Spatio-temporal associations with memory cues are linked to analogue traumatic intrusions

Trauma survivors with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) frequently experience intrusive trauma memories associated with a feeling of "nowness". Information-processing models of PTSD ascribe these symptoms to an insufficient integration of memories with their spatio-temporal context in the past, turning them into powerful stressors. Here, we tested the idea that automatic associations of trauma reminders with the present or the past predict intrusive memories. We instructed 96 healthy participants to view two different traumatic films. Participants then underwent a computerized training that established implicit contingencies between film reminder pictures with the verbal responses "now" or "past" to increase and reduce intrusions, respectively. The training successfully altered implicit spatio-temporal associations for film reminder stimuli on a subsequent Implicit Association Test (IAT). There were no additional transfer effects for tense usage during a free recall task after one week and for the development of intrusion symptoms (one-week diary, retrospective questionnaire). However, participants who associated one film more strongly with the present and the other with the past consistently reported relatively more intrusive memories related to the former film. Thus, our results lend support to information processing models of PTSD and warrant further investigation of the causal role of implicit associations with spatio-temporal information.