Negative Emotional Arousal Impairs Associative Memory Performance for Emotionally Neutral Content in Healthy Participants

<div><p>The effect of emotional arousal on memory presents a complex pattern with previous studies reporting conflicting results of both improved and reduced memory performance following arousal manipulations. In this study we further tested the effect of negative emotional arousal (NEA) on individual-item recognition and associative recognition of neutral stimuli in healthy participants, and hypothesized that NEA will particularly impair associative memory performance. The current study consists of two experiments; in both, participants studied a list of word-pairs and were then tested for items (items recognition test), and for associations (associative recognition test). In the first experiment, the arousal manipulation was induced by flashing emotionally-negative or neutral pictures between study-pairs while in the second experiment arousal was induced by presenting emotionally-negative or neutral pictures between lists. The results of the two experiments converged and supported an associative memory deficit observed under NEA conditions. We suggest that NEA is associated with an altered ability to bind one stimulus to another as a result of impaired recollection, resulting in poorer associative memory performance. The current study findings may contribute to the understanding of the mechanism underlying memory impairments reported in disorders associated with traumatic stress.</p></div

Victims of War: Dehydroepiandrosterone Concentrations in Hair and Their Associations with Trauma Sequelae in Palestinian Adolescents Living in the West Bank

Due to its anti-glucocorticoid properties, the steroid hormone dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) might play a role for coping with traumatic stress and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The majority of studies report elevated DHEA secretion and decreased cortisol/DHEA ratio associated with traumatic stress, however, contrasting results have also been published. One reason for this heterogeneity might be that in past studies, DHEA has been measured in plasma or saliva samples reflecting acute hormone levels. In comparison, the current study assessed the hair levels of DHEA and cortisol as long-term markers along with self-reported data on psychopathology and coping in 92 female adolescents aged 11&#8315;16 from the West Bank affected by the Israeli&#8315;Palestinian conflict. Results showed that trauma-exposed individuals had significantly higher DHEA levels (p = 0.013) and lower cortisol/DHEA ratios (p = 0.036) than participants from the non-trauma group. Furthermore, DHEA and cortisol/DHEA ratio emerged as associated with trauma load and timing, but not with coping. By applying the novel method of DHEA analysis from hair samples, this study adds to the growing literature on the interplay of DHEA, cortisol, traumatic stress and coping, and provides valuable starting points for further research

Behavioral results.

<p>Memory performance on items and the associative recognition tests in the pre-and post-negative emotional arousal (NEA) manipulation for each group. The measure used is proportion hits minus proportion false alarms, and the error bars represent the standard error of the mean.</p

Behavioral results.

<p>Memory performance on items and the associative recognition tests in the pre-and post-negative emotional arousal (NEA) manipulation phases in each group. The measure used is proportion hits minus proportion false alarms (FA). Error bars represent the standard error of the mean.</p

Experimental paradigm.

<p>Participants were presented with a study list of 24 unrelated (visually or semantically) emotionally neutral pairs of words, one at a time. The first two lists (A) were used as baseline while the two remaining lists were learned under negative emotional arousal (B) / neutral (C) condition. Participants were instructed to respond to each stimulus on the keyboard with a designated “yes” key (= 1) for targets and a “no” key (= 0) for distracters.</p

White‐matter correlates of anxiety: The contribution of the corpus‐callosum to the study of anxiety and stress‐related disorders

Abstract Objectives Traumatic stress has been associated with increased risk for brain alterations and development of anxiety disorders. Studies conducted in posttraumatic patients have shown white‐mater volume and diffusion alterations in the corpus‐callosum. Decreased cognitive performance has been demonstrated in acute stress disorder and posttraumatic patients. However, whether cognitive alterations result from stress related neuropathology or reflect a predisposition is not known. In the current study, we examined in healthy controls, whether individual differences in anxiety are associated with those cognitive and brain alterations reported in stress related pathologies. Methods Twenty healthy volunteers were evaluated for anxiety using the state‐trait inventory (STAI), and were tested for memory performance. Brain imaging was employed to extract volumetric and diffusion characteristics of the corpus‐callosum. Results Significant correlations were found between trait anxiety and all three diffusion parameters (fractional‐anisotropy, mean and radial‐diffusivity). Associative‐memory performance and corpus‐callosum volume were also significantly correlated. Conclusion We suggest that cognitive and brain alterations, as tested in the current work and reported in stress related pathologies, are present early and possibly persist throughout life. Our findings support the hypothesis that individual differences in trait anxiety predispose individuals towards negative cognitive outcomes and brain alterations, and potentially to stress related disorders

Breakdown of Inter-Hemispheric Connectivity Is Associated with Posttraumatic Symptomatology and Memory Impairment.

Altered brain anatomy in specific gray-matter regions has been shown in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Recently, white-matter tracts have become a focus of research in PTSD. The corpus callosum (CC) is the principal white-matter fiber bundle, crucial in relaying sensory, motor and cognitive information between hemispheres. Alterations in CC fibers have been reported in PTSD and might be assumed to underlie substantial behavioral and cognitive sequelae; however most diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies in adult-onset PTSD failed to address the clinical correlates between imaging and PTSD symptoms severity, behavioral manifestation and cognitive functions. In the current study we examined (a) to what extent microstructural integrity of the CC is associated with memory performance and (b) whether imaging and cognitive parameters are associated with PTSD symptom severity. DTI data were obtained and fractional anisotropy (FA) values were computed for 16 patients and 14 controls. PTSD symptom severity was assessed by employing the clinician administered PTSD scale (CAPS) and memory was tested using a task probing item and associative memory for words and pictures. Significant correlations were found between PTSD symptoms severity, memory accuracy and reaction-time to CC FA values in the PTSD group. This study demonstrates meaningful clinical and cognitive correlates of microstructural connectivity. These results have implications for diagnostic tools and future studies aimed at identifying individuals at risk for PTSD

Questionnaire results.

<p> Significant differences between groups were found in the total PDS as well as the trait and state anxiety scores (p < .000 for all independent between-groups comparisons).</p

Correlations between symptoms severity and total CC FA values.

<p> Significant linear correlations were found between arousal, avoidance and re-experiencing symptoms intensity, as well as to the total CAPS score to total CC FA values.</p