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The Neuropsychiatry of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

I. P. Burges Watson ,
L. Hoffman  and
G. V. Wilson
I. P. Burges Watson*
Affiliation:
Repatriation General Hospital, Hobart, Tasmania
L. Hoffman
Affiliation:
Repatriation General Hospital, Hobart
G. V. Wilson
Affiliation:
University of Tasmania, Hobart
*
∗Repatriation General Hospital, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
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Abstract

The publication of DSM-III introduced the diagnosis Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), thus providing, for the first time, a framework for studying the consequences of extremely stressful events. Previously, traumatic neuroses had attracted a wide variety of labels – as wide as the experiences that produced them. Competing explanations in psychological and biological terms have characterised the approach to these disorders, and social and legal issues have added to the confusion. In recent years, psychosocial issues have tended to dominate the literature in relation to PTSD. While acknowledging the importance of such phenomenological and psychosocial approaches, this paper seeks to redress the balance by focusing on a biological perspective.

Type
Review Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 152 , Issue 2 , February 1988 , pp. 164 - 173
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1988 

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