Traumatic stress is commonly resistant to existing therapeutics, possibly due to high treatment dropout rates along with a failure to target the relevant underlying neural mechanisms. Neuromodulation of deep limbic areas such as the amygdala may play a critical role in the effective recovery from traumatic stress. Human studies have shown the importance of such modulation during the encoding of traumatic stimuli, showing greater amygdala activation for subsequently remembered traumatic stimuli. In addition, a prospective study among previously healthy soldiers showed that hyper-activation of the amygdala prior to military traumatic exposure corresponded with more severe post-traumatic symptoms following exposure.
Together these finding points to the amygdala as a plausible neuromodulation target for preventive or early interventions of post-traumatic disturbances. Local neuromodulation of the amygdala could improve treatment specificity and the overall intervention outcome.
The main goal of the suggested research is to further develop and implement a non-invasive, portable and cost-effective brain-imaging tool that will provide individual on-line guidance for amygdala modulation. This closed-loop brain training will enhance individual resilience to and coping with potentially traumatic stress as well as alleviate consequential psychopathologies.
