Dr. Christine Larson was recently awarded an NIH R01 titled “Acute neurocognitive-affective predictors of chronic post-trauma outcomes.” The research team includes Terri deRoon-Cassini of the Trauma/Surgery department at the Medical College of Wisconisn, and Fred Helmstetter, Hanjoo Lee, and Shawn Cahill from the UWM Psychology Department.
Trauma is extremely common. Fortunately, most people are resilient and experience minimal long-term consequences. Unfortunately, some trauma survivors go on to experience serious and debilitating chronic problems as a result of the trauma, most notably Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). This award funds work that aims to identify neurobiological markers evident in the immediate aftermath of experiencing a trauma that help identify those most at risk for chronic PTSD and other problems. This work should aid in identifying those at risk and also to identify neurobiological processes to target for treatment in recent trauma survivors.