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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 9, 2026

Developing Neuroimaging Phenotypes of the Default Mode Network in PTSD: Integrating the Resting State, Working Memory, and Structural Connectivity

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Dissociation between working memory performance and proactive interference control in post-traumatic stress disorder.

Diane Swick¹, Julien Cayton², Victoria Ashley²

¹VA Northern California Health Care System, Martinez, CA, USA; University of California, Davis, USA.

Neuropsychologia

|January 13, 2017

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) did not show increased working memory interference with non-emotional stimuli. This suggests cognitive control in working memory may not be universally impaired in PTSD.

Keywords:

Cognitive control Interference resolution PTSD Verbal working memory Visual working memory

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Area of Science:

Cognitive Neuroscience
Psychiatry
Neuroscience

Background:

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with working memory (WM) and cognitive control deficits.
Intrusive memories in PTSD raise questions about interference control in WM.
Previous research suggests material-specific episodic memory dissociation in PTSD (verbal worse than nonverbal).

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate whether post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with altered interference control in working memory (WM).
To determine if a material-specific dissociation observed in episodic memory extends to WM.
To examine the relationship between WM performance, PTSD, and re-experiencing symptom severity.

Main Methods:

A recent probes working memory (WM) task was administered to 29 combat Veterans with PTSD and 29 age-matched controls.
The WM task utilized both verbal (words) and visual (patterns) stimuli in separate blocks.
Performance was assessed based on errors and proactive interference from recently presented, irrelevant items.

Main Results:

Participants with PTSD made more errors than controls on the WM task, with similar decrements for verbal and visual stimuli.
Proactive interference did not significantly differ between the PTSD and control groups.
Working memory interference was not related to the severity of re-experiencing symptoms in individuals with PTSD.

Conclusions:

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is not reliably associated with increased intrusions of irrelevant representations into working memory (WM) when using non-emotional stimuli.
The findings do not support a material-specific dissociation in working memory (WM) for individuals with PTSD.
Future research using trauma-related material is needed to understand intrusive thoughts and flashbacks in PTSD.