Does Stress Damage the Brain?

"Why is it that we can remember exactly where we were when John Kennedy was shot, or when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded, or on September 11, 2001? Does what we see, hear, feel, and in other ways experience, especially during times of stress, result in permanent changes to our brains? Is this one of the reasons stressful events become seared in our memories? These provocative questions, and many others, are answered here by J. Douglas Bremner, a leading scientist whose discoveries, and that of his colleagues, showed that extreme stress may result in lasting damage to the brain, especial…