Relationship between heart rate and emotional memory in subjects with a past history of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Considerable evidence suggests that the adrenergic system plays an important role in the biological mechanism of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In the present pilot study the association between heart rate (HR) recorded prior to slide viewing and long-term emotional memory was compared between human subjects with a past history of PTSD (n = 6) and healthy women controls (n = 12). The correlation between HR during the anticipatory period and emotional memory was significant for the PTSD group (r = 0.93, P < 0.001) but not for the control group (r = 0.21, NS). The adrenergic reaction appears to be associated with emotional memory, which may be strengthened in subjects with a past history of PTSD.
Nagamine
Mitsue
M
Division of Adult Mental Health, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo, Japan.
Matsuoka
Yutaka
Y
Mori
Etsuro
E
Fujimori
Maiko
M
Imoto
Shigeru
S
Kim
Yoshiharu
Y
Uchitomi
Yosuke
Y
D000328:Adult; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010275:Parasympathetic Nervous System / Q000502:physiology; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D010865:Pilot Projects; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*