Trauma, Trauma Sequela, and Alcohol Information Processing

描述(由申请人提供)：创伤，创伤后遗症和酒精信息处理学院的学生都有创伤和由此导致的创伤应激后遗症(TSS)的风险。也许不是巧合，酒精的使用(ALC)在美国校园里很普遍，并与无数的后果相关。TSS和ALC通常是同时发生的，并被认为彼此之间存在因果关系。然而，还没有研究检验创伤应激后遗症可能影响这一高危群体饮酒的相互关联的认知机制。在自我用药和社会学习(SLT)模型中，都注意到了负面情绪和信息处理在理解TSS-ALC关联方面的相关性。数据表明，创伤及其后遗症可能会改变信息处理机制，使患有TSS的个体对相关线索表现出注意偏向。这种偏见似乎特定于与情感相关的信息。我们假设，TSS和饮酒的共同出现可以通过紧密关联的TSS和ALC信息记忆网络来解释，这两个网络通过扩散激活过程联系在一起。也就是说，创伤线索可能会依次激活负面情绪和与酒精相关的信息，导致人们倾向于以可能导致饮酒的方式处理这些信息。我们提出，创伤记忆网络的激活将从三个方面影响酒精信息处理。首先，这种激活将导致偏向于处理积极的酒精预期，最具体地说，自我用药预期。其次，当创伤网络被激活时，酒精信息的处理将干扰其他情绪无关信息的处理。最后，当创伤记忆网络被激活时，酒精将在记忆中与正价信息更紧密地联系在一起。内隐认知被证明是理解酒精使用的重要因素，并被认为是创伤后应激的关键病因。在这里，我们使用多个任务(预期反应时；E任务，改进的Stroop；M-Stroop，IAT)来评估TSS-ALC的内隐认知过程。两个实验将检验创伤线索影响患有和不患有创伤后应激障碍(PTSD)的大学生酒精信息处理的因果路径。第一项研究将评估创伤线索和创伤后应激障碍对酒精期望加工偏向(E-TASK)和酒精信息加工干扰(M-Stroop)的影响。第二个测试将使用IAT测试线索暴露和创伤后应激障碍对酒精信息评估(积极和消极关联)的影响。研究结果将为旨在改变人们对酒精的积极看法的干预措施提供参考，以减少大学校园里的酗酒现象。与公共健康相关：大学时代代表着向成年的过渡，在此期间，学生体验成人的自由和责任，当他们必须学会在饮酒成为常态的环境中谈判这些自由和责任的时候。这可能会对那些已经试图应对创伤后应激障碍的人构成特别的挑战。来自这项研究的关于酒精信仰如何受到创伤和创伤后障碍(PTSD)影响的知识将为旨在减少大学校园酗酒和问题饮酒的干预措施提供依据。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Trauma, Trauma Sequelae, and Alcohol Information Processing College students are at risk for both trauma and resulting traumatic stress sequelae (TSS). Perhaps not coincidentally, the use of alcohol (ALC) is prevalent on U.S. campuses, and is associated with myriad consequences. TSS and ALC commonly co-occur, and are posited to be causally related to one another. Yet, no research has examined interrelated cognitive mechanisms by which traumatic stress sequelae may affect alcohol use in this at-risk group. The relevance of negative emotion and information processing in understanding TSS-ALC associations is noted in both Self-Medication and Social Learning (SLT) models. Data suggest that trauma and its sequelae may alter information processing mechanisms, such that individuals with TSS demonstrate an attentional bias to relevant cues. This bias appears to be specific to emotionally relevant information. We posit that the co-occurrence of TSS and drinking may be explained by closely associated TSS and ALC information memory networks that are linked by a process of spreading activation. That is, trauma cues may activate both negative emotions and alcohol-related information in sequence, resulting in a bias to process this information in ways that are likely to lead to drinking. We propose that activation of a trauma memory network will impact alcohol information processing in three ways. First, this activation will result in a bias to process positive alcohol expectancies, most specifically, self-medication expectancies. Second, processing alcohol information will interfere with processing other emotionally irrelevant information when a trauma network is activated. Finally, alcohol will be more strongly associated in memory with positively valenced information when a trauma memory network is activated. Implicit cognition has been shown to be important for understanding alcohol use, and has been suggested to be a critical etiological factor in posttraumatic stress. Here, we use multiple tasks (expectancy reaction time; E-TASK, Modified Stroop;M-Stroop, IAT) to assess implicit TSS-ALC cognitive processes. Two experiments will examine causal paths through which trauma cues affect alcohol information processing in college students with and without posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The first will evaluate the impact of trauma cue and PTSD on bias in processing alcohol expectancies (E-TASK) and interference in processing alcohol information (M-Stroop). The second will test the impact of cue exposure and PTSD on the evaluation (positive, negative associations) of alcohol information using the IAT. Findings will inform interventions designed to modify positive beliefs about alcohol in the interest of decreasing heavy drinking on college campuses. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The college years represent a transition into adulthood, during which students experience adult freedoms and responsibilities, and when they must learn to negotiate these in an environment where drinking is the norm. This may pose a particular challenge to those already attempting to cope with post- traumatic stress. Knowledge from this study regarding how alcohol beliefs are affected by trauma and posttraumatic disorder (PTSD) will inform interventions designed to decrease heavy and problem drinking on college campuses.