1.
Potential role of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in omega-3 Fatty Acid supplementation to prevent posttraumatic distress after accidental injury: an open-label pilot study.
Matsuoka, Y, Nishi, D, Yonemoto, N, Hamazaki, K, Hamazaki, T, Hashimoto, K
Psychotherapy and psychosomatics. 2011;(5):310-2
2.
Craving and physiological reactivity to trauma and alcohol cues in posttraumatic stress disorder and alcohol dependence.
Coffey, SF, Schumacher, JA, Stasiewicz, PR, Henslee, AM, Baillie, LE, Landy, N
Experimental and clinical psychopharmacology. 2010;(4):340-9
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Abstract
The high comorbidity of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol dependence (AD) has been firmly established. Although laboratory studies have examined self-reported craving in response to trauma and alcohol cues, no studies have reported on alcohol-related physiological responding in response to trauma cues in PTSD-AD individuals. Using a cue reactivity paradigm, this study examined the impact of personalized trauma-image cues and in vivo alcohol cues on alcohol-related responding (e.g., salivation, craving) in individuals with PTSD and AD (n = 40). Participants displayed reactivity to both trauma and alcohol cues when compared to neutral cues, including increased self-reported craving and distress, as well as greater salivation. These findings suggest that through repeated pairings of trauma memories and alcohol consumption, salivation may become classically conditioned to trauma cues. Moreover, the fact that the trauma-alcohol cue combination elicited greater alcohol craving, salivary responding, distress, and arousal than either the trauma-neutral or neutral-alcohol cue combinations suggests that effects of the trauma and alcohol cues were additive in nature. Evidence that AD individuals with PTSD report increased alcohol craving and display greater salivation in response to trauma memories, supplements prior research indicating that PTSD-related negative emotion and trauma-related alcohol craving may play an important role in the maintenance of AD.
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Randomized trial of trauma-focused group therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder: results from a department of veterans affairs cooperative study.
Schnurr, PP, Friedman, MJ, Foy, DW, Shea, MT, Hsieh, FY, Lavori, PW, Glynn, SM, Wattenberg, M, Bernardy, NC
Archives of general psychiatry. 2003;(5):481-9
Abstract
BACKGROUND Department of Veterans Affairs Cooperative Study 420 is a randomized clinical trial of 2 methods of group psychotherapy for treating posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in male Vietnam veterans. METHODS Vietnam veterans (360 men) were randomly assigned to receive trauma-focused group psychotherapy or a present-centered comparison treatment that avoided trauma focus. Treatment was provided weekly to groups of 6 members for 30 weeks, followed by 5 monthly booster sessions. Severity of PTSD was the primary outcome. Additional measures were other psychiatric symptoms, functional status, quality of life, physical health, and service utilization. Follow-up assessments were conducted at the end of treatment (7 months) and at the end of the booster sessions (12 months); 325 individuals participated in 1 or both assessments. Additional follow-up for PTSD severity was performed in a subset of participants at 18 and 24 months. RESULTS Although posttreatment assessments of PTSD severity and other measures were significantly improved from baseline, intention-to-treat analyses found no overall differences between therapy groups on any outcome. Analyses of data from participants who received an adequate dose of treatment suggested that trauma-focused group therapy reduced avoidance and numbing and, possibly, PTSD symptoms. Dropout from treatment was higher in trauma-focused group treatment. Average improvement was modest in both treatments, although approximately 40% of participants showed clinically significant change. CONCLUSIONS This study did not find a treatment effect for trauma-focused group therapy. The difference between the effectiveness and adequate dose findings suggests the possible value of methods to enhance the delivery of cognitive-behavioral treatments in clinical practice settings.
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The effect of dissociation at encoding on intrusive memories for a stressful film.
Brewin, CR, Saunders, J
The British journal of medical psychology. 2001;(Pt 4):467-72
Abstract
The occurrence of memory intrusions after a trauma has been linked to peri-traumatic dissociation. In this study, we attempted to induce dissociation experimentally and investigate the impact on intrusive memories. A total of 39 undergraduates were randomly assigned to watch a stressful film under standard conditions or under a dual-task condition in which they simultaneously performed a tapping task. They rated their distress post-film and again after 2 weeks, and kept a diary of intrusive memories. Contrary to prediction, there were no differences in levels of distress or explicit memory between the two conditions, and the dual-task condition was followed by significantly fewer memory intrusions. Dual-task conditions may not provide a good analogue to naturally occurring dissociation. The possible preventive effects of the tapping task are discussed in terms of the dual-representation theory of post-traumatic stress disorder.