Healing Invisible Wounds — How Neuroplasticity Supports Veterans with PTSD

Izzy Nalley
Nov 10
4 min read

(Veterans Day Feature by the Neuroplasticity Alliance)

🇺🇸 Honoring the Courage to Heal

Every November, we pause to honor those who have served — and this year, we also honor their ongoing journey toward healing.

While many wounds of war are visible, others live quietly in the brain and nervous system. For veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), symptoms such as hypervigilance, intrusive memories, and emotional numbness aren’t signs of weakness — they’re the result of the brain’s protective rewiring during prolonged stress and threat.

But here’s the hopeful truth:

“The same brain that learned fear and survival can also learn safety and peace.”

That process of re-learning is called neuroplasticity — the brain’s natural ability to rewire and form new neural connections throughout life.

🔬 The Neuroscience of PTSD

Neuroimaging studies reveal that trauma changes how several brain regions communicate:

Amygdala: becomes overactive, heightening fear and stress responses.
Prefrontal cortex: becomes underactive, reducing impulse control and emotional regulation.
Hippocampus: often shrinks in volume, impairing memory and context recognition.

Yet these changes are not permanent.Functional MRI (fMRI) research shows that with the right interventions, brain structure and connectivity can normalize — evidence that healing is neurobiological, not just psychological.

📚 Key Studies:

Bremner et al., American Journal of Psychiatry (1995): reduced hippocampal volume in PTSD; later shown to be reversible with treatment.
Koenigs & Grafman, Nature Reviews Neuroscience (2009): mapped disrupted prefrontal-amygdala circuits in trauma and recovery.
Yehuda et al., Nature Reviews Neuroscience (2015): described stress-related neuroplastic adaptations and resilience pathways.

⚙️ Neuroplastic Tools that Rebuild Safety and Calm

Practice	Brain Mechanism	Scientific Support
Prolonged Exposure Therapy	Rewires amygdala-hippocampus links to desensitize and break fear circuits	Watkins, et al., Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience (2018)
Cognitive Processing Therapy	Restructures cognitive wiring to challenge stuck points (e.g.self-blame) and rewrite trauma narratives	Schrader et al., Missouri Medicine (2021)
Psychodelic Assisted Psychotherapy*	Activates serotonin receptors in the cortex, triggering a cascade of neuroplastic changes that disrupt rigid trauma circuits	Feduccia et al., Journal of Psychopharmacology (2024)
Controlled Breathing / Breathwork	Activates the vagus nerve → increases parasympathetic tone → lowers cortisol	Streeter et al., Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine (2012)
Mindfulness & Meditation	Strengthens prefrontal-amygdala regulation and increases gray matter density	Hölzel et al., Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging (2011)
Yoga & Somatic Movement	Enhances interoception and down-regulates hyperarousal circuits	van der Kolk et al., Journal of Traumatic Stress (2014)
EMDR / Neurofeedback	Reintegrates memory networks and normalizes EEG patterns	Nicholson et al., Frontiers in Psychology (2016); Peniston & Kulkosky, Military Medicine (1991)

*Currently undergoing extensive clinical trial. Consult a specialist; self-use is illegal and unsafe.

🪖 From Surviving to Thriving

For veterans, recovery isn’t about erasing memories or ignoring feelings — it’s about teaching the brain that the fight is over and the body is safe. It’s about interrupting the maladaptive memory loops of fear, self-doubt and anger, etc. to enable your mind and body to accept the past and focus on the present. It’s about accepting those emotions emotions and accepting.

“The new science of neuroplasticity gives every veteran an opportunity to make their next mission one of building peace within.”

Research from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for PTSD (2023) shows that mind-body and neurofeedback approaches can significantly reduce symptom severity and improve sleep, focus, and emotional balance.

🌱 Hope in Practice

As of November 2025, the latest PTSD research continues to highlight trauma-focused therapies like Prolonged Exposure and Cognitive Processing Therapy as the most effective options, with 60–70% remission rates through neuroplastic rewiring of fear responses. Psychedelic-assisted therapy is also gaining traction, with single-dose psilocybin and MDMA showing significant symptom reductions by creating a brief window for memory reconsolidation. Though these remain in clinical trials, early results show remission rates equal to or higher than therapy alone. Other therapies such as real-time fMRI neurofeedback and EDMR as well as meditation, breathwork, etc., which are readily available are also effective and can be used alone or in conjunction with more targeted therapies.

These methods not only reduce PTSD symptoms but also promote neurogenesis (the growth of new neurons) and functional connectivity between emotional and executive brain regions.

“Healing is not forgetting — it’s rewriting the story your brain tells your body.”

💫 Join the Movement

This Veterans Day, the Neuroplasticity Alliance honors every veteran rebuilding life after trauma.We offer education and community resources that unite science, compassion, and purpose — helping individuals rewire for resilience, calm, and connection.

🧠 Learn more and explore our programs at npallies.org

“Your brain is designed for lifelong growth — not inevitable decline.”

📚 Reference List (APA-Style)

Bremner, J. D. et al. (1995). Hippocampal volume reduction in PTSD. American Journal of Psychiatry, 152(7), 973-981.
Koenigs, M., & Grafman, J. (2009). The functional neuroanatomy of PTSD: A critical review. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 10(11), 867-879.
Yehuda, R. et al. (2015). Post-traumatic stress disorder. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 16(8), 535-550.
Streeter, C. C. et al. (2012). Effects of yoga on stress resilience. J Alt & Compl Med, 18(10), 871-879.
Hölzel, B. K. et al. (2011). Mindfulness practice leads to increases in regional brain gray matter density. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, 191(1), 36-43.
van der Kolk, B. A. et al. (2014). Yoga as an adjunctive treatment for PTSD. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 27(4), 397-405.
Nicholson, A. A. et al. (2016). Neurofeedback in PTSD. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 1349.
Eisenberger, N. I., & Cole, S. W. (2012). Social neuroscience and health: Neurophysiological mechanisms linking social ties with health outcomes. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 16(11), 649-660.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, National Center for PTSD. (2023). PTSD Treatment Options and Research.