@article{ref1,
title="Psychophysiology during exposure to trauma memories: comparative effects of virtual reality and imaginal exposure for posttraumatic stress disorder",
journal="Depression and anxiety",
year="2021",
author="Gramlich, Michael A. and Smolenski, Derek J. and Norr, Aaron M. and Rothbaum, Barbara Olasov and Rizzo, Albert A. and Andrasik, Frank and Fantelli, Emily and Reger, Greg M.",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="BACKGROUND: This investigation involved an in-depth examination of psychophysiological responses during exposure to the trauma memory across 10 sessions among active duty soldiers with combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treated by Prolonged Exposure (PE) or Virtual Reality Exposure (VRE). We compared psychophysiological changes, session-by-session, between VRE and traditional imaginal exposure. <br><br>METHODS: Heart rate (HR), galvanic skin response (GSR), and peripheral skin temperature were collected every 5 min during exposure sessions with 61 combat veterans of Iraq/Afghanistan and compared to the PTSD Checklist (PCL-C) and Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) outcomes using multilevel modeling. <br><br>RESULTS: Over the course of treatment, participants in the PE group had higher HR arousal compared to participants in the VRE group. With reference to GSR, in earlier sessions, participants demonstrated a within-session increase, whereas, in later sessions, participants showed a within-session habituation response. A significant interaction was found for GSR and treatment assignment for within-session change, within-person effect, predicting CAPS (d = 0.70) and PCL-C (d = 0.66) outcomes. <br><br>CONCLUSION: Overall, these findings suggest that exposure to traumatic memories activates arousal across sessions, with GSR being most associated with reductions in PTSD symptoms for participants in the PE group.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1091-4269",
doi="10.1002/da.23141",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/da.23141"
}