Long-lasting stress sensitisation

Stressful experiences in humans can result in a spectrum of long-term chang es in behavioural, autonomic and hormonal responsivity. An extreme form of such alterations is found in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder ( PTSD). A number of animal models has been developed in which intense stress ful experiences (shocks, social confrontations) result in longterm altered responsivity of behavioural, autonomic and hormonal responses to aversive c hallenges which mimic many of the changes seen in PTSD. These models of str ess-induced sensitisation are beginning to generate a better understanding of the vulnerability factors, time-course and underlying neuronal substrate s of the long-term disturbances experienced by humans as a result of stress ful life events. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.