Measures of Prefrontal System Dysfunction in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Clinical observations have suggested that individuals who have suffered traumatic stressful events exhibit disruption in abilities mediated by frontal brain systems. Therefore, this study employed tasks sensitive to frontal lobe dysfunction, including delayed response (DR), delayed alternation (DA),...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Brain and cognition 2001-02, Vol.45 (1), p.64-78
Main Authors: Koenen, Karestan C., Driver, Kelly L., Oscar-Berman, Marlene, Wolfe, Jessica, Folsom, Shelly, Huang, Mina T., Schlesinger, Lauren
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Anxiety disorders. Neuroses
Biological and medical sciences
Cognition Disorders - etiology
Cognition Disorders - physiopathology
comparative neuropsychology
Female
frontal brain systems
Humans
Key Words: posttraumatic stress disorder
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Neuropsychological Tests
neuropsychology
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Prefrontal Cortex - physiopathology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - psychology
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Summary:Clinical observations have suggested that individuals who have suffered traumatic stressful events exhibit disruption in abilities mediated by frontal brain systems. Therefore, this study employed tasks sensitive to frontal lobe dysfunction, including delayed response (DR), delayed alternation (DA), object alternation (OA), delayed matching-to-sample (DMTS), and delayed nonmatching-to-sample (DNMTS), with participants having posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Compared to controls, the PTSD participants were unimpaired on DA and DMTS, but they showed deficits on DR, OA, and DNMTS tasks. This pattern of results suggests disruption of functioning in selective prefrontal brain systems. Results are discussed in the context of the neuropsychological features of PTSD, as well as possible neuropathological and etiological underpinnings of this disorder.
ISSN:0278-2626
1090-2147
DOI:10.1006/brcg.2000.1256