Fig. 1: Cortical pathways involved in processing traumatic experiences.

Exposure to trauma and stressors are first processed by the thalamus and relayed to the PFC for regulation of the fear response. The stimuli are then transmitted to the amygdala to respond to the danger (stress response/fight or flight). The amygdala assesses incoming information for potential threats and triggers the appropriate emotional and behavioural response for survival when under threat. Figure was created with BioRender.com.