How one machine and two Minnesota researchers are forever changing the stigma surrounding Post-Traumatic Stress DisorderApostolos Georgopoulos looks like a brain scientist. Animated, friendly, and crowned with a mane of flyaway gray hair, he shakes my hand and ushers me into his office. He immediately offers to make me coffee, then, in the next breath, insists I sit in the throne situated next to the window-a gift he received for being a Regents professor of neuroscience at the University of Minnesota. "Isn't it something?" he says enthusiastically. "I don't even know how they got it in here!" ...
The War Against Post-traumatic Stress DisorderPost-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)A complex psychiatric syndrome that develops in response to trauma exposure. Individuals with PTSD experience intrusive recollections or reexperiencing of the traumatic event, avoidance of trauma reminders, emotional numbing, and hyperarousal. In addition, PTSD is associated with high rates of concomitant physical and mental health problems, increased health care use, and impairment in social and occupational functioning. Almost 7% of the general population and up to 30% of veterans meet lifetime criteria for PTSD. Indeed, PTSD is one of the most common psychiatric disorders, representing a significant and costly public health concern.
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