The role of executive function in posttraumatic stress disorder: A systematic review

Polak, Anna; Witteveen, Anke B.; Reitsma, Johannes B.; Olff, Miranda

doi:10.1016/j.jad.2012.01.001

Cited by 238 publications

(196 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Study participants reported significant improvements in multiple aspects of psychological well-being 1 wk after the outdoor intervention. The improvements in attentional functioning and emotional tone (increases in positive affect and feelings of tranquility; decreases in negative affect) are consistent with existing research on the restorative effects of natural environments and are noteworthy given that mental health problems, such as PTSD, have been associated with impairments in executive functioning and an increased risk of depression [48][49]. While psychological well-being seemed to decline slightly over time, the results suggest that the improvements in well-being were sustained even 1 mo after the outdoor experience, especially with respect to positive affect.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Enhancing the well-being of veterans using extended group-based nature recreation experiences

Duvall

Kaplan

2014

J Rehabil Res Dev

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Abstract-Physical and mental health issues associated with military service persist as challenges for many veterans. This study draws on existing research showing the value of engaging in nature-based recreation to examine the effects of such experiences on veterans specifically. Four organizations, offering 12 different programs each lasting 4-7 d, were included in the study. Ninety-eight veterans were recruited and surveyed 1 wk before, 1 wk after, and approximately 1 mo after participating in these extended group-based outdoor experiences. In addition to background information, the survey instrument assessed changes in psychological well-being, social functioning, and life outlook. The results showed significant improvements in each of these domains 1 wk after the outdoor experience. Some improvements persisted over the next month, but to a lesser degree. The positive changes were particularly strong for veterans who initially reported more severe ongoing health issues. Overall, the findings suggest that extended group-based nature recreation experiences that bring veterans together can have significant positive effects on veterans struggling with serious health problems.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Enhancing the well-being of veterans using extended group-based nature recreation experiences

Duvall

Kaplan

2014

J Rehabil Res Dev

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“…Executive function deficits have been reported in individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder 30 and other anxiety disorders 31 ; co-morbid anxiety also has been shown to exacerbate executive function deficits in individuals with depression 11,15 and bipolar II disorder. 13 A full range of anxiety disorder diagnoses was found within our sample, with social phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and general anxiety disorder being most common across groups.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Executive function in eating disorders: The role of state anxiety

Billingsley-Marshall¹,

Basso²,

Lund³

et al. 2013

Intl J Eating Disorders

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Objective: We examined the influence of depression and anxiety on executive function in individuals with a DSM-IV diagnosis of anorexia nervosa-restricting type, anorexia nervosa-binge-eating/ purging type, bulimia nervosa, or eating disorder not otherwise specified. Method:We assessed 106 women after their inpatient treatment in an eating disorders program. All participants were nutritionally stable at the time of testing.Results: Thirty percent of the total sample showed impaired performance on one or more tests of executive function. No differences in executive function were observed among diagnostic groups. Anxiety scores accounted for significant variance in performance for all groups.Discussion: Executive function deficits were found in a minority of our sample, with significant variance in performance accounted for by self-reported anxiety. State anxiety appears to contribute to diminished executive function in women with eating disorders. V V C 2013 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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“…Deficits in only one aspect of executive control may contribute to inconsistent neuropsychological testing reported previously (Polak et al, 2012). For example, patients with PTSD performed worse than trauma-exposed controls on the trail-making test and Wisconsin card sorting task, but not on the Stroop task or digitspan backward (Polak et al, 2012).…”

Section: Va Author Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 96%

Posttraumatic stress disorder is associated with limited executive resources in a working memory task

Honzel

Justus

Swick

2013

Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci

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Patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can show declines in working memory. A dual-task design was used to determine if these impairments are linked to executive control limitations. Participants performed a Sternberg memory task with either one or four letters. In the dual-task condition, the maintenance period was filled with an arrow flanker task. PTSD patients were less accurate on the working memory task than controls, especially in the dual-task condition. In the single-task condition, both groups showed similar patterns of brain potentials from 300-500 ms when discriminating old and new probes. However, when taxed with an additional task, the event-related potentials (ERPs) of the PTSD group no longer differentiated old and new probes. In contrast, interference resolution processes in both the single-and dual-task conditions of the flanker were intact. The lack of differentiation in the ERPs reflects impaired working memory performance under more difficult dual-task conditions. Exacerbated difficulty in performing a working memory task with concurrent task demands suggests a specific limitation in executive control resources in PTSD. KeywordsWorking memory; PTSD; ERP; dual task; executive function; Sternberg memory task One critical aspect of executive control is the coordination of multiple cognitive processes. Executive control is required to maintain items relevant to current goals in memory and to selectively focus on goal-relevant items (Garcia-Larrea & Cezanne-Bert, 1998). Top-down attention influences the selection of visual stimuli based on previous experience and current goals, while filtering out distractor stimuli (Bledowski, Prvulovic, Goebel, Zanella, & Linden, 2004;Corbetta & Shulman, 2002;Hopf & Mangun, 2000;Lavie, Hirst, de Fockert, & Viding, 2004). Working memory plays a critical role in guiding these top-down attentional processes by keeping current goals in mind (de Fockert, Rees, Frith, & Lavie, * Address correspondence to: Dr. Nikki Honzel, VA Northern California Health Care System, 150 Muir Road, 151-I, Martinez, CA, 94553, nhonzel@gmail.com. The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest. The information in this manuscript and the manuscript itself has never been published either electronically or in print. The contents do not represent the views of the Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States Government. 2001;Downing, 2000;Soto, Heinke, Humphreys, & Blanco, 2005). The interaction between working memory and attention suggests that as working memory load increases, attentional capacity decreases, and in turn, causes working memory performance to decline (Gazzaley, 2011;Pratt, Willoughby, & Swick, 2011). U.S. Department of Veterans AffairsAn ongoing question in cognitive neuroscience is the extent to which different executive control processes can be functionally and neuroanatomically dissociated. For example, factor analysis has demonstrated that response inhibition, set shifting, and working memory updating are separable processes (Miya...

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The role of executive function in posttraumatic stress disorder: A systematic review

Cited by 238 publications

References 46 publications

Enhancing the well-being of veterans using extended group-based nature recreation experiences

Enhancing the well-being of veterans using extended group-based nature recreation experiences

Executive function in eating disorders: The role of state anxiety

Posttraumatic stress disorder is associated with limited executive resources in a working memory task

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