Evidence suggests that threatening stimuli induce attentional biases compared to neutral stimuli, leading to subsequent storage in working memory. The current study examined how threatening versus neutral word distracters influence attention, and how this affects the unnecessary storage of these task-irrelevant stimuli in working memory. We measured the N2pc and contralateral delay activity (CDA), two […]
Category Archives: Publications
Neural Substrates of Human Fear Generalization: A 7T-fMRI Investigation
Fear generalization – the tendency to interpret ambiguous stimuli as threatening due to perceptual similarity to a learned threat – is an adaptive process. Overgeneralization, however, is maladaptive and has been implicated in a number of anxiety disorders. Neuroimaging research has indicated several regions sensitive to effects of generalization, including regions involved in fear excitation […]
Perceived discrimination predicts future PTSD symptoms in trauma-exposed racial and ethnic minority adults.
In the United States, Black residents exposed to a traumatic event are at an increased risk of developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and experiencing more severe symptoms compared to their non-Hispanic White counterparts. Although previous work has suggested a link between racial discrimination and PTSD symptoms, no studies have assessed this association in a sample […]
The effects of emotional working memory training on worry symptoms and error-related negativity of individuals with high trait anxiety: a randomized controlled study.
Background: Trait anxiety is characterized by impaired gating of threat from working memory (WM), allowing unnecessary maintenance of anxious cognitions. Improving filtering efficiency of threatening information through computerized WM training might reduce intrusive, worrisome thoughts. Methods: We randomized high-trait anxious individuals to 9 sessions of high-potency n-back (n = 19) or low-potency 1-back (n = […]
Cortical volume abnormalities in posttraumatic stress disorder: An ENIGMA-Psychiatric Genomics Consortium PTSD workgroup mega-analysis
Studies of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) report volume abnormalities in multiple regions of the cerebral cortex. However, findings for many regions, particularly regions outside commonly studied emotion-related prefrontal, insular, and limbic regions, are inconsistent and tentative. Also, few studies address the possibility that PTSD abnormalities may be confounded by comorbid depression. A mega-analysis investigating all […]
Neighborhood disadvantage is associated with stable deficits in neurocognitive functioning
Background: In trauma-exposed adults, the relationship between an individual’s socioeconomic position (SEP) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been well demonstrated. One potential mechanism by which the stress associated with lower SEPs may impact trauma outcomes is by changes in neurocognition. In both healthy and clinical samples, area-level factors also appear to be independently related […]
Stability of hippocampal subfield volumes after trauma and relationship to development of PTSD symptoms
Background: The hippocampus plays a central role in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) pathogenesis, and the majority of neuroimaging research on PTSD has studied the hippocampus in its entirety. Although extensive literature demonstrates changes in hippocampal volume are associated with PTSD, fewer studies have probed the relationship between symptoms and the hippocampus’ functionally and structurally distinct […]
DACC Resting State Functional Connectivity as a Predictor of Pain Symptoms Following Motor Vehicle Crash: A Preliminary Investigation
There is significant heterogeneity in pain outcomes following motor vehicle crashes (MVCs), such that a sizeable portion of individuals develop symptoms of chronic pain months after injury while others recover. Despite variable outcomes, the pathogenesis of chronic pain is currently unclear. Previous neuroimaging work implicates the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) in adaptive control of […]
A Randomized Trial of Modified Prolonged Exposure to Prevent the Development of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Patients HospitalizedWith Traumatic Injuries
Individuals who require hospitalization after traumatic injuries are at increased risk for developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); however, few early behavioral interventions have been effective at preventing PTSD within this population. The aim of this pilot study was to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of modified prolonged exposure therapy (mPE) to prevent PTSD and depression […]
Acute Posttrauma Resting-State Functional Connectivity of Periaqueductal Gray Prospectively Predicts Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms
BACKGROUND: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is characterized by hyperarousal, avoidance, and intrusive/reexperiencing symptoms. The periaqueductal gray (PAG), which generates behavioral responses to physical and psychological stressors, is also implicated in threat processing. Distinct regions of the PAG elicit opposing responses to threatening or stressful stimuli; the ventrolateral PAG evokes passive coping strategies (e.g., analgesia), whereas the dorsolateral PAG (dlPAG) […]