Preliminary research examining the difference in brain activity between soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder and those without it moves scientists a step closer to the possibility of being able one day to use brain scans to help diagnose the condition.

The search for the footprints left in the brain by psychiatric disorders such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a growing area of research. Scientists hope it will lead to the identification of brain patterns that could be used to improve diagnosis and track the effectiveness of treatment. The latest study was presented Friday at the World Psychiatric Association congress "Treatments in Psychiatry" by Dr. Florin Dolcos, an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada.

"As technology improves, imaging research is increasingly providing insights into the brains of people with post-traumatic stress disorder, pointing to potential biological markers distinguishing the PTSD-affected brain," said Dolcos, a co-author of the study, performed at Duke University in Durham, USA. "The field is still in its infancy, but this raises the possibility that one day we may be able to see the disorder in the body as plainly as we now can see conditions such as heart disease and cancer."

Several studies have examined the brain patterns of emotion processing in PTSD by provoking symptoms, but very few have investigated the significant cognitive processing problems associated with the condition.

PTSD is as an anxiety disorder triggered by exposure to traumatic events. Symptoms include intrusive memories of the trauma, avoidant behaviour and hyperarousal, where those affected are more likely to perceive a threat in seemingly neutral situations or people. Impaired concentration is also characteristic…