期刊
JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRIC RESEARCH
卷 47, 期 1, 页码 64-71出版社
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2012.08.027
关键词
Sex differences; Learning; Conditioning; Fear; Posttraumatic stress disorder; Galvanic skin response
类别
资金
- Department of Defense
- Department of Veteran Affairs CSRD [CDA-2-037-07F, CDA-2-042-07F]
- Mental Illness Research and Education Clinical Center (MIRECC) of the US Veterans Health Administration
- Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health [KL2 RR024130]
- NATIONAL CENTER FOR RESEARCH RESOURCES [KL2RR024130] Funding Source: NIH RePORTER
Background: Women are twice as likely as men to develop Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Abnormal acquisition of conditioned fear has been suggested as a mechanism for the development of PTSD. While some studies of healthy humans suggest that women are either no different or express less conditioned fear responses during conditioning relative to men, differences in the acquisition of conditioned fear between men and women diagnosed with PTSD has not been examined. Methods: Thirty-one participants (18 men; 13 women) with full or subsyndromal PTSD completed a fear conditioning task. Participants were shown computer-generated colored circles that were paired (CS+) or unpaired (CS-) with an aversive electrical stimulus and skin conductance levels were assessed throughout the task. Results: Repeated measures ANOVA indicated a significant sex by stimulus interaction during acquisition. Women had greater differential conditioned skin conductance responses (CS+ trials compared to CS- trials) than did men, suggesting greater acquisition of conditioned fear in women with PTSD. Conclusions: In contrast to studies of healthy individuals, we found enhanced acquisition of conditioned fear in women with PTSD. Greater fear conditioning in women may either be a pre-existing vulnerability trait or an acquired phenomenon that emerges in a sex-dependent manner after the development of PTSD. Characterizing the underlying mechanisms of these differences is needed to clarify sex-related differences in the pathophysiology of PTSD. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
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