Psychophysiological assessment: clinical applications for PTSD

Descriptions of anxiety disorders clearly recognize the physiological featu res of anxiety, yet in most clinical practice and research there is little actual use of physiological measurement. This is unfortunate because a pote ntially important source of information is thereby unavailable and is likel y to result in judgements about emotional experience that are less accurate , complete, and reliable than those that include physiological information. The neglect of physiological measures may result from a variety of concern s regarding test attributes such as reliability, validity, utility, and com plexity. Promising results from studies of posttraumatic stress disorder (P TSD) demonstrate that physiological assessment can provide valuable clinica l and theoretical insight. Numerous studies have now shown that heightened physiological reactivity to trauma-related cues is highly indicative of a d iagnosis of PTSD. Physiological tests have achieved some success in predict ing the development and persistence of PTSD, and in predicting and assessin g treatment response. Studies of the startle response, aversive conditionin g, and brain potentials during cognitive processing have identified several potentially important differences between PTSD patients and controls. This paper provides an overview of psychophysiological findings in PTSD and con siders potential clinical applications of psychophysiological assessment fo r this disorder. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.