Figure 6
The presumed neuroanatomy of FS and PS rats that are startled awake.
When rats experience traumatic “nightmares,” trauma-related memory that is stored in the neocortex is retrieved. In FSN rats, the traumatic memory is stored in S2 and Au. In PSN rats, the traumatic memory is stored in Te2. The traumatic memory arouses fear emotion, reflected by enhanced activity in the amygdala. The suppression of activity in the vmPFC (including the IL and Cg2) fails to inhibit the hyperfunction of the amygdala (LA and CeA), resulting in the accumulation of fear emotion. Suppression of the posterior insular cortex (DI and GI) may also be a factor that contributes to the accumulation of fear emotion, peculiarly in PSN rats. A decrease in M1 activity might also result in inhibition of the rats’ ability to express “fight or flight” reactions, thus placing the rats in an “emergency situation” in a traumatic nightmare. As a result, rats present startled awakening from a “nightmare”.
