Pitman R K, Orr S P, Forgue D F, de Jong J B, Claiborn J M
Veterans Administration Medical Center, Research Service, Manchester, NH 03104.
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1987 Nov;44(11):970-5. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.1987.01800230050009.
This study utilized psychophysiologic techniques to assess emotional arousal during imagery of psychologically traumatic experiences. All subjects were medication-free Vietnam combat veterans, classified on the basis of DSM-III-R criteria into groups with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD, n = 18) and no mental disorder (control, n = 15), which did not differ in extent of combat or in the judged severity of the traumatic experiences reported. "Scripts" describing each subject's combat experiences as well as other experiences were read to them in the laboratory, and they were instructed to imagine the events the scripts portrayed, while heart rate, skin conductance, and frontalis electromyogram were recorded. The PTSD subjects' physiologic responses to their combat scripts were markedly higher than the controls'. The combined physiologic variables identified PTSD subjects with a specificity of 100% and a sensitivity of 61%. The results demonstrate exaggerated physiologic arousal during recollection of traumatic experiences in PTSD.
本研究运用心理生理学技术来评估在心理创伤经历的意象化过程中的情绪唤醒。所有受试者均为未服用药物的越南战争退伍军人，根据《精神疾病诊断与统计手册》第三版修订版（DSM-III-R）标准分为患有创伤后应激障碍（PTSD，n = 18）和无精神障碍（对照组，n = 15）两组，这两组在战斗经历的程度或所报告的创伤经历的判定严重程度方面并无差异。在实验室中向他们朗读描述每位受试者战斗经历以及其他经历的“脚本”，并指示他们想象脚本所描绘的事件，同时记录心率、皮肤电导率和额肌肌电图。PTSD受试者对其战斗脚本的生理反应明显高于对照组。综合生理变量对PTSD受试者的识别特异性为100%，敏感性为61%。结果表明，PTSD患者在回忆创伤经历时会出现过度的生理唤醒。
