Background
Dissociative identity disorder (DID) patients function as two or more identities or
dissociative identity states (DIS), categorized as ‘neutral identity states’ (NIS)
and ‘traumatic identity states’ (TIS). NIS inhibit access to traumatic memories thereby
enabling daily life functioning. TIS have access and responses to these memories.
We tested whether these DIS show different psychobiological reactions to trauma-related
memory.
Methods
A symptom provocation paradigm with 11 DID patients was used in a two-by-two factorial
design setting. Both NIS and TIS were exposed to a neutral and a trauma-related memory
script. Three psychobiological parameters were tested: subjective ratings (emotional
and sensori-motor), cardiovascular responses (heart rate, blood pressure, heart rate
variability) and regional cerebral blood flow as determined with H215O positron emission tomography.
Results
Psychobiological differences were found for the different DIS. Subjective and cardiovascular
reactions revealed significant main and interactions effects. Regional cerebral blood
flow data revealed different neural networks to be associated with different processing
of the neutral and trauma-related memory script by NIS and TIS.
Conclusions
Patients with DID encompass at least two different DIS. These identities involve different
subjective reactions, cardiovascular responses and cerebral activation patterns to
a trauma-related memory script.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
December 16,
2005
Received in revised form:
July 29,
2005
Received in revised form:
December 2,
2005
Received:
January 31,
2005
Identification
Copyright
© 2006 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
