PTSD symptom severity is associated with increased recruitment of top-down attentional control in a trauma-exposed sample.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Recent neuroimaging work suggests that increased amygdala responses to emotional stimuli and dysfunction within regions mediating top down attentional control (dorsomedial frontal, lateral frontal and parietal cortices) may be associated with the emergence of anxiety disorders, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This report examines amygdala responsiveness to emotional stimuli and the recruitment of top down attention systems as a function of task demands in a population of U.S. military service members who had recently returned from combat deployment in Afghanistan/Iraq. Given current interest in dimensional aspects of pathophysiology, it is worthwhile examining patients who, while not meeting full PTSD criteria, show clinically significant functional impai

SUBMITTER: White SF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4299952 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature