Psychophysiology of the posttraumatic stress disorder: from sulfur fumes to behavioral genetics.

Neurophysiological hypotheses regarding the body-mind relationship in stress disorders have been formulated more than 300 years ago. In 1941 Abraham Kardiner ascribed the name "physioneurosis" to the condition known today as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Psychophysiological studies of PTSD started with the demonstration of increased responsiveness to external stimuli reminiscent of the traumatic event. Later, abnormal responses to mental imagery were studied, and these studies have resulted in new tools for the assessment and diagnosis of the disorder. Recent studies focus on responses to elementary stimulation, such as the auditory startle reflex, thereby exploring basic CNS routines of habituation and stimulus-discrimination. This article reviews the rapidly expanding literature on the psychophysiology of PTSD. Special emphasis is given to recent studies of the auditory startle and to their implications for the neurobiology of PTSD.