The Parameters of Emotional-processing in PTSD

描述（由申请人提供）：PTSD患者报告强烈 当被提醒他们的创伤和缺乏 体验和表达情感的能力，或“情感麻木”。“虽然 有大量的研究表明， 对创伤的反应，很少有关于情绪的研究。 对这两种反应之间关系的研究既麻木又稀疏 班本提案的目的是证明 负面影响和防御行为提示的创伤和 PTSD患者随后的情绪处理功能障碍 在越南服役时留下的将特别努力征聘和 研究患有创伤后应激障碍的西班牙裔男性退伍军人， 患创伤后应激障碍的风险更高计划进行两项研究，以测试 创伤后应激障碍中的情绪处理研究1将研究 男性和女性越南退伍军人与非创伤后应激障碍，在三个条件下： 中性基线条件，非创伤相关的压力源条件（恐惧 电影），以及创伤相关的启动（战区图像和声音）。PTSD小组 对负面图片的情绪反应更强烈 只是因为暴露在创伤相关的刺激下创伤素 在PTSD组中也应该是唯一抑制阳性反应的。 研究2是刺激强度阈值的参数检查 在创伤后应激障碍中引发一系列积极和消极情绪所必需的。我们 假设PTSD患者倾向于需要更高的 引发积极情绪的强度阈值和较低的阈值， 负面影响，而患有创伤后应激障碍的西班牙裔男性需要更高的阈值 积极和消极的情绪。在每项研究中， 标准化情绪反应的心理生理学指标 将评估彩色照片。我们特别关注 惊吓反射活动的调节，已经被证明是可靠的 索引情绪反应的效价。在研究2中，我们将评估 刺激强度的程度需要产生惊吓调制的积极 和负面情绪的影响

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Individuals with PTSD report intense negative emotional reactions when reminded of their trauma and a lack of ability to experience and express emotions, or "emotional numbing." Although there has been extensive research conducted on conditioned negative emotional response to reminders of trauma, there has been little research on emotional numbing, and sparse research on the relationship between these two response classes. The goal of this proposal is to demonstrate a link between the negative affect and defensive behavior cued by reminders of trauma and subsequent emotional-processing dysfunction in PTSD, in men and women with PTSD stemming from service in Vietnam. Special effort will be made to recruit and study Hispanic male veterans with PTSD because this group has been found to be at higher risk for PTSD. Two studies are planned to test various parameters of emotional-processing in PTSD. Study 1 will examine the emotional responses of men and women Vietnam veterans with and without PTSD, under three conditions: a neutral baseline condition, a non-trauma-related stressor condition (a fear film), and a trauma-related prime (war-zone images and sounds). The PTSD groups are expected to exhibit more intense emotional reactions to negatively images only as a result of exposure to the trauma-related prime. The trauma prime should also uniquely suppress positively valenced responses in the PTSD groups. Study 2 is a parametric examination of the threshold of stimulus intensity required to elicit a full range of positive and negative emotion in PTSD. We hypothesize that patients with PTSD are predisposed to require a higher threshold of intensity to elicit positive emotion and a lower threshold for negative affect, and that Hispanic male's with PTSD require a higher threshold for positive and negative emotion. In each study, a variety of psychophysiological indicators of emotional response to standardized emotion eliciting color photographs will be assessed. We pay particular attention to the modulation of startle reflex activity, which has been shown to reliably index the valence of emotional responsivity. In Study 2 we will evaluate the degree of stimulus intensity required to produce startle modulation of positive and negative emotion in PTSD.