A review of research on moral injury in combat veterans

The moral injury construct has been proposed to describe the suffering some veterans experience when they engage in acts during combat that violate their beliefs about their own goodness or the goodness of the world. These experiences are labeled transgressive acts to identify them as potentially traumatic experiences distinct from the fear-based traumas associated with posttraumatic stress disorder.

Read more

Biological profiling of plasma neuropeptide Y in relation to posttraumatic stress symptoms in two combat cohorts

Military personnel have an increased risk of developing stressrelated mental health problems after deployment to a combat zone [1]. In order to decrease the risk of developing stress-related disorders, biological vulnerability and protective factors should be identified. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is a peptide transmitter that is associated with modulation of the stress response. Previous studies reported reduced NPY levels in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) [2].

Read more

Repeated intranasal oxytocin administration as early preventive intervention for PTSD : A randomized controlled trial.

As posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) develops in approximately 10% of trauma-exposed individuals, there is an urgent need for effective preventive interventions for PTSD [1]. Oxytocin administration was previously found to beneficially influence neurobiological and socio-emotional factors associated with increased PTSD risk [e.g. 2, 3]. Therefore, we hypothesized that intranasal oxytocin administration early post-trauma in trauma-exposed individuals could prevent PTSD development .

Read more

PTSD symptom trajectories in disaster volunteers : The role of self-efficacy, social acknowledgement, and tasks carried out

Millions of volunteers respond after disasters, with a 24% to 46% risk of developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is unclear which symptom trajectories develop and how they differ between core (volunteering before the disaster) and noncore volunteers (joining after the disaster) and which factors predict trajectories. Symptoms of PTSD were assessed at 6-, 12-, and 18-months postearthquake in 449 volunteers in Indonesia.

Read more

Intranasal oxytocin enhances neural processing of monetary reward and loss in post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatized controls

Abstract
Background
Anhedonia is a significant clinical problem in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD patients show reduced motivational approach behavior, which may underlie anhedonic symptoms. Oxytocin administration is known to increase reward sensitivity and approach behavior. We therefore investigated whether oxytocin administration affected neural responses during motivational processing in PTSD patients and trauma-exposed controls.
Methods

Read more

Intranasal Oxytocin Affects Amygdala Functional Connectivity after Trauma Script-Driven Imagery in Distressed Recently Trauma-Exposed Individuals.

Approximately 10% of trauma-exposed individuals go on to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Neural emotion regulation may be etiologically involved in PTSD development. Oxytocin administration early post-trauma may be a promising avenue for PTSD prevention, as intranasal oxytocin has previously been found to affect emotion regulation networks in healthy individuals and psychiatric patients.

Read more

Local availability of green and blue space and prevalence of common mental disorders in the Netherlands

Local availability of green and blue space and prevalence of common mental disorders in the Netherlands Sjerp de Vries, Margreet ten Have, Saskia van Dorsselaer, Manja van Wezep, Tia Hermans and Ron de Graaf Background Previous studies revealed a relationship between residential green space availability and health, especially mental health. Studies on blue space are scarcer and results less conclusive.

Read more

Trauma-related self-defining memories and future goals in Dissociative Identity Disorder.

This study examined the content of self-defining autobiographical memories in different identities in patients with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) and comparison groups of patients with PTSD, healthy controls, and DID simulators. Consistent with the DID trauma model, analyses of objective ratings showed that DID patients in trauma identities retrieved more negative and trauma-related self-defining memories than DID patients in avoidant identities.

Read more

Back to Basics : Integrating Clinical and Scientific Knowledge to Advance the Field of Trauma-Highlights of the ISTSS-2015.

The 31st Annual Meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS), November 5–7, 2015, was a vibrant and stimulating conference, with many highlights from the opening on the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina; the keynotes of Anke Ehlers, John Krystal, and Regina Sullivan; the vivid panel discussions with recognized leaders in the field of traumatic stress studies; inspiring and eloquent presentations by master methodologists and clinicians; and much more.

Read more

A Paradox in Individual Versus National Mental Health Vulnerability : Are Higher Resource Levels Associated With Higher Disorder Prevalence?

An earlier study (Dückers, Alisic, & Brewin, 2016) found that countries with greater social and economic resources were characterized by a higher lifetime prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Here, we present a similar analysis of national population survey data to examine this vulnerability paradox in relation to other disorders. We predicted the lifetime prevalence of any mental health disorder (i.e., anxiety, mood, substance, and externalizing disorders) in 17 countries based on trauma exposure and country vulnerability data.

Read more

Pages