Giving Compass' Take:

• This article from The Conversation discusses how brain imaging has been a very useful tool in understanding the aberrations in structure and function of a PTSD brain, but it does not diagnose the condition.

• How are doctors able to diagnose PTSD? In what ways can donors help support those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder? 

• Here's an article on the potential of psychedelic drugs helping treat PTSD. 

Celebrities and public figures have recently been more open about mental health conditions they deal with. This is a positive sign of shrinking stigma around mental illness, and it also helps in reducing it. The most recent in this line was Ariana Grande’s mention of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD … and a brain scan.

I am a psychiatrist and neuroscientist specializing in research, diagnosis and treatment of PTSD, and I see this as an opportunity to discuss PTSD, how it is diagnosed, and its treatments.

PTSD is a clinical condition, and a consequence of exposure to extreme traumatic experiences such as motor vehicle accidents, assault, robbery, rape, combat and torture, at any stage of life including childhood – situations that are threatening to the integrity of the person.

Trauma may happen to the person, or be witnessed happening to others. As a result, the brain switches to “survival mode,” doing its best to avoid another exposure to such experiences.

Read the full article about brain scans shedding light on PTSD by Arash Javanbakht at The Conversation.