Citation

Lobo I, Campagnoli RR, Figueira JS, Andrade I, Figueira I, Gama C, Gonçalves RM, Keil A, Pereira MG, Volchan E, Oliveira L, David IA. Neuroimage 2020; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117404

PMID

32971264

Abstract

Victims of urban violence are at risk of developing Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), one of the most debilitating consequences of violence. Considering that PTSD may be associated with inefficient selection of defensive responses, it is important to understand the relation between motor processing and PTSD. The present study aims to investigate the extent to which the severity of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) is related to motor preparation against visual threat cues in victims of urban violence. Participants performed a choice reaction time task while ignoring a picture that could be threating or neutral. The EEG indices extracted were the motor-related amplitude asymmetry (MRAA) in the alpha frequency range, and the lateralized readiness potential (LRP). We observed a linear relation between longer LRP latency and a slower reaction time, selectively during threat processing (compared to neutral) in low PTSS, but not in high PTSS participants. Alpha MRAA suppression and the PTSS were also linearly related: the smaller the alpha MRAA suppression in the threat condition relative to neutral, the greater the PTSS. These results provide evidence that threatening cues affect motor processing that is modulated by the severity of PTSS in victims of urban violence.

Language: en

Keywords

PTSD; brain oscillations; event-related potential; LRP; Mu/alpha rhythms; posttraumatic stress symptoms