By: Joe Serwach, U-M New Service
Monday, November 13, 2006


From the article:

Contrary to conventional wisdom, it might be most effective to delay intervention for victims of severe psychological traumas such as military combat or rape, according to new research at U-M.

The research, detailed in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) this week, suggests that the effectiveness of an early intervention may depend on the level of acute stress. Early intervention in some cases could make the situation worse, the research says.

Extremely traumatic events can trigger crippling and persistent psychological reactions, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The U-M research found that delaying intervention by 24 hours may make it easier to reverse the impact of the trauma.

Stephen Maren, psychology professor and associate director of the interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, studies how the brain reacts to emotions such as fear. He and colleague Chun-Hui Chang compared two strategies—early and delayed interventions—for reducing a post-traumatic stress-like condition in rats.

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To read the entire article, please visit the University Record website at http://www.umich.edu/~urecord/0607/Nov13_06/11.shtml.