Measures of prefrontal system dysfunction in posttraumatic stress disorder

Clinical observations have suggested that individuals who have suffered tra umatic stressful events exhibit disruption in abilities mediated by frontal brain systems. Therefore, this study employed tasks sensitive to frontal l obe dysfunction, including delayed response (DR), delayed alternation (DA), object alternation (OA), delayed matching-to-sample (DMTS), and delayed no nmatching-to-sample (DNMTS), with participants having posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Compared to controls, the PTSD participants were unimpaire d on DA and DMTS, but they showed deficits on DR, OA, and DNMTS tasks. This pattern of results suggests disruption of functioning in selective prefron tal brain systems. Results are discussed in the context of the neuropsychol ogical features of PTSD, as well as possible neuropathological and etiologi cal underpinnings of this disorder. (C) 2001 Academic Press.