Executive function and memory in posttraumatic stress disorder: a study of Bosnian war veterans

The present study assessed neuropsychological functions related to attention, executive function and everyday memory in a group of men with a diagnosis of combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Twenty Bosnian male combat veterans with a diagnosis of PTSD were tested using the Sustained Attention to Response Task, the Hayling Sentence Completion Test, the Trail Making Test, Rivermead Behavioral Memory Test and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (verbal scales). Their performance was compared with age- and IQ-matched male war veterans with no PTSD. The study disclosed pervasive cognitive impairments with large effect sizes pertaining to attention, working memory, executive function, and memory. The effects did not appear to be attributable to alcohol abuse, loss of consciousness, or educational level. We speculate that, in the present group of combat veterans, PTSD was associated with dysfunction of a higher-level attentional resource which in turn affected the activity in other systems concerned with memory and thought.