European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 3, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                By stress Brainy Daniel Goleman new York times a single instance of overwhelming terror can alter the chemistry of the brain making people More sensitive to adrenaline surges even decades later. This sensitivity to adrenaline surges is a major Factor in Post traumatic stress disorder in which people can experience Normal events As repetitions of the original trauma. These new findings Are the first direct evidence that the condition which affects combat veterans crime victims and millions of others has biological basis. New studies in animals and humans suggest that specific Sites in the brain undergo these changes. Scientists say the findings May allow development of medications to Blunt the biological changes in Post traumatic stress disorder. For the brain changes to occur scientists now say people usually have to experience the stress As catastrophic an overwhelming threat to life or safety and one Over which they had no control. Less severe stress such As the death of a loved one or relentless financial problems do not seem to trigger the biological changes. Quot victims of a devastating trauma May never be the same biologically said or. Dennis Charney a psychiatrist at Yale and director of clinical neuroscience at the National Center for Post traumatic up Vietnam 1966 uncontrollable stress such As the terror of combat can trigger biological changes researchers find. Stress disorder Quot it does not matter if it was the incessant terror of combat torture or repeated abuse in childhood or a one time experience like being trapped in a Hurricane or almost dying in an Auto Accident Quot said Charney Quot All uncontrollable stress can have the same biological  the More intense the trauma and the longer it lasts the More Likely it is to result in Post traumatic stress but researchers Are trying to discover Why some people exposed to the identical catastrophe develop Post traumatic stress symptoms while others do not. And though the symptoms can last 40 years or longer they Clear up in some people either spontaneously or through therapy. Evidence for the biological changes has been growing Over the last 10 years from Laboratory experiments on animals who were subjected to stress a often electric shocks they could riot escape a while their brain activity was  main changes observed have been in the Way and rate in which the brain secretes chemicals it normally produces under stress. Now the effects seen in animals have indirectly been confirmed in people changes occur in three ways a some of the main changes Are in the locus Cerulus a Structure which regulates the brain s secretion of two Catechol amines hormones that mobilize the body for an emergency. This Structure becomes Quot hyper reactive Quot secreting too much of. These brain chemicals even in situations that hold Little or no  there Are also increases in the secretion of Corti Cotropia releasing Factor or cry one of the main hormones that mobilize the body to meet an emergency. This hormone is regulated by the circuit linking the hypothalamus a Structure in the brains emotional Center and the pituitary gland. The increased secretions Alert the body for emergencies that Are not there in reality. A the opioid system of the brain which can Blunt the feeling of pain is hyperactive. This May account for the emotional numbing an inability to experience tender feelings that often accompanies Post traumatic stress. Quot you find irregularities and abnormalities in All three of these brain systems Quot said or. Matthew Friedman executive director of the National Center for Post traumatic stress disorder. Researchers say the findings May hold a Promise of Relief for those who suffer the symptoms of Post traumatic stress disorder including being startled at the most innocuous Surprise troubled sleep Tirrit Biily Cand rages and recurrent nightmares and frightening flashbacks that repeat the original horror. Exactly How the brain changes occur is unknown but they All resemble the transitory activity of Normal brains under intense stress among the experiences of Vietnam veterans most Likely to cause the disorder was witnessing or participating in mutilation of vietnamese As Well As intense combat according to a study reported in the current Issue of the archives of general psychiatry. Studies with animals have found that exposure to Milder stress Early in life increases vulnerability to brain changes in the face of intense stress later in life. Scientists say this May be one explanation for Why in a Given catastrophe one person develops the disorder while another does not. In one of the newest studies linking a specific brain mechanism to the symptoms a group Lect by Charney administered the drug Yogi mine to a group of Vietnam veterans being treated for the problem. The drug triggered panic attacks in nine of the 15 patients and flashbacks in six of  mine blocks the action of the Quot Alpha 2&Quot receptor which ordinarily acts As a Brake on the Catech Lemines set into motion by the locus Corleus. Quot under stress As brain cells secrete norepinephrine the Alpha 2 receptor senses it Quot and slows Down the accumulation said Charney. Researchers at Yate who studied blood samples of men with the disorder found they had 40 percent fewer Alpha 2 receptors than did men without the symptoms. Quot when you give most people Yogi mine their heart rate speeds up and they might feel More Alert but they Don t get particularly anxious Quot said Charney. Quot but in these men you get intense fear and other pts symptoms. Quot that suggests one of the lasting changes from trauma is a decrease in Alpha 2 receptors Quot Charney added. Tuesday july 3, 1990 the stars and stripes Page 13 it