The medication is designed to be injected right after a traumatic experience. It targets Oprl1, a receptor that researchers believe is responsible for attaching fear to traumatic memories.
Post-traumatic stress disorder is caused by many things, such as surviving an accident or exposure to violence. There are genetic risk factors, but many people who acquire the disorder had no predisposition. Symptoms include debilitating flashbacks and hallucinations of the event, avoiding close relationships, angry or violent outbursts, and an inability to return to the location where the traumatic experience occurred, among many others.
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