---
abstract: "The “hypervigilance, escape, struggle, tonic immobility”\r\nevolutionarily hardwired acute peritraumatic response\r\nsequence is important for clinicians to understand. Our\r\ncommentary supplements the useful article on human\r\ntonic immobility (TI) by Marx, Forsyth, Gallup, Fusé and Lexington (2008). A hallmark sign of TI is peritraumatic\r\ntachycardia, which others have documented as a\r\nmajor risk factor for subsequent posttraumatic stress\r\ndisorder (PTSD). TI is evolutionarily highly conserved\r\n(uniform across species) and underscores the need for\r\nDSM-V planners to consider the inclusion of evolution\r\ntheory in the reconceptualization of anxiety and PTSD.\r\nWe discuss the relevance of evolution theory to the\r\nDSM-V reconceptualization of acute dissociativeconversion\r\nsymptoms and of epidemic sociogenic disorder(epidemic “hysteria”). Both are especially in need of attention in light of the increasing threat of terrorism\r\nagainst civilians. We provide other pertinent examples.\r\nFinally, evolution theory is not ideology driven (and\r\nmakes testable predictions regarding etiology in “both\r\ndirections”). For instance, it predicted the unexpected\r\nfinding that some disorders conceptualized in DSM-IV-TR as innate phobias are conditioned responses and thus better conceptualized as mild forms of PTSD. Evolution\r\ntheory may offer a conceptual framework in\r\nDSM-V both for treatment and for research on psychopathology.\r\n"
altloc: []
chapter: ~
commentary: ~
commref: ~
confdates: ~
conference: ~
confloc: ~
contact_email: ~
creators_id:
  - h.bracha@va.gov
  - jmaser@ucsd.edu
creators_name:
  - family: Bracha
    given: H. Stefan
    honourific: Dr.
    lineage: ''
  - family: Maser
    given: Jack D.
    honourific: Dr.
    lineage: ''
date: 2008-03-01
date_type: published
datestamp: 2009-02-13 01:12:55
department: ~
dir: disk0/00/00/63/45
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editors_id: []
editors_name: []
eprint_status: archive
eprintid: 6345
fileinfo: /style/images/fileicons/application_pdf.png;/6345/1/2008_Bracha_%26_Maser_Commentary.pdf
full_text_status: public
importid: ~
institution: ~
isbn: ~
ispublished: pub
issn: ~
item_issues_comment: []
item_issues_count: 0
item_issues_description: []
item_issues_id: []
item_issues_reported_by: []
item_issues_resolved_by: []
item_issues_status: []
item_issues_timestamp: []
item_issues_type: []
keywords: 'DSM-V, PTSD, anxiety, tonic immobility, dissociative-conversive symptoms, psychiatry and diagnosis'
lastmod: 2011-03-11 08:57:18
latitude: ~
longitude: ~
metadata_visibility: show
note: ~
number: ~
pagerange: ~
pubdom: TRUE
publication: 'CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY: SCIENCE AND PRACTICE'
publisher: ~
refereed: TRUE
referencetext: ~
relation_type: []
relation_uri: []
reportno: ~
rev_number: 46
series: ~
source: ~
status_changed: 2009-02-13 01:12:55
subjects:
  - psy-bio
  - psycphs
  - physio-psy
  - evol-psy
  - bio-evo
  - phil-mind
  - phil-sci
  - neuro-physio
  - clin-psy
succeeds: ~
suggestions: This is a Department of Veterans Affairs publication and therfore is in the public domain regardless of journal policy
sword_depositor: ~
sword_slug: ~
thesistype: ~
title: Anxiety and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in the Context of Human Brain Evolution:A Role for Theory in DSM-V?
type: journalp
userid: 6567
volume: ~
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