Background: Neurophysiological models link dissociation (e.g. feeling detached during or after a traumatic event) to hypoarousal. It is currently assumed that the initial passive reaction to a threat may coincide with a blunted autonomic response, which constitutes the dissociative subtype of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Background: The COVID-19 outbreak in early 2020 was associated with an immediate increase in mental health problems in a significant percentage of the general population. Therefore, it is crucial to investigate how the COVID-19 pandemic – as a psychosocial stressor – affected the aetiological processes of mental disorders. Previous research has shown that stress potentiates associative (fear) learning and analogue symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and that analogue PTSD symptoms can emerge in response to associative learning.

Background: Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is one of the prevalent forms of trauma experienced during childhood and adolescence. Previous research underscores its associations with depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and psychosis.

Objective: This study examined symptom connections between depression, anxiety, PTSD, and psychosis while simultaneously investigating whether these connections differed by gender among CSA survivors.

Background:

Although eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) has been shown to be effective in the treatment of PTSD for years, it remains controversial due to the lack of understanding of its mechanisms of action. We examined whether the working memory (WM) hypothesis –the competition for limited WM resources induced by the dual task attenuates the vividness and emotionality of the traumatic memory – would provide an explanation for the beneficial effect induced by bilateral stimulation.

Methods: