SUSTAINED AND SELECTIVE ATTENTION IN PTSD

注意力和注意力集中的困难是最常见的 创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）患者的投诉。 这些困难可能以持续的问题形式出现， 注意力集中问题或偏见形式的注意力 在选择性注意力，如过度警觉等症状所证明。 虽然一些研究人员认为，这些注意力障碍是 在自然界中普遍存在，其他人认为，困难是有选择性的， 取决于内部状态和外部环境。该项目旨在 对持续性和选择性注意力进行多方法检查， 使用自我报告，行为和事件相关电位（ERP）的PTSD 措施该研究旨在调查两个因素，情感 启动和刺激的新奇，及其独立性和潜在性 PTSD患者注意力与专注力交互作用拟议 研究源于基于最近信息处理的预测 该实验室正在进行的理论和当前研究表明， 情感启动和刺激新奇性对个体的影响， 创伤后应激障碍的能力分配适当的注意力。研究1将 研究90名受试者持续性和选择性注意力的差异 暴露在战斗中的人。分析将基于三个主要 组：患有PTSD和共病抑郁症的退伍军人，患有PTSD的退伍军人， 共病焦虑症和没有轴I或轴II诊断的退伍军人。研究 2将在90名接触过的人中观察这些差异 一个单一的机动车事故谁将被分为这些相同的 三组两项研究的参与者都将接受一系列的自我- 报告措施，行为任务，特别是ERP协议 对注意力处理很敏感所有这些措施将给予 在情感因素相互作用的四种情况下， 启动（中性与创伤相关意象）和新奇（熟悉 对比小说）。我们的假设是创伤后应激障碍患者 在电生理和行为测量中的反应模式 这表明了对新的、分散注意力的刺激的增强处理， 在处理任务相关的刺激的并发缺陷。这些 对于处于情感启动期的PTSD受试者， 条件这项工作将大大增加我们目前的知识 由于其多方法评价， 编码的电生理学指标及其在可测试性中的基础 信息处理理论

Difficulties with attention and concentration are some of the most common complaints among individuals with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). These difficulties can came either in the form of problems with sustained attention as evidenced by concentration problems or in the form of biases in selective attention as evidenced by symptoms such as hypervigilance. While some investigators suggest that these attentional disturbances are pervasive in nature, others argue that the difficulties are selective and depend on internal states and external circumstances. This project aims to conduct a multi-method examination of sustained and selective attention in PTSD using self-report, behavioral, and event-related potential (ERP) measures. The study is designed to investigate two factors, affective priming and stimulus novelty, and their independent and potentially interactive affect of attention and concentration in PTSD. The proposed studies arise from predictions based on recent information processing theory and current research ongoing at this lab that suggest both affective priming and the stimulus novelty impact on an individual with PTSD's ability to allocate attention appropriately. Study 1 will investigate differences in sustained and selective attention in 90 individuals exposed to combat. Analyses will be based on three primary groups: veterans with PTSD and comorbid depression, veterans with PTSD and comorbid anxiety, and veterans with no Axis I or Axis II diagnosis. Study 2 will look at these differences in 90 individuals who have been exposed to a single motor vehicle accident who will be separated into these same three groups. Participants in both studies will undergo a series of self- report measures, behavioral tasks, and ERP protocols particularly sensitive to attentional processing. All these measures will be given under the four conditions that result from the interaction of affective priming (neutral versus trauma-relevant imagery) and novelty (familiar versus novel). It is our hypotheses that individuals with PTSD will reveal a pattern of responses across electrophysiological and behavioral measures that suggest an enhanced processing of novel, distracting stimuli with concurrent deficits in the processing of task-related stimuli. These biases will be exacerbated for subjects with PTSD in affective prime conditions. This work will add significantly to our current knowledge because of its multi-method assessment, it's utilization of electrophysiological indices of encoding, and its basis in testable information processing theory.