done by these students while following their training. Without graduated students, especially, but also students and postdocs, science will not move forward.”

Navabpour, who her Ph.D. From Virginia Tech in 2023, Stanford now works to develop a medicine to help treat Alzheimer’s disease.

“My time in Dr. Jarome’s lab was extremely valuable in shaping my career and preparing my current role as a postdoc and my goal to become a member of Faculty,” she said. “I have learned how to think scientifically – how you can ask the right questions and approach problems of critically – and hands -On experience with important methods and techniques that continue to inform my research.”

• Other members of the research team were:
• Morgan Patrick, Ph.D. Candidate, School of Neuroscience
• Nour Omar ’23, who obtained a degree in psychology, current Ph.D. Candidate at Stanford University School of Medicine
• Shannon Kincaid, Ph.D. Candidate, School of Animal Sciences
• Yeun Bae, Ph.D. Candidate, School of Animal Sciences
• Jennifer Abraham ’24, who obtained a degree in clinical neuroscience
• Jacobi McGrew ’22, Prep Scholar Internal, School of Animal Sciences
• Madeline Musaus ’21, who obtained a degree in clinical neuroscience
• W. Keith Ray, senior researcher, Fralin Life Sciences Institute
• Richard Helm, Association Head Lecturer, Biochemistry department