Neural indices of emotional reactivity and regulation predict course of PTSD symptoms in combat-exposed veterans

Publication date: 2 March 2018 Source:Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry, Volume 82 Author(s): Jacklynn M. Fitzgerald, Stephanie M. Gorka, Autumn Kujawa, Julia A. DiGangi, Eric Proescher, Justin E. Greenstein, Darrin M. Aase, Christopher Schroth, Kaveh Afshar, Amy E. Kennedy, Greg Hajcak, K. Luan Phan After diagnosis, veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) display significant variability in the natural course of illness (Bonanno et al., 2012)). Cross-sectional work reveals that abnormal neural response during emotion reactivity—measured using the late positive potential (LPP)—correlates with PTSD symptom severity; however, whether the LPP during emotional reactivity and regulation predicts symptoms over time is unknown. The current study examined the LPP during emotion reactivity and regulation as predictors of PTSD symptoms over one year in OEF/OIF/OND combat-exposed veterans. At baseline, participants completed an Emotion Regulation Task (ERT) during electroencephalogram recording. The Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) was completed at baseline (N =86), 6-months (N =54) and 1-year (N =49) later. During ERT, participants viewed negative pictures; partway through they were instructed to “reappraise” (i.e., reduce negative affect/regulate) or “look” (i.e., passively react). Change in LPP during emotional reactivity (ΔLPP-E) and reappraisal (ΔLPP-R) were calculated and used in multilevel mixed modeling t...
Source: Progress in Neuro Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry - Category: Psychiatry Source Type: research