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COMPUTATIONAL PSYCHIATRY

Post-traumatic stress disorder as a disorder of prediction

Nature Neuroscience volume 22, pages 334–336 (2019)Cite this article

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Disproportionate reactions to unexpected stimuli and greater attention to perceived threat are cardinal symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. Computational psychiatry helps explain how these responses develop and result from abnormalities in learning and prediction during and after traumatic events.

Following a terrifying event, such as military combat or rape, 5–30% of individuals1 will develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). For them, the intense fear they have experienced leaves a debilitating trace that will interfere with their future life. PTSD symptoms include flashbacks, nightmares, hyperarousal, and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event and behavioral strategies to avoid environments that may trigger the symptoms.

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Fig. 1: A computational psychiatry approach to investigating possible learning anomalies in PTSD.

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  1. Department of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

    Peggy Seriès

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  1. Peggy Seriès
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Correspondence to Peggy Seriès.

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Seriès, P. Post-traumatic stress disorder as a disorder of prediction. Nat Neurosci 22, 334–336 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-019-0345-z

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