Citation

Frewen P, Lane RD, Neufeld RW, Densmore M, Stevens T, Lanius R. Psychosom. Med. 2008; 70(1): 27-31.

Affiliation

London Health Sciences Centre, 339 Windermere Road, London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 5A5.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, American Psychosomatic Society, Publisher Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/PSY.0b013e31815f66d4

PMID

18158370

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To examine individual differences in levels of emotional awareness as a predictor of the blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) response to trauma script-driven imagery in trauma-exposed individuals with (n = 25) and without (n = 16) posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). METHODS: Participants completed the Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale (LEAS) and a functional magnetic resonance imaging trauma script-driven imagery paradigm. RESULTS: Patients with PTSD exhibited lower LEAS scores in comparison with the control group. LEAS scores correlated positively with BOLD activity during trauma script-imagery in the ventral anterior cingulate cortex (vACC) in healthy controls, whereas LEAS scores correlated negatively with activation of vACC in individuals with PTSD. CONCLUSION: Patients with PTSD exhibit lower than average levels of emotional awareness. Levels of emotional awareness are differentially associated with vACC response during trauma script-driven imagery in healthy controls versus individuals with PTSD.

Language: en