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Heffer N, Dennie E, Ashwin C, Petrini K, Karl A. Multisensory processing of emotional cues predicts intrusive memories after virtual reality trauma. VIRTUAL REALITY 2023; 27:2043-2057. [PMID: 37614716 PMCID: PMC10442266 DOI: 10.1007/s10055-023-00784-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2022] [Accepted: 03/03/2023] [Indexed: 08/25/2023]
Abstract
Research has shown that high trait anxiety can alter multisensory processing of threat cues (by amplifying integration of angry faces and voices); however, it remains unknown whether differences in multisensory processing play a role in the psychological response to trauma. This study examined the relationship between multisensory emotion processing and intrusive memories over seven days following exposure to an analogue trauma in a sample of 55 healthy young adults. We used an adapted version of the trauma film paradigm, where scenes showing a car accident trauma were presented using virtual reality, rather than a conventional 2D film. Multisensory processing was assessed prior to the trauma simulation using a forced choice emotion recognition paradigm with happy, sad and angry voice-only, face-only, audiovisual congruent (face and voice expressed matching emotions) and audiovisual incongruent expressions (face and voice expressed different emotions). We found that increased accuracy in recognising anger (but not happiness and sadness) in the audiovisual condition relative to the voice- and face-only conditions was associated with more intrusions following VR trauma. Despite previous results linking trait anxiety and intrusion development, no significant influence of trait anxiety on intrusion frequency was observed. Enhanced integration of threat-related information (i.e. angry faces and voices) could lead to overly threatening appraisals of stressful life events and result in greater intrusion development after trauma. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10055-023-00784-1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naomi Heffer
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath, BA2 7AY UK
- School of Sciences, Bath Spa University, Bath, UK
| | - Emma Dennie
- Mood Disorders Centre, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Chris Ashwin
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath, BA2 7AY UK
- Centre for Applied Autism Research (CAAR), Bath, UK
| | - Karin Petrini
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath, BA2 7AY UK
- The Centre for the Analysis of Motion, Entertainment Research and Applications (CAMERA), Bath, UK
| | - Anke Karl
- Mood Disorders Centre, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
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Brunette AM, Schacter DL. Cognitive mechanisms of episodic simulation in psychiatric populations. Behav Res Ther 2020; 136:103778. [PMID: 33338778 DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2020.103778] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2020] [Revised: 11/01/2020] [Accepted: 11/17/2020] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Episodic simulation is the construction of a mental representation of a specific autobiographical future event. Episodic simulation has increasingly been studied in psychiatric populations. Here we 1) review evidence indicating that episodic simulation is compromised in patients with depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and PTSD; and 2) consider several potential cognitive mechanisms of episodic simulation in psychiatric populations: episodic retrieval, scene construction, mental imagery, components of the CaRFAX model (i.e., capture and rumination, functional avoidance, and executive functioning), and narrative style. We evaluate evidence regarding these mechanisms across psychiatric populations, and identify areas of future research. Understanding the factors that contribute to episodic simulation impairment in psychiatric populations may lead to targeted and effective treatment approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda M Brunette
- VA Boston Healthcare System, Psychology Service, 150 South Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, 02130, United States.
| | - Daniel L Schacter
- Harvard University, Department of Psychology, William James Hall, 33 Kirkland Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138, United States.
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Hart-Smith L, Moulds ML. Abstract processing of a positive memory is associated with recalling positive memories from an observer perspective. Memory 2020; 28:576-581. [PMID: 32249707 DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2020.1749284] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
ruminative processing and recalling memories from an observer perspective represent two cognitive processes with adverse consequences in depression. However, no study to date has investigated the interrelationship of abstract processing, observer perspective and depression symptoms in the context of recalling personal emotional (positive, negative) memories, nor imagining emotional future events. An unselected online sample (N = 342) of participants was randomly allocated to one of four conditions: to recall a memory of a positive or negative event, or to imagine a future positive or negative event. Participants rated the vantage perspective from which they recalled or imagined the event, and the extent to which they engaged in abstract processing about it. For positive memories, a positive correlation emerged between abstract processing of the memory and observer recall; this relationship remained significant when depression symptoms were controlled. Abstract processing and vantage perspective were unrelated in the remaining three conditions. Whilst our findings await replication with a clinical sample to confirm generalisability to depressed individuals, they underscore the importance of investigating cognitive processes that influence positive memory recall and provide preliminary evidence that abstract processing of a positive memory is related to recalling the memory from an observer perspective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ly Hart-Smith
- School of Psychology, The University of New South Wales, UNSW Sydney, Australia
| | - Michelle L Moulds
- School of Psychology, The University of New South Wales, UNSW Sydney, Australia
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Chiu CP, Griffith JW, Lenaert B, Raes F, Hermans D, Barry TJ. Meta-analysis of the association between rumination and reduced autobiographical memory specificity. Memory 2018; 26:1323-1334. [DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2018.1474928] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Connie P.Y. Chiu
- Experimental Psychopathology Lab, Department of Psychology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - James W. Griffith
- Department of Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Bert Lenaert
- School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
| | - Filip Raes
- Centre for Learning Psychology and Experimental Psychopathology, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Dirk Hermans
- Centre for Learning Psychology and Experimental Psychopathology, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Tom J. Barry
- Experimental Psychopathology Lab, Department of Psychology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
- The Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
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Matsumoto N, Sensui T, Mochizuki S. Does Overgeneralized Autobiographical Memory Facilitate or Inhibit Intrusive Images? Its Relation to Depressive Symptoms. APPLIED COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY 2017. [DOI: 10.1002/acp.3370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Noboru Matsumoto
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science; Tokyo Japan
- Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies; Kyoto University; Kyoto Japan
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Van den Broeck K, Pieters G, Claes L, Berens A, Raes F. Overgeneral autobiographical memory predicts higher prospective levels of depressive symptoms and intrusions in borderline patients. Memory 2015; 24:1302-10. [PMID: 26494540 DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2015.1102938] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Overgeneral memory (OGM), the tendency to retrieve categories of events from autobiographical memory instead of single events, is found to be a reliable predictor for future mood disturbances and post-traumatic symptom severity. Patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) often report co-morbid episodes of major depressive disorder (MDD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Therefore, we investigated whether OGM would predict depression severity and (post-traumatic) stress symptoms in BPD patients. At admission (N = 54) and at six-month follow-up (N ≥ 31), BPD patients completed the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Disorders, the Assessment of DSM-IV Personality Disorders, the Autobiographical Memory Test, the Beck Depression Inventory-2nd edition (BDI-II), and the Impact of Event Scale. OGM at baseline predicted (a) higher levels of depressive symptoms at follow-up and (b) more intrusions related to a stressful event over and above baseline levels of borderline symptoms, depressive symptoms, and intrusions, respectively. No association was found between memory specificity and event-related avoidance at follow-up. Despite previous findings suggesting that OGM in BPD is less robust than in MDD and PTSD, our results suggest that memory specificity in BPD patients may have some relevance for the course of depressive and stress symptomatology in BPD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kris Van den Broeck
- a Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences , University of Leuven , Leuven , Belgium.,b University Psychiatric Centre KU Leuven , Kortenberg , Belgium
| | - Guido Pieters
- a Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences , University of Leuven , Leuven , Belgium.,b University Psychiatric Centre KU Leuven , Kortenberg , Belgium
| | - Laurence Claes
- a Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences , University of Leuven , Leuven , Belgium
| | - Ann Berens
- c Psychiatric Hospital Duffel , Duffel , Belgium
| | - Filip Raes
- a Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences , University of Leuven , Leuven , Belgium
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