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Longitudinal effects of PTSD on memory functioning

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 November 2009

KRISTIN W. SAMUELSON ,
THOMAS C. NEYLAN ,
MARYANNE LENOCI ,
THOMAS J. METZLER ,
VALERIE CARDENAS ,
MICHAEL W. WEINER  and
CHARLES R. MARMAR
KRISTIN W. SAMUELSON*
Affiliation:
Mental Health Service, San Francisco Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center, San Francisco, California California School of Professional Psychology, Alliant International University, San Francisco, California
THOMAS C. NEYLAN
Affiliation:
Mental Health Service, San Francisco Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center, San Francisco, California Department of Psychiatry, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, California
MARYANNE LENOCI
Affiliation:
Mental Health Service, San Francisco Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center, San Francisco, California
THOMAS J. METZLER
Affiliation:
Mental Health Service, San Francisco Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center, San Francisco, California Department of Psychiatry, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, California
VALERIE CARDENAS
Affiliation:
Mental Health Service, San Francisco Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center, San Francisco, California Department of Radiology, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, California
MICHAEL W. WEINER
Affiliation:
Mental Health Service, San Francisco Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center, San Francisco, California Department of Psychiatry, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, California Department of Radiology, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, California
CHARLES R. MARMAR
Affiliation:
Mental Health Service, San Francisco Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center, San Francisco, California Department of Psychiatry, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, California
*
*Correspondence and reprint requests: Kristin W. Samuelson at Alliant International University, One Beach Street, Suite 100, San Francisco, CA 94133. E-mail: ksamuelson@alliant.edu
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Abstract

Numerous studies have demonstrated explicit and working memory deficits related to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but few have addressed longitudinal changes in memory functioning. There is some evidence to suggest an interactive effect of PTSD and aging on verbal memory decline in Holocaust survivors (Yehuda et al., 2006). However, the longitudinal trajectory of neuropsychological functioning has not been investigated in Vietnam veterans, a younger but substantial population of aging trauma survivors. We administered tests of visual and verbal memory, and working memory to derive different dependent measures in veterans between the ages of 41 and 63, the majority of whom served in the Vietnam War. Twenty-five veterans with PTSD and 22 veterans without PTSD were assessed over two time points (mean age at follow-up = 54.0; mean inter-test interval = 34 months). The PTSD+ group, consisting of veterans with chronic, primarily combat-related PTSD, did not show a significant change in PTSD symptoms over time. Compared to veterans without PTSD, veterans with PTSD showed a greater decline in delayed facial recognition only, and this decline was extremely subtle. (JINS, 2009, 15, 853–861.)

Keywords

VeteransNeuropsychologyVerbal learningDelayed memoryImmediate recallAging
Type
Symposia
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 15 , Issue 6 , November 2009 , pp. 853 - 861
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2009

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