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. 2020 Jan-Apr;20(1):46-53.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijchp.2019.11.002. Epub 2019 Dec 19.

Implicit processing of emotional words by children with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: An fMRI investigation

Liliana Calderon-Delgado  1 , Mauricio Barrera-Valencia  2   3 , Ivette Noriega  4 , Kareem Al-Khalil  4 , Elizabeth Trejos-Castillo  4 , Jennifer Mosi  4 , Breanna Chavez  4 , Michael Galvan  4 , Michael W O'Boyle  4
Affiliations

Implicit processing of emotional words by children with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: An fMRI investigation

Liliana Calderon-Delgado et al. Int J Clin Health Psychol. 2020 Jan-Apr.

Abstract
in English, Spanish

Background/objective: In the last decade, socio-political violence in Colombia (South America) has created an environment of extreme/chronic stress. In this study, brain imaging technology (fMRI) and behavioral task performance were used to measure potential deficits in executive functioning for emotional processing in Colombian children.

Method: Participants (22 Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD and 22 neurotypical, NT) were asked to perform a word task with implicit emotional salience, which required them to report the color of the ink in which a positive, negative or neutral word was printed.

Results: Mixed design analysis of variance showed no group differences in accuracy for determining ink color when presented as a positive or neutral word. However, PTSD children were significantly less accurate (negative words) and notably slower (both positive and negative words) at determining ink color when presented in the context of an emotional word. PTSD processing of positive and negative words was associated with hypoactivation in the superior and middle frontal gyri of the right hemisphere in comparison to NT children.

Conclusions: These results may reflect a deficit in executive functioning for emotionally laden stimuli, perhaps induced as a by-product of their traumatic experiences.

Antecedentes/objetivo: En la última década, la violencia socio-política en Colombia, ha propiciado un ambiente generador de situaciones de estrés crónico/extremo. El presente estudio empleó resonancia magnética funcional, junto con tareas conductuales, para medir posibles déficits en el funcionamiento ejecutivo en una tarea de palabras con contenido emocional en una muestra de niños colombianos.

Método: A los participantes (22 TEPT y 22 controles), se les pidió indicar el color de la palabra impresa, omitiendo el contenido emocional implícito positivo, neutro o negativo.

Resultados: El análisis de varianza de diseño mixto, no arrojó diferencias entre los grupos, en número de aciertos al determinar el color en que estaban impresas las palabras positivas o neutras. Sin embargo, los niños con TEPT tuvieron más errores con las palabras de contenido emocional negativo y fueron más lentos que los controles con palabras de valencia positiva o negativa. En cuanto a las palabras positivas y negativas, el grupo con TEPT se asoció a hipoactivación de los giros superior y medio frontal del hemisferio derecho, al compararlos con los controles.

Conclusiones: Estos resultados sugieren déficits en el funcionamiento ejecutivo para estímulos con contenido emocional, quizás como consecuencia de las experiencias traumáticas vividas por el grupo de TEPT.

Keywords: Brain activation; Experiment; PTSD; fMRI.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Examples of neutral, positive, and negative word stimuli. Note. Participants were asked, “Is the word printed in blue, red, or green ink?”.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Number of correct responses.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Reaction time (secs).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Sagittal (left) and axial (middle), and cortical (right) views of between group activation for NT (top) and PTSD (bottom) participants for negative (orange) and positive (blue) words.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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