title: An analysis of inhibitory functioning in individuals with chronic posttraumatic stress disorder.
abstract: Cognitive abnormalities in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may be a function of underlying inhibitory deficits. Prepulse inhibition (PPI) and attentional blink (AB) are paradigms thought to assess inhibition. Using a sample of 28 individuals with PTSD compared to 20 trauma-exposed and 19 healthy individuals, PPI was examined using white noise that was preceded by a tone, and AB was examined using a presentation of letters in a stream of numbers. Relative to the control group, the PTSD and trauma-exposed groups did not follow the u-shaped pattern in AB, suggesting trauma-exposure and subsequent PTSD are associated with similar impairment in attention. Individuals with PTSD showed reduced PPI compared to trauma-exposed and healthy individuals, suggesting individuals with PTSD exhibit faulty automatic processing. For individuals with PTSD, PTSD severity was associated with a decline in PPI. These findings suggest a general faulty inhibitory mechanism associated with trauma exposure and PTSD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Electronic address: aileen2@uw.edu.
authors.forename: Aileen M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Echiverri-Cohen
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Electronic address: zoellner@uw.edu.
authors.forename: Lori A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Zoellner
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Electronic address: willh21@uw.edu.
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Electronic address: jawadh@bu.edu.
authors.forename: Jawad
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Husain
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D054518:Attentional Blink; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008297:Male; D009622:Noise; D013216:Reflex, Startle / Q000502:physiology; D057566:Self Report; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Attentional blink; Inhibition; Posttraumatic stress disorder; Prepulse inhibition