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PTSD Modifies Performance on a Task of Affective Executive Control among Deployed OEF/OIF Veterans with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 July 2013

Melissa M. Amick ,
Alexandra Clark ,
Catherine B. Fortier ,
Michael Esterman ,
Ann M. Rasmusson ,
Alexandra Kenna ,
William P. Milberg  and
Regina McGlinchey
Melissa M. Amick*
Affiliation:
Translational Research Center for Traumatic Brain Injury and Stress Disorders, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts Department of Psychiatry, Boston University Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
Alexandra Clark
Affiliation:
Translational Research Center for Traumatic Brain Injury and Stress Disorders, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts
Catherine B. Fortier
Affiliation:
Translational Research Center for Traumatic Brain Injury and Stress Disorders, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School Boston, Massachusetts
Michael Esterman
Affiliation:
Translational Research Center for Traumatic Brain Injury and Stress Disorders, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts Department of Psychiatry, Boston University Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
Ann M. Rasmusson
Affiliation:
Translational Research Center for Traumatic Brain Injury and Stress Disorders, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts Department of Psychiatry, Boston University Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
Alexandra Kenna
Affiliation:
Translational Research Center for Traumatic Brain Injury and Stress Disorders, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts
William P. Milberg
Affiliation:
Translational Research Center for Traumatic Brain Injury and Stress Disorders, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School Boston, Massachusetts Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center (GRECC), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts
Regina McGlinchey
Affiliation:
Translational Research Center for Traumatic Brain Injury and Stress Disorders, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School Boston, Massachusetts Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center (GRECC), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to: Melissa M. Amick, Translational Research Center for Traumatic Brain Injury and Stress Disorders, VA Boston Healthcare System (182-JP), 150 South Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02130. E-mail: melissa.amick@va.gov
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Abstract

Individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) show a cognitive bias for threatening information, reflecting dysregulated executive control for affective stimuli. This study examined whether comorbid mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) with PTSD exacerbates this bias. A computer-administered Affective Go/No-Go task measured reaction times (RTs) and errors of omission and commission to words with a non–combat-related positive or negative valence in 72 deployed United States service members from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Incidents of military-related mTBI were measured with the Boston Assessment of Traumatic Brain Injury-Lifetime. PTSD symptoms were measured with the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale. Participants were divided into those with (mTBI+, n = 34) and without a history of military-related mTBI (mTBI−, n = 38). Valence of the target stimuli differentially impacted errors of commission and decision bias (criterion) in the mTBI+ and mTBI− groups. Specifically, within the mTBI+ group, increasing severity of PTSD symptoms was associated with an increasingly liberal response pattern (defined as more commission errors to negative distractors and greater hit rate for positive stimuli) in the positive compared to the negative blocks. This association was not observed in the mTBI− group. This study underscores the importance of considering the impact of a military-related mTBI and PTSD severity upon affective executive control. (JINS, 2013, 19, 1–10)

Keywords

Post-traumatic stress disorderAttentionBrain injuryMilitaryCognitionDeployment
Type
Research Articles
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 19 , Issue 7 , August 2013 , pp. 792 - 801
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2013 

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