Scientists in Germany have learned how our brains keep us from
letting go of anxiety after a trauma. In other words, they’ve
learned what keeps us anxious. Their study was published in a
July 2012 edition of the Journal of Neuroscience. The results
can help open up new paths in the treatment of trauma patients,
according to these scientists. In experiments, scientists at the
Universities of Bonn and Berlin showed that feelings of anxiety
don’t go away if too little dynorphin is released into the
brain. Dynorphins are related to endorphins (which many know as
producing a pleasurable feeling in exercise, for example).
They’re a subset of what are called peptides, which play a role
in human motivation, emotion, attachment behavior, the response
to stress and pain, and the control of food intake. In this
case, dynorphin has been identified in relationship to anxiety.
Too little, and the anxiety may continue long after a traumatic
event takes place. Bottom line: Scientists at the Universities
of Bonn and Berlin ha