Grant funds research into molecular memories behind exaggerated fear

Experiencing a traumatic event sometimes produces long-lasting biological changes that can lead to an exaggerated fear response to future stressful events, such as what occurs in individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). To better understand the regulatory mechanisms in the brain that produce this biological memory and exaggerated fear response, a team of researchers from Penn State and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has been awarded a five-year, $3.2 million grant from the U.S. National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Mental Health.

Grant funds research into molecular memories behind exaggerated fear. Experiencing a traumatic event sometimes produces long-lasting biological changes that can lead to an exaggerated fear response to future stressful events, such as what occurs in individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). To better understand the regulatory mechanisms in the brain that produce this biological memory and exaggerated fear response, a team of researchers from Penn State and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has been awarded a five-year, $3.2 million grant from the U.S. National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Mental Health. According to the researchers, about 7% of people in the United States experience PTSD at some point in their life; however, there is not currently a treatment that consistently improves PTSD in all patients...