Altered engagement of autobiographical memory networks in adult offspring of postnatally depressed mothers

Maternal depression is associated with increased risk for offspring mood and anxiety disorders. One possible impact of maternal depression during offspring development is on the emotional autobiographical memory system. We investigated the neural mechanisms of emotional autobiographical memory in adult offspring of mothers with postnatal depression (N = 16) compared to controls (N = 21). During fMRI, recordings of participants describing one pleasant and one unpleasant situation with their mother and with a companion, were used as prompts to re-live the situations. Compared to controls we predicted the PND offspring would show: greater activation in medial and posterior brain regions implicated in autobiographical memory and rumination; and decreased activation in lateral prefrontal cortex and decreased connectivity between lateral prefrontal and posterior regions, reflecting reduced control of autobiographical recall. For negative situations, we found no group differences. For positive situations with their mothers, PND offspring showed higher activation than controls in left lateral prefrontal cortex, right frontal pole, cingulate cortex and precuneus, and lower connectivity of right middle frontal gyrus, left middle temporal gyrus, thalamus and lingual gyrus with the posterior cingulate. Our results are consistent with adult offspring of PND mothers having less efficient prefrontal regulation of personally relevant pleasant autobiographical memories

Learning and memory in holocaust survivors with posttraumatic stress disorder

Background: Impairments in explicit memory have been observed in Holocaust survivors with posttraumatic stress disorder. Methods: To evaluate which memory components are preferentially affected, the California Verbal Learning Test was administered to Holocaust survivors with (n = 36) and without (n = 26) posttraumatic stress disorder, and subjects not exposed to the Holocaust (n = 40). Results: Posttraumatic stress disorder subjects showed impairments in learning and short-term and delayed retention compared to nonexposed subjects; survivors without posttraumatic stress disorder did not. Impairments in learning, but not retention, were retained after controlling fir intelligence quotient. Older age was associated with poorer learning and memory performance in the posttraumatic stress disorder group only. Conclusions: The most robust impairment observed in posttraumatic stress disorder was in verbal learning, which may be a risk factor for or consequence of chronic posttraumatic stress disorder. The negative association between performance and age may reflect accelerated cognitive decline in posttraumatic stress disorder

Unwanted memories of assault: what intrusion characteristics are associated with PTSD?

Intrusive memories are common in the immediate aftermath of traumatic events, but neither their presence or frequency are good predictors of the persistence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Two studies of assault survivors, a cross-sectional study (N = 81) and a 6-month prospective longitudinal study (N = 73), explored whether characteristics of the intrusive memories improve the prediction. Intrusion characteristics were assessed with an Intrusion Interview and an Intrusion Provocation Task. The distress caused by the intrusions, their "here and now" quality, and their lack of a context predicted PTSD severity. The presence of intrusive memories only explained 9% of the variance of PTSD severity at 6 months after assault. Among survivors with intrusions, intrusion frequency only explained 8% of the variance of PTSD symptom severity at 6 months. Nowness, distress and lack of context explained an additional 43% of the variance. These intrusion characteristics also predicted PTSD severity at 6 months over and above what could be predicted from PTSD diagnostic status at initial assessment. Further predictors of PTSD severity were rumination about. the intrusive memories, and the ease and persistence with which intrusive memories could be triggered by photographs depicting assaults. The results have implications for the early identification of trauma survivors at risk of chronic PTSD. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Posttraumatic stress disorder following assault: the role of cognitive processing, trauma memory, and appraisals

Two studies of assault victims examined the roles of (a) disorganized trauma memories in the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), (b) peritraumatic cognitive processing in the development of problematic memories and PTSD, and (c) ongoing dissociation and negative appraisals of memories in maintaining symptomatology. In the cross-sectional study (n = 81), comparisons of current, past, and no-PTSD groups suggested that peritraumatic cognitive processing is related to the development of disorganized memories and PTSD. Ongoing dissociation and negative appraisals served to maintain PTSD symptoms. The prospective study (n = 73) replicated these findings longitudinally. Cognitive and memory assessments completed within 12-weeks postassault predicted 6-month symptoms. Assault severity measures explained 22% of symptom variance; measures of cognitive processing, memory disorganization, and appraisals increased prediction accuracy to 71%

Effects of trauma exposure on the cortisol response to dexamethasone administration in PTSD and major depressive disorder

