Urgent calls exist to address the mounting crisis of mental illness, and, in particular, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), among public safety personnel (PSP) within Canada. PSP, including firefighters, police, paramedics, correctional services workers, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, operators and dispatchers, border services officers, and members of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, are responsible for maintaining […]

Severe and multiple traumas can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) which causes distress and difficulty in many areas of life. Military members, veterans, and public safety personnel such as police officers, firefighters, and rescue workers are often exposed to traumatic events on-the-job (seeing natural disasters, human violence, or death). One severe subtype of PTSD […]

Urgent calls exist to address the mounting crisis of mental illness, and in particular posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), among public safety personnel (PSP; e.g., firefighters, police, paramedics) in Canada. Critically, PTSD is associated with alterations in cognitive functioning (e.g., poor memory and attention) that disrupt the ability of PSP to engage in activities such as […]

There is an urgent need to address the mounting crisis of mental illness, and in particular posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), among military members and Veterans in Canada. PTSD is associated with changes in cognitive functioning across multiple domains (e.g., poor memory and attention) that can negatively impact military members and Veteran. Goal Management Training (GMT) […]

Individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) often struggle to relax, or simply be at ‘rest.’ In particular, recent research has revealed participants with PTSD show hyper-activity across the visual cortex while at rest. Referred to as sensory hyper-activity and disinhibition, altered resting-state patterns are thought to be underlying hypervigilance and re-living sensations clinically, as well […]

Patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are characterized by decreased prefrontal cortex (PFC) regulation on hyperactive emotion generation regions, such as the amygdala. Real-time (rt)-fMRI neurofeedback allows for localized brain regions to be self-regulated through neuroimaging signal feedback. Recently within our lab, learning to decrease amygdala activation via neurofeedback was shown to normalize the neural […]

Patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are characterized by decreased prefrontal cortex (PFC) regulation on hyperactive emotion generation regions, such as the amygdala. Real-time (rt)-fMRI neurofeedback allows for localized brain regions to be self-regulated through neuroimaging signal feedback. Recently within our lab, learning to decrease amygdala activation via neurofeedback was shown to normalize the neural […]

Traumatic events such as work related accidents, injuries or assault may result in the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This condition is associated with sleep disruption, nightmares, anxiety, and avoidance of the environment where the traumatic event occurred. Significant proportions of patients diagnosed with PTSD are disabled from working; however, little is known regarding […]