Physiologic Responses to Sudden, Loud Tones in Monozygotic Twins Discordant for Combat ExposureAssociation With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

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Abstract
POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS disorder (PTSD) is among the few mental disorders with a formally recognized cause, in this case, a psychologically traumatic environmental event.1 However, this does not necessarily mean that all abnormalities found in PTSD patients are caused by the etiologic event. An abnormality may be a pretrauma vulnerability factor, ie, it may have been present prior to the event's occurrence and increased the individual's likelihood of developing PTSD following traumatic exposure. Alternately, an abnormality may be an acquired PTSD sign, ie, it may have developed after the traumatic exposure, along with the PTSD.