Objective: To evaluate cortisol suppression following 0.5 mg of dexamethasone (DEX) in trauma survivors (N = 52),with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder (MDD), both, or neither disorder, and in subjects never exposed to trauma (N = 10), in order to examine interactions between diagnosis and trauma history on cortisol negative feedback inhibition. Method: Lifetime trauma exposure and psychiatric diagnoses were assessed and blood samples were obtained at 8:00 a.m. for the determination of baseline cortisol. Participants ingested 0.5 mg of DEX at 11:00 p.m. and blood samples for determination of cortisol and DEX were obtained at 8:00 a.m. the following day. Results: PTSD was associated with enhanced cortisol suppression in response to DEX Among trauma survivors, the presence of a traumatic event prior to the "focal" trauma had a substantial impact on cortisol suppression in subjects with MDD. Such subjects were more likely to show cortisol alterations similar to those associated with PTSD, whereas subjects with MDD with no prior trauma were more likely to show alterations in the opposite direction, i.e. relative non-suppression. Conclusions: Cortisol hypersuppression in PTSD appears not to be dependent on the presence of traumatic events prior to the focal trauma. However, prior trauma exposure may affect cortisol suppression in MDD. This finding may have implications for understanding why only some depressed patients show non-suppression on the DST. Published by Elsevier Ltd

Relationship between 24-hour urinary-free cortisol excretion and salivary cortisol levels sampled from awakening to bedtime in healthy subjects

The utility of repeated salivary cortisol sampling as a substitute for 24-hour urinary-free cortisol (UFC) assessment was examined. Forty-four participants completed both 24-hour collections and 6 salivary collections at wake-up, 08:00, 12:00, 16:00, 20:00 and bedtime, during the same 24-hour period. The results demonstrated that mean, maximum, and amplitude (maximum minus minimum) for salivary cortisol all correlated positively with urinary cortisol, but the associations of these variables with urinary-free cortisol excretion were relatively small. Furthermore, a single salivary sample taken at wake-up was as good an indicator of overall cortisol production as the measures derived from multiple salivary samples. An examination of subject compliance indicated that many subjects failed to collect the timed salivary collections as instructed. The authors conclude that diurnal salivary cortisol sampling versus 24-hour urinary cortisol collections are likely to provide different information about ambient hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal productivity, and therefore these measures should not be used interchangeably. In addition, subject compliance is a serious consideration in designing studies that employ home salivary collections. Published by Elsevier Science Inc

Gênero e trauma Gender and trauma

As conseqüências sociais e psicológicas da violência urbana sobre os parentes e amigos de pessoas vitimadas por mortes violentas (homicídio, suicídio ou acidentes) são analisadas à luz das diferenças de gênero. A literatura especializada nesta área propõe que mulheres e homens vivenciam experiências traumáticas de forma peculiar. Porém, os traumas típicos são diferentes em cada gênero, deixando em aberto a questão sobre quanto das diferenças entre as respostas se devem a gênero e quanto se devem ao tipo de trauma. Testamos a hipótese de que as mulheres são mais suscetíveis à desordem de estresse pós-trauma (DEPT) numa situação traumática comum, usando dados qualitativos e quantitativos. Comparamos os sintomas do trauma e as percepções sobre o significado da perda de seus entes queridos. A amostra, de 425 mulheres (62%) e 265 homens (38%), foi retirada de uma lista de parentes de pessoas que sofreram morte violenta na cidade do Rio de Janeiro. Incluímos trinta relatos de parentes e amigos próximos das vítimas diretas. Os resultados revelaram que 54% das mulheres e 41% dos homens tiveram o cotidiano alterado depois da morte de um parente/amigo. Há diferenças estatisticamente significativas nos problemas de saúde e na diversão. Essa área foi a mais afetada, atingindo metade dos entrevistados. Uma variável intimamente correlacionada com os sintomas da DEPT é o contato com o corpo: controlando a extensão do contato (fez o reconhecimento do corpo; viu, mas não reconheceu e nem viu nem reconheceu). Em cada uma dessas categorias, as mulheres foram mais afetadas do que os homens. O artigo conclui que as mulheres sentem mais as perdas do que os homens, mas que parte das diferenças não são internas aos gêneros, mas externas a eles, dependendo das interações e dos contatos pessoais.<br>The social and psychological consequences endured by friends and relatives of people victimized by violent death (homicide, suicide or accidents) are analyzed on the light of gender differences. Current literature suggests that women and men face traumatic experiences in different ways. However, traumas also vary by gender, raising questions about how much of the differences are due to gender or to the type of trauma. We hypothesized that women are more susceptible than men to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) when the traumatic event is common. We compared the trauma symptoms and the meaning of the loss of loved ones. A sample of 425 women (62%) and 265 men (38%) was drawn from a list of people that suffered violent deaths in the city of Rio de Janeiro and were interviewed in 2003-4. Fifty-four percent of the women and 41% of the men had their daily routines altered after the death of a relative/friend. There are statistically significant differences concerning health problems and entertainment practices. Half of the interviewees seriously reduced leisure. The contact with the corpse is intimately correlated with the PTSD symptoms. Controlling the extension of the contact (corpse recognition; seeing it, but not recognizing it and not seeing it and not recognizing it), women were more affected than men. The article concludes that women feel the losses more deeply than men, but part of these differences are not "intrinsic" to genders, but depend on social capital, on institutional contacts and personal interactions