BACKGROUND Several recent neuroimaging studies have provided data consistent with functional abnormalities in anterior cingulate cortex in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In our study, we implemented a cognitive activation paradigm to test the functional integrity of anterior cingulate cortex in PTSD. METHODS Eight Vietnam combat veterans with PTSD (PTSD Group) and eight Vietnam combat ...

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is reported to be caused by traumatic events that are outside the range of usual human experience including (but not limited to) military combat, violent personal assault, being kidnapped or taken hostage and terrorist attacks. Initial data suggests that at least 1 out of 6 Iraq War veterans are exhibiting symptoms of depression, anxiety and PTSD. Virtual R...

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a com¬mon mental health problem among combat veterans. PTSD is a psychiatric condition that can develop after exposure to extremely stressful life events. It is characterized by more than 1 month of re-experiencing, avoidance, and hyper-arousal symptoms [1]. The current combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have resulted in a considerably large number...

The extent of female service members' involvement in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), in terms of both the number of women deployed and the scope of their involvement, is unprecedented. While many of the mental health readjustment issues of female service members are likely to mirror those of the majority male Veteran population, this newest generation of wome...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Emotionally relevant pictorial stimuli utilized in studies to characterize both normal and pathological emotional responses do not include military scenarios. Failures to replicate consistent findings for military populations have led to speculation that these image sets do not capture personally relevant experiences. METHODS The Military Affective Picture System (MA...

This study examined concordance between physiological arousal and subjective distress during a laboratory challenge task. Data were collected during the multisite VA Cooperative Study 334 in the early 1990s examining psychophysiological arousal among combat-exposed Vietnam veterans with (n = 775) and without (n = 369) posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Study participants were presented with ...

A significant proportion of military veterans of operations in Afghanistan and Iraq have been diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Growing evidence suggests that neuropsychological deficits are a symptom of PTSD. The current study investigated neurocognitive functioning among soldiers diagnosed with PTSD. Specifically, active-duty soldiers with and without a diagnosis of PTSD we...

Preexisting mental disorders are not always considered in mental health studies with military populations, even though prior diagnoses may be a risk factor for additional psychiatric harm stemming from combat exposure, as well as postdeployment behavioral problems. The objectives of this study were to investigate postcombat psychiatric and career outcomes among Marines with preexisting mental d...

BACKGROUND Patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) show a reliable increase in PTSD symptoms and physiological reactivity following exposure to traumatic pictures and sounds. In this study neural correlates of exposure to traumatic pictures and sounds were measured in PTSD. METHODS Positron emission tomography and H2[15O] were used to measure cerebral blood flow during exposure to ...

Virtual Reality Exposure therapy for combat veterans: Virtual reality therapy (VRE) is beneficial in the treatment of anxiety disorders and some research indicates it may be helpful for the treatment of PTSD. Proponents have suggested that the ability of computer technology to simulate detailed and realistic combat situations could make it easier for newly returned soldiers to connect with thei...