%0 Journal Article
%T Taking the pulse of prolonged exposure therapy: physiological reactivity to trauma imagery as an objective measure of treatment response
%J Depression and anxiety
%D 2015
%A Wangelin, Bethany C.
%A Tuerk, Peter W.
%V 32
%N 12
%P 927-934
%X BACKGROUND: Physiological reactivity to trauma-related cues is a primary symptom of PTSD and can be assessed objectively using script-driven imagery paradigms. However, subjective self-reported symptom measures are the most common outcome indices utilized in PTSD treatment trials and clinic settings. We examined physiological reactivity during a short trauma imagery task as an objective index of response to PTSD treatment, optimized for use in routine clinical care settings. <br><br>METHODS: Participants were 35 male combat veterans receiving prolonged exposure (PE) therapy in a Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic. In addition to traditional subjective self-reported and clinician-rated symptom measures, patients also completed a script-driven imagery task in which heart rate (HR) and skin conductance (SC) were recorded at three assessment points across treatment. We examined changes in subjective symptom measures and objective trauma-specific physiological reactivity over the course of PE, and investigated the association between pretreatment physiological reactivity and treatment response. <br><br>RESULTS: Patients who completed PE showed significantly diminished HR and SC reactivity to trauma imagery across therapy. Additionally, individuals showing greater trauma-specific HR reactivity at pretreatment showed greater reductions in subjectively reported PTSD symptoms after the first session of imaginal exposure, and at posttreatment. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Findings support the utility of physiological reactivity during trauma imagery as an objective outcome measure that has the potential to be incorporated into evidence-based PTSD treatment in routine clinical settings, or prospective studies related to the individualization of care at pretreatment.<p /><p>Language: en</p>
%G en
%I John Wiley and Sons
%@ 1091-4269
%U http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/da.22449