title: Attention, arousal, and memory in posttraumatic stress disorder.
abstract: Vietnam combat veterans with current posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), with other Axis-I disorders, or with no Axis-I disorders completed a series of tasks designed to elucidate the psychophysiological parameters of information-processing in PTSD. These tasks included a modified Stroop procedure (MSP), a standard Stroop procedure, a recognition memory task, and a threat rating task. Physiological responses were recorded throughout the study. Our data supported several predictions derived from information-processing models of PTSD. PTSD subjects exhibited greater MSP interference to high threat words than both comparison groups, and a liberal response bias toward recognizing military-related words. PTSD symptoms and threat reactions contributed to MSP interference effects for high-threat words after controlling for medications, depression, and baseline physiological activity.
authors.affiliation: National Center for PTSD, Boston Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Massachusetts 02130, USA.
authors.forename: B T
authors.initials: BT
authors.lastname: Litz
authors.forename: F W
authors.initials: FW
authors.lastname: Weathers
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Monaco
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Herman
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wulfsohn
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Marx
authors.forename: T M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Keane
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology; D003118:Color Perception; D003130:Combat Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D015897:Comorbidity; D004193:Discrimination Learning / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D010467:Perceptual Defense; D011603:Psychophysiology; D011930:Reaction Time; D012660:Semantics; D014706:Verbal Learning / Q000502:physiology; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology*; D014744:Vietnam