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Liu SR, Moore TM, Gur RC, Nievergelt C, Baker DG, Risbrough V, Acheson DT. High executive functioning is associated with reduced posttraumatic stress after trauma exposure among male U.S. military personnel. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1181055. [PMID: 37818418 PMCID: PMC10560729 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1181055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2023] [Accepted: 08/31/2023] [Indexed: 10/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Evidence suggests that executive function (EF) may play a key role in development of PTSD, possibly influenced by factors such as trauma type and timing. Since EF can be improved through intervention, it may be an important target for promoting resilience to trauma exposure. However, more research is needed to understand the relation between trauma exposure, EF, and PTSD. The goal of this study was to improve understanding of EF as a potential antecedent or protective factor for the development of PTSD among military personnel. Method In a cohort of U.S. Marines and Navy personnel (N = 1,373), the current study tested the association between exposure to traumatic events (pre-deployment and during deployment) and PTSD severity, and whether EF moderated these associations. Three types of pre-deployment trauma exposure were examined: cumulative exposure, which included total number of events participants endorsed as having happened to them, witnessed, or learned about; direct exposure, which included total number of events participants endorsed as having happened to them; and interpersonal exposure, which included total number of interpersonally traumatic events participants' endorsed. EF was measured using the Penn Computerized Neurocognitive Battery. Results EF was associated with less PTSD symptom severity at pre-deployment, even when adjusting for trauma exposure, alcohol use, traumatic brain injury, and number of years in the military. EF also moderated the relation between cumulative trauma exposure and interpersonal trauma exposure and PTSD, with higher EF linked to a 20 and 33% reduction in expected point increase in PTSD symptoms with cumulative and interpersonal trauma exposure, respectively. Finally, higher pre-deployment EF was associated with reduced PTSD symptom severity at post-deployment, independent of deployment-related trauma exposure and adjusting for pre-deployment PTSD. Conclusion Our results suggest that EF plays a significant, if small role in the development of PTSD symptoms after trauma exposure among military personnel. These findings provide important considerations for future research and intervention and prevention, specifically, incorporating a focus on improving EF in PTSD treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabrina R. Liu
- Department of Human Development, California State University San Marcos, San Marcos, CA, United States
| | - Tyler M. Moore
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Ruben C. Gur
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Caroline Nievergelt
- Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, VA San Diego Healthcare System, La Jolla, CA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - Dewleen G. Baker
- Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, VA San Diego Healthcare System, La Jolla, CA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - Victoria Risbrough
- Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, VA San Diego Healthcare System, La Jolla, CA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - Dean T. Acheson
- Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, VA San Diego Healthcare System, La Jolla, CA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
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Russell B, Mussap AJ. Posttraumatic stress, visual working memory, and visual imagery in military personnel. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2023; 43:1-18. [PMID: 36845204 PMCID: PMC9942044 DOI: 10.1007/s12144-023-04338-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/28/2023] [Indexed: 02/23/2023]
Abstract
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is characterized by disruptions to cognitive functioning. Two studies were conducted to examine the relevance of military-related PTSD to two cognitive functions - visual working memory and visual imagery. Participants were military personnel who reported their PTSD diagnosis history and completed a self-administered screening tool for PTSD, the PTSD Checklist - Military Version. In Study 1, 138 personnel also completed a memory span task and a 2-back task using colored words in which Stroop interference was introduced via the semantic content of the words. In Study 2, a separate group of 211 personnel completed measures of perceived imagery vividness and spontaneous use of visual imagery. Interference effects on working memory in PTSD-diagnosed military personnel were not replicated. However, ANCOVA and structural equation modelling revealed that PTSD-intrusions were associated with poorer working memory whereas PTSD-arousal was associated with spontaneous use of visual imagery. We interpret these results as evidence that intrusive flashbacks disrupt working memory performance not by limiting memory capacity nor by interfering directly with memory functions such as inhibition, but by adding internal noise in the form of task-irrelevant memories and emotions. Visual imagery appears to be unrelated to these flashbacks but with arousal symptoms of PTSD, perhaps in the form of flashforwards about feared/anticipated threats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brenton Russell
- School of Psychology, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, 3125 Melbourne, Australia
| | - Alexander J. Mussap
- School of Psychology, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, 3125 Melbourne, Australia
