Preferential processing of visual trauma-film reminders predicts subsequent intrusive memories

Abstract

This study used an analogue design to test the hypothesis that preferential processing of visual trauma reminders in the aftermath of a stressful or traumatic event gives rise to subsequent intrusive memories. Shortly after the presentation of a stressful film fragment, participants (n=36) were asked to detect neutral targets (rotated buildings or nature scenes) in a single target rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) paradigm. During half of the streams, the target was preceded by a distracter. The distracters consisted of visual images extracted from an earlier presented stressful film (e.g., persons and objects that figured in the film). The degree of interference by these film reminders predicted subsequent intrusions recorded in a one-week diary. The results provide evidence that a deficient ability to obtain attentional control over perceptual “trauma” reminders during goal-directed behaviour may set people at risk for persistent intrusive memories. Implications for research investigating attentional bias and intrusive memories in context of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are discussed.

Keywords:

• Intrusive memories
• Attentional control
• RSVP
• PTSD

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by grant 452–03–329 of the Foundation for Behavioral and Educational Sciences of the Netherlands Organization for Scientific research (NWO).

We are grateful to Rafaele Huntjens for her helpful comments on an earlier draft of this paper.

Notes

¹We thank Dr S.B. Most for kindly providing the original RSVP task and stimuli on which this adaptation was based.

²For reasons of clarity and space, we have only focused on the results relevant to the present study. A detailed overview of the RSVP results can be obtained on request from the first author.