PTSD can affect your brain in several ways, such as by causing an overactive amygdala (“fear center”) and abnormalities in the hippocampus (“memory center”). Neuroplasticity techniques offer a path to healing.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can significantly affect your daily life. Aspects of life that may seem mundane to others — such as a casual remark, a movie scene, or a loud noise — can trigger trauma and send your brain and body into fight-or-flight mode.

And the effects of PTSD aren’t just psychological — a wealth of research shows that PTSD also has a measurable impact on the structure of your brain. Here’s what to know about these neurological effects and how you may be able to navigate them.

A note about “normal”

We use the term “neurotypical” instead of “normal” to describe people with typical brain development and function. This terminology helps prevent the stigma of viewing neurodivergent brains as problematic or in need of correction.

People with conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, depression, and PTSD are considered neurodivergent by organizations such as the American Psychological Association. Just like other forms of diversity, neurodiversity can be a strength in workplaces and in the world.

PTSD can change both your brain’s function and its physical structure. PTSD is associated with:

  • An overactive amygdala and an underactive ventromedial prefrontal cortex: Studies cited in a 2020 research review noted these effects. The amygdala is the “fear center” of your brain, and the prefrontal cortex helps regulate the amygdala and suppress the fear response.
  • Reduced gray matter in the prefrontal cortex: The same 2020 review mentions this association. Gray matter is darker brain tissue that’s involved in information processing and decision making.
  • Significant reductions in gray and white matter in the cerebellum: A 2024 study noted these effects. The cerebellum is the part of your brain at the back of your head that helps with motor skills, balance, emotions, and memory. White matter is lighter tissue that connects different areas of your brain.
  • Abnormalities in the right hemisphere of the hippocampus and amygdala: In a 2017 study, more severe PTSD symptoms were associated with indentations in the right amygdala, which processes fear and helps inform emotional memories, and the right hippocampus, which deals with new memory creation and spatial navigation.
  • Reduced activation in the brain’s reward center: According to studies cited in a 2021 review, people with PTSD have shown reduced reactivity in neural areas associated with the reward system, lower reward satisfaction, and reduced dopamine levels.
  • Reduced amygdala activity and heightened prefrontal activity: Studies cited in a 2020 review noted these effects in people who had a dissociative subtype of PTSD.

These structural differences help explain why people with PTSD tend to:

  • experience a greater fear response than people without PTSD
  • have difficulty regulating their emotions
  • have greater difficulty releasing fear responses once a threat is no longer present
  • have greater difficulty distinguishing between the past and the present
  • find it difficult to relax
  • have different logic to their processing
  • experience memory problems
  • need more activation to get a dopamine response, which can lead to depression or addiction
  • experience low satisfaction, low mood, or depression

According to the authors of a 2020 review, experts still don’t know for sure whether PTSD is definitively reversible. But your brain remains malleable throughout your life, and treatments such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) have shown a measurable, beneficial impact on brain structures.

For instance, in a 2016 study involving 26 people with social anxiety disorder (which is also associated with an overactive amygdala response and may sometimes occur in response to PTSD), researchers found that after CBT, amygdala activity returned to relatively normal activity levels. This result was also correlated with a reduction in anxiety.

In a 2020 study on people with PTSD, those who took part in eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy experienced measurable changes in their brains. For example, excessive prefrontal cortex activity decreased to relatively normal levels of activity.

Though these studies are small, they offer windows into the promising potential of neuroplastic approaches. Experts also now know that approaches such as meditation, learning of a new skill or language, or transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) can create measurable, lasting changes in the brain.

It’s never too late for change

Experts also know that trauma can be transformed into powerful change and growth to help people become more resilient and lead lives they truly love.

This process, called post-traumatic growth, involves using these experiences as a catalyst for finding authentic meaning and fulfillment in life. So, while PTSD may initially feel like a setback, for some people, it can become their greatest strength.

Neuroplasticity is your brain’s ability to change and adapt. While scientists previously thought that the brain was malleable only during childhood, experts now know that it can continue to develop in a beneficial way for a lifetime.

Ways to encourage healthy changes in your brain include:

Potential treatments include:

PTSD can cause significant structural and functional changes in your brain, including an overactive amygdala and abnormalities in the hippocampus. Fortunately, various therapeutic approaches, including CBT and EMDR, have shown promise for rewiring neural pathways affected by trauma.

As understanding of the brain’s adaptability grows, so does the potential for people with PTSD to not just recover but also experience post-traumatic growth and lead more fulfilling lives.