Association between spatial working memory and Re-experiencing symptoms in PTSD. J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry 2022 Jun;75:101714
Date
12/16/2021Pubmed ID
34906826Pubmed Central ID
PMC9173718DOI
10.1016/j.jbtep.2021.101714Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85121008697 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 7 CitationsAbstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Few studies have evaluated the link between working memory (WM) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Further, it is unknown whether this relationship is accounted for by other relevant variables including negative affect, emotional dysregulation, or general non-WM-related cognitive control deficits, which are associated with PTSD. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which a computerized WM task could predict PTSD symptomology incrementally beyond the contribution of other relevant variables associated with PTSD.
METHODS: Thirty veterans were eligible to complete emotional symptom questionnaires, a heart-rate variability measure, and computerized tasks (i.e., emotional Stroop and automated complex span tasks). A three-stage hierarchical regression was conducted with the PCL-5 total score and symptom clusters (i.e., re-experiencing, avoidance, hyperarousal, and negative cognition/mood) as the dependent variable.
RESULTS: Results revealed that only the re-experiencing symptom cluster was significantly predicted by executive, verbal, and visuospatial WM tasks, which explained an additional 29.7% of the variance over and above other relevant variables. Most notably, the visuospatial task was the only WM task that significantly explained PCL-5 re-experiencing symptoms.
LIMITATIONS: This study was based on a small sample of veterans with PTSD and causality cannot be determined with this cross-sectional study.
CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the results suggest that deficits in visuospatial WM are significantly associated with PTSD re-experiencing symptoms after controlling for other relevant variables. Further research should evaluate whether an intervention to improve visuospatial WM capacity can be implemented to reduce re-experiencing symptoms.
Author List
Mathew AS, Lotfi S, Bennett KP, Larsen SE, Dean C, Larson CL, Lee HJAuthor
Sadie E. Larsen PhD Associate Professor in the Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
Cross-Sectional StudiesEmotions
Humans
Memory, Short-Term
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
Veterans