Involuntary Memories of War-Related Scenes in Veterans With PTSD

Søren Risløv Staugaard*, Annette Kjær Fuglsang, Dorthe Berntsen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaperJournal articleResearchpeer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)
271 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Studies suggest that general control deficits and elevated affect intensity in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) extend beyond memory for the index trauma. However, few researchers have pursued this possibility experimentally by examining memory for novel events. We used an experimental design to measure the frequency and characteristics of involuntary memories over time. Veterans with and without PTSD saw pictures of neutral and war-related scenes. Half of the participants completed an involuntary-retrieval task immediately after encoding, whereas the other half completed the retrieval task after 1 week. Veterans with PTSD had stronger emotional reactions to their involuntary memories of the scenes regardless of their original valence. The emotional impact and specificity of the memories did not diminish over time in PTSD veterans but did so in the control group. The findings are consistent with an increased emotional response to a range of memories that include—but are not limited to—memories of traumatic events.

Original languageEnglish
JournalClinical Psychological Science
Volume9
Issue5
Pages (from-to)919-931
Number of pages13
ISSN2167-7026
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2021

Keywords

  • intrusions
  • involuntary memory
  • posttraumatic stress disorder
  • trauma memory

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