Neurological status of Vietnam veterans with chronic posttraumatic stress disorder

This study investigated neurological status in 27 medication-free outpatient Vietnam veterans meeting DSM-III-R criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and 15 non-PTSD combat control subjects, all without alcohol or drug dependence or abuse during the past year. Subjects underwent neurological examination, neuropsychological testing, and sleep-deprived EEG. PTSD subjects showed significantly more neurological soft signs than non-PTSD subjects. Neither substance dependence/abuse nor the more frequent history of developmental problems in PTSD subjects accounted for this difference. There were no significant EEG or neuropsychological testing group differences; however, there were significant correlations between several neuropsychological test scores and total neurological soft signs.