Memory for Duration: Role of Hippocampus and Medial Prefrontal Cortex

In this task rats had to learn that a three-dimensional object stimulus (a rectangle) that was visible for 2 s would result in a positive (go) reinforcement for one object (a ball) and no reinforcement (no go) for a different object (a bottle). However, if the rectangle stimulus was visible for 8 s then there would be no reinforcement for the ball (no go), but a reinforcement for the bottle (go). After rats learned this conditional discrimination by responding differentially in terms of latency to approach the object, they received large (dorsal and ventral) lesions of the hippocampus, lesions of the medial prefrontal cortex (anterior cingulate and precentral cortex), lesions of the cortex dorsal to the dorsal hippocampus, or served as sham-operated controls. Following recovery from surgery they were retested. The results indicate that there were major impairments following hippocampal lesions, in contrast to cortical control and medial prefrontal cortex lesions, as indicated by smaller latency differences between positive and negative trials on postsurgery tests. In order to ensure that the deficits observed with hippocampal lesions were not due to a discrimination problem, new rats were trained in an object (gray cylinder) duration discrimination task. In this go/no go procedure, the rats were reinforced for a 2-s exposure (duration) of the gray cylinder, but not a 10-s duration, or vice versa. The results indicate that after hippocampal lesions, there was an initial deficit followed by complete recovery. There were no significant changes for the medial prefrontal, cortical control, or sham-operated animals. It appears that the hippocampus, but not the medial prefrontal cortex, is actively involved in representing in short-term memory temporal attribute information based on the use of markers for the beginning and end of the presence (duration) of a stimulus (object).     

右侧背外侧前额叶皮质在时间知觉中的作用:基于经颅磁刺激的研究

将10 Hz的重复经颅磁刺激(r TMS)施加于右背外侧前额叶皮质(r DLPFC),探讨该区域在时间加工模型中的作用。实验一采用时间复制任务,通过比较基线和后测条件下时间估计行为的差异,探究高频r TMS离线施加于r DLPFC之后对时间知觉的影响。实验二采用毫秒和秒两种范围的时距,探究r DLPFC在不同范围的时间知觉中的作用。结果发现r TMS施加于r DLPFC导致对1.5 s高估,对600 ms的估计无显著影响,提示r DLPFC在涉及工作记忆加工过程的秒范围的时间知觉中有重要作用。     

The Comorbidity of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Suicidality in Vietnam Veterans

Vietnam veterans (N = 232) recruited from three sources were assessed for suicidal thinking and behaviors, and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. Findings support the notion that suicidal thoughts are prevalent in this group, with veterans in psychotherapy reporting a greater likelihood of such symptoms (82.6%) than veterans in the community (35.7%) or those seeking assistance through a veteran's outreach center (66.7%). Thoughts of ending one's life and a previous suicide attempt were significantly correlated with a diagnosis of PTSD (r = .53, p < .001; and r = .33, p < .001, respectively). Veterans with a diagnosis of PTSD and depression or dysthymia were also more likely to report suicidal thinking and behaviors than veterans with only one of the diagnoses.     

Perceptual Implicit Memory for Trauma-related Information in Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

We used a perceptual identification paradigm to investigate whether Vietnam combat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), compared to healthy combat veterans, exhibit an implicit memory bias for trauma-related information. Subjects viewed a series of trauma, positive, and neutral words, and subsequently saw these "old" words intermixed with an equivalent number of "new" distractor words of the same types. During this test phase, each word appeared for 100 milliseconds and was replaced by a visual mask. Although both groups exhibited implicit memory by accurately identifying more old words than new words, this priming effect was not enhanced for trauma words in the PTSD group. Tasks that primarily tap perceptual implicit memory may be relatively insensitive to emotional variables.     

前额叶皮层在学习记忆中的作用

为了探讨前额叶皮层的功能,在被试进行联合搜索作业(Conjunction search task)时,使用跨颅磁刺激干扰被试者右侧前额叶皮层的活动,观察被试者在学习前后的反应时间的变化。观察到磁刺激干扰前额叶的活动,明显地延长了被试者在学习前的反应时间,对学习之后的反应时间几乎没有变化。这说明右侧前额叶参与了记忆的编码,对记忆的提取没有作用。     

A Role for the Human Amygdala in Recognizing Emotional Arousal From Unpleasant Stimuli

Functional neuroimaging and lesion-based neuropsychological experiments have demonstrated the human amygdala's role in recognition of certain emotions signaled by sensory stimuli, notably, fear and anger in facial expressions. We examined recognition of two emotional dimensions, arousal and valence, in a rare subject with complete, bilateral damage restricted to the amygdala. Recognition of emotional arousal was impaired for facial expressions, words, and sentences that depicted unpleasant emotions, especially in regard to fear and anger. However, recognition of emotional valence was normal. The findings suggest that the amygdala plays a critical role in knowledge concerning the arousal of negative emotions, a function that may explain the impaired recognition of fear and anger in patients with bilateral amygdala damage, and one that is consistent with the amygdala's role in processing stimuli related to threat and danger.     

