What stress does to the brain

Stress is more than a feeling. Under sustained pressure, the brain changes physically in ways that raise the risk of depression, PTSD, and schizophrenia.

Understanding why some brains are more affected than others has been one of the field's most challenging questions.

Natalie Matosin has spent 15 years studying donated human brains, mapping the cellular and molecular marks that stress and trauma leave behind. Her work is opening new possibilities for earlier detection and better treatment of mental illness. So if we can map these changes, can we intervene earlier, or even prevent them?