Conte Center Colloquia on Mental Health

From Pavlov to PTSD: Genetics and Neuroscience Underlying Fear Related Disorders
Kerry Ressler, MD, PhD, Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute / Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Yerkes Research Center, Emory University
Register at http://conte.hravard.edu/events.

While different anxiety disorders have distinct diagnostic criteria, many of them including Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Panic Disorder, and Phobia are manifest in ways that are consistent with an uncontrollable state of fear. The development of these fear-related disorders is thought to involve a mix of factors including those conferred by heredity, prior sensitizing experiences, learned association of aversive events with previously neutral stimuli, and inability to inhibit or extinguish fear after it has become chronic and disabling. The goal of this talk is to highlight recent progress made in the understanding of fear learning and memory, differential susceptibility to the development of disorders of fear, and how this new knowledge is being applied to the understanding, treatment, and possible prevention of fear disorders.

If you have any questions, contact conte@harvard.edu.