Recent catastrophic events, such as the attack on the New York World Trade Center and the devastating tsunami in the Indian Ocean, have drawn increasing attention to post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. Once thought of only in psychological terms, PTSD has emerged as the model mental disorder for studying the effect of the environment on human biological systems, especially the brain. This book breaks new ground by offering neuroscientific insights into PTSD and their implications for diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. The recent explosion of biological investigation into this distressing and disabling condition has been led by this volumea (TM)s authors, who range from skilled basic scientists to experienced diagnosticians and therapists. Their contributions epitomize state-of-the-art, translational research in clinical neuroscience, and will prove to be an invaluable source of reference for practitioners and researchers in this field.