16,19 In addition, in the case of violent death caused by crime, the influences of the legal process cannot be ignored.20,21 Legal proceedings such as police or attorney interviews and testimony in court might provoke psychological distress and PTSD symptoms by facing offenders, remembering details of the crime, and blame put on victims by defense attorneys.20,22,23 The outcome of the trial also affects mental health; with regard to the families of a homicide or traffic
crime victim; it has been reported that their low satisfaction with the criminal justice system was associated with severity of PTSD, depression, and anxiety.4,24 The effect of Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical post-traumatic stress disorder on complicated grief Numerous studies have reported that a variety of mental disorders, such as depression, PTSD, and other anxiety disorders, coexist in bereaved individuals with CG.25-27 Simon et al26 indicated that 75.2% of patients with CG had at least ne axis I disorder of DSM-IV. Major depressive disorder and PTSD were prevalent comorbid disorders. In those Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical bereaved by violent death with CG, prevalence of PTSD was reported to be as high as about 43% to 65 %13,15,28 (Table II). In circumstances of violent death, the bereaved frequently experienced life-threatening
incidents or witnessed terrible scenes.28 Such traumatic experience is considered to contribute to the increasing prevalence of PTSD among those bereaved by violent death. Some studies ported Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical that the severity of CG and PTSD was significantly positively correlated.12,14,19,25,29 It has been Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical suggested that these conditions affected one other. In particular, intrusive symptoms of PTSD were associated with CG symptoms.13 It was indicated that intrusion was the comlon symptoms of both PTSD and CG.30-32 Findings from functional brain imaging also suggest the effect of PTSD on CG. It was reported that the amygdala, which was responsible for processing fear and anxiety, Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical had exaggerated responses to general negative stimuli in PTSD.33 Furthermore, less activation of medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), selleck chem ARQ197 anterior cingulate
cortex (ACC), and thalamus in PTSD subjects than non-PTSD subjects during fear activation was reported in previous studies.34,35 It was suggested that PTSD patients might have dysfunction of ACC and mPFC which played a role in suppressing excessive activity of the amygdala.34 There were a few studies on brain function with grief. Subjects with acute grief, a condition AV-951 close to CG, also indicated that intrusion selleck chemicals AZD9291 accompanied by strong sadness elevated the activity of the ventral amygdala.36 Therefore, the amygdala is responsible not only for feelings of fear, but also for separation distress. However, in contrast with PTSD, along with the elevated activity of the amygdala, the activity of the right ACC (rACC) was aIso elevated in grief subjects.36 This study indicated that le functional connectivity of the amygdala and the rACC had a negative correlation with the degree of sadness.