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Article| Volume 27, ISSUE 10, P1165-1175, May 15, 1990

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Autonomic responses to stress in Vietnam combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-3223(90)90053-5
Autonomic responses to stress in Vietnam combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder
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      Abstract

      This study tested the hypothesis that combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) experience sympathetic nervous system activation in response to war-related laboratory stimuli. Circulating plasma catecholamines, vital signs, and affect ratings were measured in 10 Vietnam combat veterans with PTSD and 11 control subjects, during and after viewing combat and noncombat stress films. PTSD subjects responded more strongly than controls to the combat film, with greater increases in plasma epinephrine, pulse, blood pressure, and subjective distress. The increases in autonomic activity of PTSD subjects was more pronounced and long lasting in response to the combat film than to the noncombat film, but type of film had no systematic effect on control subjects' responses. These findings are consistent with biological models that posit sympathoadrenal activation in response to memory-evoking cues of traumatic events in PTSD.
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      Article info

      Publication history

      Received in revised form: September 28, 1989
      Received: June 19, 1989

      Footnotes

      ☆This research was supported by NIH Biomedical Research Support Grant #507RR0543-26 administered through the University of Washington School of Medicine. Additional support was provided by a Career Development Award from the Veterans Administration (MMM), by the Veterans Administration Medical Center Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, and by the Research Service of the VA.

      Identification

      DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-3223(90)90053-5

      Copyright

      © 1990 Published by Elsevier Inc.

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