title: Compelled attention: the effects of viewing trauma-related stimuli on concurrent task performance in posttraumatic stress disorder.
abstract: We examined the ability of Vietnam veterans with PTSD to focus attention on a primary digit detection task while concurrently viewing neutral or Vietnam-related picture and word distractors. Controlling for combat exposure, military service, and psychopathology, veterans with PTSD took longer to detect the target when Vietnam-related pictures were distractors. There were no reaction time differences when word stimuli were distractors. The latency effect was specific to trials with trauma-related pictures and did not spread to neutral trials interleaved within a mixed block of trauma and neutral pictures. Individuals with PTSD recalled proportionally more Vietnam-related words than other groups, implying differential attention to Vietnam-related words. Attending to trauma-related pictures interferes with performance of a concurrent task by individuals with PTSD.
authors.affiliation: Pacific Islands Division, National Center for PTSD, Department of Veterans Affairs, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813, USA.
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Chemtob
authors.forename: H L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Roitblat
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Hamada
authors.forename: M Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Muraoka
authors.forename: J G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Carlson
authors.forename: G B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Bauer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D008606:Mental Processes / Q000502:physiology*; D011939:Mental Recall; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology; D014825:Vocabulary