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Event‐related potentials to auditory stimuli in female Vietnam nurse veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder
Author(s) -
Metzger Linda J.,
Carson Margaret A.,
Paulus Lynn A.,
Lasko Natasha B.,
Paige Stephen R.,
Pitman Roger K.,
Orr Scott P.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
psychophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.661
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1469-8986
pISSN - 0048-5772
DOI - 10.1111/1469-8986.3910049
Subject(s) - p3b , psychology , event related potential , audiology , oddball paradigm , stimulus (psychology) , posttraumatic stress , clinical psychology , developmental psychology , psychiatry , electroencephalography , medicine , cognitive psychology
Individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have been found to show several event‐related brain potential (ERP) abnormalities including reduced target P3b amplitude, P50 suppression, and P2 amplitude/intensity slope. Female Vietnam nurse veterans with ( n = 29) and without ( n = 38) current PTSD completed P50 paired‐click, three‐tone “oddball” and four‐tone stimulus‐intensity modulation procedures. Opposite to previous findings, the current PTSD group had larger target P3b amplitudes and increased P2 amplitude/intensity slopes. Reduced P50 suppression was associated with increased severity of general psychopathology, but not with PTSD diagnosis. Findings suggest that target P3b amplitude and P2 amplitude/intensity slope abnormalities reflect different pathophysiological processes. Future research is needed to determine whether the opposite ERP abnormalities observed in this PTSD sample reflect gender‐, trauma‐, or sample‐specific findings.