Having an autobiographical memory requires the integration of several neural/behavioral systems, including visual imagery, auditory imagery, multi-modal spatial imagery, emotions, narrative reasoning, and executive search. When they work together, these systems produce an integrated, context-appropriate recollection that comes with a sense of reliving that is not overpowering. In posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a syndrome which affects approximately 8 percent of the adult population, this integration fails. Voluntary memories, especially of trauma, tend to be more fragmented. Involuntary memories are often troubling, coming with overpowering sensory imagery, emotions, and reliving. The proposed research is the first attempt to quantify the relative activity and interrelations of theoretically motivated systems when an autobiographical memory is retrieved by people with and without PTSD, thus offering the potential for a better understanding of both autobiographical memory and PTSD. We will ask a) Vietnam-era combat veterans, b) age-matched non-veterans, and c) undergraduates with and without PTSD symptoms to report on these systems while they are having an autobiographical memory. To understand the basic operations of autobiographical memory, comparisons will be for memories: from before and after the onset of PTSD, for traumatic vs. non-traumatic memories, for positive vs. negative memories, and for voluntary vs. involuntary memories. The analysis involves correlations done within individuals to test cognitive theories and between individuals to allow stable measures of cognitive style, mood, personality, and comorbid disorders. Our design allows the unusual step of integrating both types of analysis in the same data set. To try to understand changes in narrative reasoning, we will examine whether the traumatic event becomes central in people's life narrative and whether it affects their expectations of the life course in general. To try to understand the emotional system we will see whether reports of visceral emotional reactions are better predictors of other factors than are more cognitive reports of emotional intensity. ? ?

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01MH066079-02
Application #
6851815
Study Section
Cognition and Perception Study Section (CP)
Program Officer
Tuma, Farris K
Project Start
2004-06-01
Project End
2009-05-31
Budget Start
2005-06-01
Budget End
2006-05-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2005
Total Cost
$346,500
Indirect Cost
Name
Duke University
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
044387793
City
Durham
State
NC
Country
United States
Zip Code
27705
Gehrt, Tine B; Berntsen, Dorthe; Hoyle, Rick H et al. (2018) Psychological and clinical correlates of the Centrality of Event Scale: A systematic review. Clin Psychol Rev 65:57-80
Rubin, David C; Berntsen, Dorthe; Deffler, Samantha A et al. (2018) Self-narrative focus in autobiographical events: The effect of time, emotion, and individual differences. Mem Cognit :
Hall, Shana A; Brodar, Kaitlyn E; LaBar, Kevin S et al. (2018) Neural responses to emotional involuntary memories in posttraumatic stress disorder: Differences in timing and activity. Neuroimage Clin 19:793-804
Rubin, David C; Li, Dawei; Hall, Shana A et al. (2017) Taking tests in the magnet: Brain mapping standardized tests. Hum Brain Mapp 38:5706-5725
Ogle, Christin M; Rubin, David C; Siegler, Ilene C (2017) Commentary-Pre- and Posttrauma Predictors of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Severity: Reply to van der Velden and van der Knaap (2017). Clin Psychol Sci 5:146-149
Ogle, Christin M; Siegler, Ilene C; Beckham, Jean C et al. (2017) Neuroticism Increases PTSD Symptom Severity by Amplifying the Emotionality, Rehearsal, and Centrality of Trauma Memories. J Pers 85:702-715
Rubin, David C; Berntsen, Dorthe; Ogle, Christin M et al. (2016) Scientific evidence versus outdated beliefs: A response to Brewin (2016). J Abnorm Psychol 125:1018-1021
Koppel, Jonathan; Rubin, David C (2016) Recent Advances in Understanding the Reminiscence Bump: The Importance of Cues in Guiding Recall from Autobiographical Memory. Curr Dir Psychol Sci 25:135-149
Rubin, David C; Deffler, Samantha A; Ogle, Christin M et al. (2016) Participant, rater, and computer measures of coherence in posttraumatic stress disorder. J Abnorm Psychol 125:11-25
Butler, Andrew C; Rice, Heather J; Wooldridge, Cynthia L et al. (2016) Visual imagery in autobiographical memory: The role of repeated retrieval in shifting perspective. Conscious Cogn 42:237-253

Showing the most recent 10 out of 55 publications