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Attentional functioning in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder: a preliminary study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 January 2013

Michael David Horner ,
Jacobo E. Mintzer ,
Travis H. Turner ,
Keith R. Edmiston  and
Olga Brawman-Mintzer
Michael David Horner*
Affiliation:
Ralph H. Johnson Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Charleston, South Carolina, USA; Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA
Jacobo E. Mintzer
Affiliation:
Ralph H. Johnson Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Charleston, South Carolina, USA; Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA
Travis H. Turner
Affiliation:
Ralph H. Johnson Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Charleston, South Carolina, USA; Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA
Keith R. Edmiston
Affiliation:
College of Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina, USA
Olga Brawman-Mintzer
Affiliation:
Ralph H. Johnson Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Charleston, South Carolina, USA; Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA
*
*Address for correspondence: Michael David Horner, PhD, Mental Health Service (116), Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center, 109 Bee St., Charleston, SC 29401, USA. (Email hornermd@musc.edu)
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Abstract

Objective

To compare patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to patients without psychiatric or cognitive disorders on neuropsychological measures of attention.

Methods

The sample included 19 patients with PTSD and 22 participants with no cognitive or psychiatric diagnosis. All had been referred for clinical neuropsychological evaluation at a VA Medical Center. None were diagnosed with dementia, delirium, or current substance dependence except nicotine or caffeine, and none had a history of stroke or of traumatic brain injury with loss of consciousness. Patients were excluded if they failed to exert adequate effort on testing.

Results

PTSD patients performed significantly more poorly than patients without psychiatric diagnoses on Digit Span.

Conclusion

PTSD patients were impaired relative to participants without psychiatric diagnoses on a measure of focused attention. Several factors, including the small sample size, suggest that the results should be considered preliminary.

Keywords

PTSDneuropsychologyattentioncognition
Type
Original Research
Information
CNS Spectrums , Volume 18 , Issue 2 , April 2013 , pp. 90 - 94
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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Footnotes

This study was supported in part by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

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