Amygdalar Volume in Borderline Personality Disorder With and Without Comorbid Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: A Meta-analysis

IntroductionFour studies have found a smaller amygdalar volume in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) relative to controls, whereas four other studies have found similar amygdalar volume in BPD patients relative to controls. This study aims to compare amygdalar volumes of BPD patients with controls, and also to compare BPD patients with and without post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with controls in order to determine whether PTSD can explain the heterogeneity of findings.MethodSystematic review and meta-analysis of magnetic resonance imaging studies that measured amygdalar volumes in BPD patients and healthy controls.FindingsA significant reduction of amygdalar volumes in BPD patients was confirmed (p < .001). However, data from the studies that discriminated BPD patients with and without PTSD indicated that amygdalar volumes were significantly smaller in BPD patients without PTSD relative to controls (left: p = .02; right: p = .05), but not in BPD patients with PTSD relative to controls (left: p = .08; right: p = .20).ConclusionThis meta-analysis suggests that amygdalar volumes are reduced in patients with BPD. This pattern is confirmed in BPD patients without PTSD, but not in BPD patients with PTSD, raising the possibility that reduced amygdalar volume in BPD patients cannot be explained by comorbid PTSD.     

情绪调节的发展及其与情绪体验、情绪能力、情绪调节态度的关系

本研究使用追踪法考察情绪调节的发展及与其影响因素之间的关系,并对不同情绪调节策略在个体发展过程中的适应性进行探讨。对569位来自于上海地区的初中预备班和八年级学生进行测查,并于10个月之后进行第二次测查。 研究发现,随着个体的发展,其正性情绪体验逐渐减少,各种情绪调节态度的强烈程度均下降,情绪增强调节的使用呈递减趋势;情绪体验、情绪能力、情绪调节态度三者的变化在一定程度上能够预测情绪调节发展;在测试阶段一较多使用情绪减弱调节的青少年,在日后的发展过程中情绪能力提高的幅度较大且体验到更多正性情绪,说明了该策略在个体发展过程中具有更高的适应价值。     

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Marital Adjustment: The Mediating Role of Forgiveness

The study assessed the effects of war captivity on posttraumatic stress symptoms and marital adjustment among Prisoners of War (POWs) from the Yom Kippur War. It was hypothesized that men's perception of level of forgiveness mediates the relation between posttraumatic symptoms and marital adjustment. The sample consisted of 157 Israeli veterans divided into 3 groups: 21 POWs with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), 58 former POWs without PTSD, and 70 control veterans. The findings indicated that former POWs with PTSD reported lower levels of marital satisfaction and forgiveness than veterans in the other 2 groups. In addition, men's perception of level of forgiveness mediated the relationship between their posttraumatic symptoms and their marital adjustment. The theoretical and clinical implications of these results are discussed.     

Spirituality and Trauma: The Role of Clergy in the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

An increased awareness of the spiritual aspects of health and illness has recently led to changes in psychiatry residency training as well as hospital accreditation requirements. The spiritual impact of trauma has been an area of particular interest, as trauma evokes certain existential questions and crises. It is estimated that from 5–11% of trauma survivors will go on to develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Given the spiritual challenges of the experience of trauma, patients with PTSD could benefit from spiritual assessment and intervention as part of their overall treatment plan, and clergy can be utilized to perform this. The literature exploring the spiritual impact of trauma and the use of clergy in the treatment of trauma survivors is reviewed. The methods used by three chaplains in a residential treatment program for PTSD at one facility are described and discussed. Both the literature and the experiences of the clergy suggest that exploration of trauma-related existential conflicts in patients with PTSD is beneficial. However, there is a notable dearth of controlled scientific studies evaluating the effectiveness of spiritual interventions with this treatment population. The need for controlled studies to verify the usefulness of spiritual assessment and intervention in patients with PTSD is noted, and a more rigorous analysis of how clergy can best serve this treatment population is encouraged.     

内侧前额叶皮质—— “自我”的神经基础

自我神经基础的探讨常基于自我相关加工的研究, 涉及皮质中线结构各个脑区甚至全脑协同作用。内侧前额叶皮质及其次成分在自我相关加工中发挥重要作用：腹内侧前额叶皮质较多支持默认模式下的自我加工、自我信息的觉察和“在线”自我加工, 背内侧前额叶皮质主要参与有意识的自我参照加工、自我信息的评价和“主导的”自我加工。在自我-他人表征中, 自我-他人表征的情感性、认知性和文化性因素均调节内侧前额叶皮质及次成分的活动。未来在动态的时间和人际背景中解析自我加工的神经机制是重要的研究方向。     

震后青少年创伤后应激障碍与社会支持、人格的关系

采用问卷调查法对地震地区933名中学生进行调查,考察青少年创伤后应激障碍的状况,并探讨社会支持在人格与创伤后应激障碍之间的调节作用。结果表明：（1）震后六个月,约67.6%的青少年患有PTSD或部分PTSD。（2）大五人格特质中的神经质对事件影响量表总分以及唤醒、侵扰、逃避均有预测作用;宜人性对事件影响量表总分、侵扰、唤醒有预测作用。验证了社会支持在大五人格与逃避、人格与唤醒、人格与事件影响量表总分间调节效应显著的结论。     

Trait Versus Task-Induced Emotional Reactivity and Distress Intolerance in Hoarding Disorder: Transdiagnostic Implications

Evidence from analogue samples suggests that deficits in emotional functioning, namely elevated emotional reactivity and distress intolerance, are implicated in the development and maintenance of hoarding disorder. We aimed to extend previous research in this area by investigating emotional reactivity and distress intolerance in a sample of individuals diagnosed with hoarding disorder (n = 24) in comparison to clinical controls (n = 21) and nonclinical community controls (n = 26) using a combination of self-report, physiological, and behavioral measures. We found that trait distress intolerance was significantly and independently associated with greater hoarding severity. The hoarding and clinical control groups reported more trait emotional reactivity and distress intolerance than the community control group, but did not differ from each other on these traits. The hoarding group reported more subjective distress before beginning a frustrating behavioral task, but did not evidence more physiological arousal. Moreover, the hoarding group experienced similar increases in distress during the task and did not differ from either group in regard to time persisting on this task. The clinical control group, however, terminated the frustrating task significantly faster than the community control group, who tended to persist until the task timed out. Lastly, trait distress intolerance evidenced a small-to-moderate but nonstatistically significant independent relationship with task persistence time. Given the desynchrony between subjective distress and physiological arousal, we encourage researchers to utilize multimodal assessment in the future. We also suggest that clinicians start to use behavioral experiments, as has been done with other psychological disorders, to improve distress intolerance among persons who experience hoarding disorder.     

Perinatal Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Implications for Occupational Therapy in Early Intervention Practice

The purpose of this article is to present literature regarding perinatal posttraumatic stress disorder and to describe the implications of research findings for occupational therapy screening and treatment in early intervention practice. Changes in legislation regarding early intervention practice and family centered care are presented as a rationale for including maternal mental health screening as a standard practice in the field of early intervention. A case study illustrates symptoms of perinatal posttraumatic stress disorder and the effect on maternal-infant co-occupational engagement. The Model of Human Occupation is used to guide clinical reasoning about potential occupational therapy interventions.     

Automaticity and the Amygdala: Nonconscious Responses to Emotional Faces

The human face is an evolved adaptation for social communication. This implies that humans are genetically prepared to produce facial gestures that are automatically decoded by observers. Psychophysiological data demonstrate that humans respond automatically with their facial muscles, with autonomic responses, and with specific regional brain activation of the amygdala when exposed to emotionally expressive faces. Attention is preferentially and automatically oriented toward facial threat. Neuropsychological data, as well as a rapidly expanding brain-imaging literature, implicate the amygdala as a central structure for responding to negative emotional faces, and particularly to fearful ones. However, the amygdala may not be specialized for processing emotional faces, but may instead respond to faces because they provide important information for the defense appraisal that is its primary responsibility.     

创伤后应激障碍的认知功能缺陷与执行控制 ——5·12震后创伤恢复的认知基础

创伤后应激障碍（Posttraumatic stress disorder,PTSD）患者通常伴随着明显的认知功能损伤。例如,存在注意保持缺陷,对与创伤相关的信息表现出更多的注意偏向和应激反应;并存在对创伤信息的记忆偏向,在陈述性记忆和自传体记忆中表现出一定的缺陷。近年的研究积累了更多类似的证据,表明PTSD的认知损伤可能与执行功能缺陷密切相关,但这一解释是否正确仍有待进一步的研究。本综述对5·12汶川大地震后长期的心理干预工作,尤其是认知功能损伤人群的筛选、恢复以及相关科学研究具有现实意义和理论启发作用     

Emotion Regulation in Youth with Emotional Disorders: Implications for a Unified Treatment Approach

Given the relationship between internalizing disorders and deficits in emotion regulation in youth, the emotion science literature has suggested several avenues for increasing the efficacy of interventions for youth presenting with anxiety and depression. These possibilities include the identification and addition of emotion-regulation skills to existing treatment packages and broadening the scope of those emotions addressed in cognitive-behavioral treatments. Current emotion-focused interventions designed to meet one or both of these goals are discussed, and the developmental influences relevant to the selection of emotion-focused treatment goals are explored using the framework of a modal model of emotion regulation. These various lines of evidence are woven together to support the utility of a novel emotion-focused, cognitive-behavioral intervention, the Unified Protocol for the Treatment of Emotional Disorders in Youth, a transdiagnostic treatment protocol that aims to treat the range of emotional disorders (i.e., anxiety and depression) simultaneously. Avenues for future directions in treatment outcome and assessment of emotion regulation are also discussed.