Post-traumatic amnesia
Neurological mechanisms
### Neurological mechanisms

[thumb\|left\|Hippocampus (animation)](/wiki/File:Hippocampus.gif "Hippocampus.gif")
Research on the effect of emotional trauma on memory retention and amnesic symptoms has shown that exposure to prolonged levels of extreme stress has a direct effect on the [hippocampus](/wiki/Hippocampus "Hippocampus"). Elevated [stress](/wiki/Stress_%28psychological%29 "Stress (psychological)") levels can lead to an increase in the production of [enkephalins](/wiki/Enkephalins "Enkephalins") and [corticosteroids](/wiki/Corticosteroids "Corticosteroids"), which can produce abnormal neural activity and disrupt [long\-term potentiation](/wiki/Long-term_potentiation "Long-term potentiation") (a neural mechanism associated with learning) in the hippocampus. Individuals who have been subjected to repeated sexual abuse during childhood or who have experienced combat show significant impairment and atrophy of the hippocampal region of the brain. The [amygdala](/wiki/Amygdala "Amygdala"), an area of the brain involved in emotional regulation, may be involved in producing remembrance for some aspects of the trauma. Even though the trace of a memory for trauma may be lost from the hippocampus, it may remain partially encoded in the form of an emotional memory in the amygdala where it can be subsequently recalled in the form of a [flashback](/wiki/Flashback_%28psychology%29 "Flashback (psychology)") or partially [recovered memory](/wiki/Recovered_memory "Recovered memory").


Is it possible for trauma to affect cognitive function beyond memory retention?