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Regional brain electrical activity in posttraumatic stress disorder after motor vehicle accident

Regional brain electrical activity in posttraumatic stress disorder after motor vehicle accident
Regional brain electrical activity in posttraumatic stress disorder after motor vehicle accident
This study examined whether patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related to motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) would show an abnormal pattern of electroencephalographic (EEG) alpha asymmetries, which has been proposed for particular types of anxiety. Patients with PTSD (n = 22) or subsyndromal PTSD (n = 21), traumatized controls without PTSD (non-PTSD with MVA; n = 21), and healthy controls without MVA (n = 23) underwent measurement of EEG activity during baseline and exposure to a neutral, a positive, a negative, and an accident-related picture. Differences in brain asymmetry between groups were observed only during exposure to trauma-related material. PTSD and subsyndromal PTSD patients showed a pattern of enhanced right anterior and posterior activation, whereas non-PTSD with MVA participants showed the opposite pattern. Furthermore, posterior asymmetry in nontraumatized healthy controls varied with gender, with female participants showing a pattern of higher right posterior activation. The results support the hypothesis that symptomatic MVA survivors are characterized by a pattern of right hemisphere activation that is associated with anxious arousal and symptoms of PTSD during processing of trauma-specific information.
687-698
Rabe, Sirko
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Beauducel, André
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Zöllner, Tanja
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Maercker, Andreas
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Karl, Anke
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Rabe, Sirko
4f72049c-7e14-4dc7-b0dd-f1111df18f91
Beauducel, André
3313dcba-b8a2-4a64-94c1-14abaecbc90e
Zöllner, Tanja
c360ade9-d39c-4766-974c-dae3a30ed211
Maercker, Andreas
c8c1b9a1-07e0-4086-8c97-a3c259f33aa6
Karl, Anke
7f091050-641c-4658-a247-785cfd194c3d

Rabe, Sirko, Beauducel, André, Zöllner, Tanja, Maercker, Andreas and Karl, Anke (2006) Regional brain electrical activity in posttraumatic stress disorder after motor vehicle accident. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 115 (4), 687-698. (doi:10.1037/0021-843X.115.4.687).

Record type: Article

Abstract

This study examined whether patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related to motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) would show an abnormal pattern of electroencephalographic (EEG) alpha asymmetries, which has been proposed for particular types of anxiety. Patients with PTSD (n = 22) or subsyndromal PTSD (n = 21), traumatized controls without PTSD (non-PTSD with MVA; n = 21), and healthy controls without MVA (n = 23) underwent measurement of EEG activity during baseline and exposure to a neutral, a positive, a negative, and an accident-related picture. Differences in brain asymmetry between groups were observed only during exposure to trauma-related material. PTSD and subsyndromal PTSD patients showed a pattern of enhanced right anterior and posterior activation, whereas non-PTSD with MVA participants showed the opposite pattern. Furthermore, posterior asymmetry in nontraumatized healthy controls varied with gender, with female participants showing a pattern of higher right posterior activation. The results support the hypothesis that symptomatic MVA survivors are characterized by a pattern of right hemisphere activation that is associated with anxious arousal and symptoms of PTSD during processing of trauma-specific information.

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Published date: 2006

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 40397
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/40397
PURE UUID: b8c9f5b0-a9f9-40dc-b6ac-a9ada344a36f

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Date deposited: 06 Jul 2006
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 08:19

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Contributors

Author: Sirko Rabe
Author: André Beauducel
Author: Tanja Zöllner
Author: Andreas Maercker
Author: Anke Karl

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