Dissociation between working memory performance and proactive interference control in post-traumatic stress disorder

Abstract

Deficits in working memory (WM) and cognitive control processes have been reported in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), in addition to clinical symptoms such as hypervigilance, re-experiencing, and avoidance of trauma reminders. Given the uncontrollable nature of intrusive memories, an important question is whether PTSD is associated with altered control of interference in WM. Some studies also suggest that episodic memory shows a material-specific dissociation in PTSD, with greater impairments in verbal memory and relative sparing of nonverbal memory. It is unclear whether this dissociation applies to WM, as no studies have used identical task parameters across material. Here we tested 29 combat Veterans with PTSD and 29 age-matched control Veterans on a recent probes WM task with words and visual patterns in separate blocks. Participants studied four-item sets, followed by a probe stimulus that had been presented in the previous set (recent probe) or not (nonrecent probe). Participants with PTSD made more errors than controls, and this decrement was similar for verbal and visual stimuli. Proactive interference from items recently presented, but no longer relevant, was not significantly different in the PTSD group and showed no relationship to re-experiencing symptom severity. These results demonstrate that PTSD is not reliably associated with increased intrusions of irrelevant representations into WM when non-emotional stimuli are used. Future studies that use trauma-related material may provide insight into the flashbacks and intrusive thoughts that plague those with PTSD.

Dysregulation of inflammation, neurobiology, and cognitive function in PTSD: an integrative review

“…As noted previously, deficits in executive control contribute to the development and maintenance of PTSD (LoSavio, Dillon, & Resick, 2017;Swick, Cayton, Ashley, & Turken, 2017). Recent findings also demonstrate that worse executive control predicts increased inflammatory reactivity to emotional distress (Shields, Kuchenbecker, Pressman, Sumida, & Slavich, 2016).…”

The Association of the Exposure to Work-Related Traumatic Events and Work Limitations among Firefighters: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…In general, PTSD is accompanied by depression, anxiety, and alcohol-use disorders; it causes not only physical and mental disorders, but also social and occupational problems [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]. It is characterized by cognitive dysfunction, and it may lead to problems of observation and control of information, which interferes with work performance and leads to the limitations of work demands [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ]. In addition, it causes symptoms such as fatigue, loss of concentration, loss of interest in activities, sleep disorders, social atrophy, vigilance, and behavioral avoidance, increasing absenteeism and causing problems in efficiency and social relations in the workplace [ 19 ].…”

Sleep, trauma, fantasy and cognition in dissociative identity disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and healthy controls: a replication and extension study

“…However, neurobiological research has failed to support this model, showing that high fantasy prone healthy controls instructed and motivated to simulate DID were not able to enact brain activation patterns and physiological activation of individuals with DID (Reinders, Willemsen, Vos, den Boer, & Nijenhuis, 2012;Schlumpf et al, 2013Schlumpf et al, , 2014. Research on cognitive functioning, dissociative symptoms and DID has produced conflicting results: some studies (Dorahy, 2001) on memory and dissociative disorders showed potential deficits in working memory of DID individuals, while several other studies documented that dissociation was linked to better task-performance in working memory tasks accompanied by increased brain activation (Elzinga et al, 2007;Swick, Cayton, Ashley, & Turken, 2017;Veltman et al, 2005). Consequently, research requires further replication and validation.…”