Journal
PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE
Volume 26, Issue 5, Pages 604-616Publisher
SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC
DOI: 10.1177/0956797615569889
Keywords
memory suppression; forgetting; trauma; PTSD; inhibitory control; thought control
Categories
Funding
- UK Medical Research Council [MC-A060-5PR00]
- MRC [MC_U105579215, MC_U105597121] Funding Source: UKRI
- Medical Research Council [MC_U105597121, MC_U105579215] Funding Source: researchfish
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Most people have experienced distressing events that they would rather forget. Although memories of such events become less intrusive with time for the majority of people, those with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are afflicted by vivid, recurrent memories of their trauma. Often triggered by reminders in the daily environment, these memories can cause severe distress and impairment. We propose that difficulties with intrusive memories in PTSD arise in part from a deficit in engaging inhibitory control to suppress episodic retrieval. We tested this hypothesis by adapting the think/no-think paradigm to investigate voluntary memory suppression of aversive scenes cued by naturalistic reminders. Retrieval suppression was compromised significantly in PTSD patients, compared with trauma-exposed control participants. Furthermore, patients with the largest deficits in suppression-induced forgetting were also those with the most severe PTSD symptoms. These results raise the possibility that prefrontal mechanisms supporting inhibitory control over memory are impaired in PTSD.
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