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Jiang W, Tian Y, Fan F, Fu F, Wei D, Tang S, Chen J, Li Y, Zhu R, Wang L, Shi Z, Wang D, Zhang XY. Effects of comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder on cognitive dysfunction in Chinese male methamphetamine patients. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2022; 119:110611. [PMID: 35907518 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2022.110611] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2022] [Revised: 07/21/2022] [Accepted: 07/23/2022] [Indexed: 10/16/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Cognitive dysfunction and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are common in methamphetamine patients. However, few studies have investigated the cognitive performance of methamphetamine patients with PTSD. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of comorbid PTSD on cognitive function in Chinese male methamphetamine patients. METHODS We analyzed 464 methamphetamine patients and 156 healthy volunteers. The PTSD Screening Scale (PCL-5) was used to assess PTSD and the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) was used to assess cognitive function. RESULTS Compared with healthy controls, methamphetamine patients had more cognitive dysfunction in immediate memory, visuospatial/constructional, language, attention and delayed memory. Moreover, methamphetamine patients with PTSD had less cognitive dysfunction in immediate memory, attention, and delayed memory than methamphetamine patients without PTSD. Further stepwise regression analysis showed that PTSD alterations in arousal and reactivity cluster were risk predictors for language, and PTSD negative alteration in cognition and mood cluster were risk predictors for delayed memory. CONCLUSIONS Our results indicate that methamphetamine patients without PTSD have poorer cognitive dysfunction than those with PTSD. Some demographic and PTSD symptom clusters are protective or risk factors for cognitive dysfunction in methamphetamine patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Jiang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yang Tian
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Fusheng Fan
- Xin Hua Drug Rehabilitation Center, Sichuan, China
| | - Fabing Fu
- Xin Hua Drug Rehabilitation Center, Sichuan, China
| | - Dejun Wei
- Xin Hua Drug Rehabilitation Center, Sichuan, China
| | | | - Jiajing Chen
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yuqing Li
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Rongrong Zhu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Li Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Zhanbiao Shi
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
| | - Dongmei Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
| | - Xiang-Yang Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
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Szameitat AJ. Inter-Individual Differences in Executive Functions Predict Multitasking Performance - Implications for the Central Attentional Bottleneck. Front Psychol 2022; 13:778966. [PMID: 35645928 PMCID: PMC9131123 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.778966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2021] [Accepted: 04/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Human multitasking suffers from a central attentional bottleneck preventing parallel performance of central mental operations, leading to profound deferments in task performance. While previous research assumed that the deferment is caused by a mere waiting time (refractory period), we show that the bottleneck requires executive functions (EF; active scheduling account) accounting for a profound part of the deferment. Three participant groups with EF impairments (dyslexics, highly neurotics, deprived smokers) showed worse multitasking performance than respective control groups. Three further groups with EF improvements (video-gamers, bilinguals, coffee consumers) showed improved multitasking. Finally, three groups performed a dual-task and different measures of EF (reading span, rotation span, symmetry span) and showed significant correlations between multitasking performance and working memory capacity. Demands on EF during multitasking may cause more errors, mental fatigue and stress, with parts of the population being considerably more prone to this.
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Affiliation(s)
- André J. Szameitat
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience (CCN), Division of Psychology, Department of Life Sciences, College of Health and Life Sciences, Brunel University London, Uxbridge, United Kingdom
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Glucocorticoid-glucocorticoid receptor-HCN1 channels reduce neuronal excitability in dorsal hippocampal CA1 neurons. Mol Psychiatry 2022; 27:4035-4049. [PMID: 35840797 PMCID: PMC9718682 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-022-01682-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2022] [Revised: 06/15/2022] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
While chronic stress increases hyperpolarization-activated current (Ih) in dorsal hippocampal CA1 neurons, the underlying molecular mechanisms are entirely unknown. Following chronic social defeat stress (CSDS), susceptible mice displayed social avoidance and impaired spatial working memory, which were linked to decreased neuronal excitability, increased perisomatic hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN) 1 protein expression, and elevated Ih in dorsal but not ventral CA1 neurons. In control mice, bath application of corticosterone reduced neuronal excitability, increased tetratricopeptide repeat-containing Rab8b-interacting protein (TRIP8b) and HCN1 protein expression, and elevated Ih in dorsal but not ventral CA1 region/neurons. Corticosterone-induced upregulation of functional Ih was mediated by the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), HCN channels, and the protein kinase A (PKA) but not the calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) pathway. Three months after the end of CSDS, susceptible mice displayed persistent social avoidance when exposed to a novel aggressor. The sustained behavioral deficit was associated with lower neuronal excitability and higher functional Ih in dorsal CA1 neurons, both of which were unaffected by corticosterone treatment. Our findings show that corticosterone treatment mimics the pathophysiological effects of dorsal CA1 neurons/region found in susceptible mice. The aberrant expression of HCN1 protein along the somatodendritic axis of the dorsal hippocampal CA1 region might be the molecular mechanism driving susceptibility to social avoidance.
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