Development of a task to measure the impact of PTSD symptoms on cognitive control and physiologic endpoints in response to interpersonal stressors

Project Type(s):

Principal Investigator(s):
  • Marlene Tai, MD
Co-Investigator(s):

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is linked to altered physiologic functioning, including increased blood pressure and heart rate, especially in response to stressors. Increased cardiovascular reactivity to trauma-related stressors may link PTSD to poorer cardiovascular health and thus an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Prior work by our lab suggests that these effects of trauma may be due to persistent changes in the central and peripheral nervous systems’ stress-response system. While there is an urgent need to address these effects, limitations in our ability to effectively measure these changes have led to a paucity of data regarding the impact of current PTSD treatments on these important endpoints.

We propose to develop a novel emotional Stroop task that will quantify physiologic reactivity to interpersonal and affective cues, and quantify the impact of affective and physiologic reactivity on cognitive control. In a Veteran sample, we will characterize how performance on this task relates to PTSD symptom burden and physiologic reactivity to tilt-table testing, and gather pilot data assessing its response to pharmacologic treatment.

Project Period:
September 18, 2023 — June 30, 2024

Accepting Trainees?

Unknown

Funding Type(s):
State/UW

Funder(s):
Clinician Scientist Training Program

Research Program(s):

Geographic Area(s):
Washington

Practice Type(s):
Veterans Health Administration

Patient Population(s):
Veterans

Targeted Condition(s):
PTSD