engleski

Psychophysiological concomitants of chronic posttraumatic stress disorder and acute stress disorder

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and acute stress disorder (ASD) can develop after exposure to traumatic events, and are differentiated by the time after trauma in which the symptoms emerge. In some cases ASD develops into PTSD, while in others it does not ; therefore multimodal longitudinal studies are needed to clarify the factors that lead to the resolution of ASD or to its prolongation into PTSD. Using psychophysiological measurements in diagnostic procedures can elucidate some risk factors for PTSD. The purpose of the current study was to compare basal psychophysiology and startle reflexes in a sample of Croatian war veterans with PTSD (>10 years since trauma), victims of motor vehicle accidents with ASD (<60 days since trauma), and non-trauma controls. We measured heart-rate, respiratory sinus arrhythmia, skin conductance, and eyeblink EMG startle response during an acclimation period and during the presentation of startle stimuli in 30 PTSD patients, 28 controls, and a preliminary sample of 6 ASD patients. We found that PTSD and ASD patients had impaired habituation of startle and skin conductance responses. PTSD patients had elevated basal heart-rate and decreased respiratory sinus arrhythmia than the controls ; the ASD patients had intermediate levels and did not differ from either group.

psychophysiology; PTSD; posttraumatic stress disorder; acute stress

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