Intrusive memories of trauma: A target for research bridging cognitive science and its clinical application

Intrusive memories of a traumatic event can be distressing and disruptive, and comprise a core clinical feature of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Intrusive memories involve mental imagery-based impressions that intrude into mind involuntarily, and are emotional. Here we consider how recent a...

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Autores principales: Iyadurai, Lalitha, Visser, Renée M., Lau-Zhu, Alex, Porcheret, Kate, Horsch, Antje, Holmes, Emily A., James, Ella L.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Elsevier Science 2019
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6475651/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30293686
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2018.08.005
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author Iyadurai, Lalitha
Visser, Renée M.
Lau-Zhu, Alex
Porcheret, Kate
Horsch, Antje
Holmes, Emily A.
James, Ella L.
author_facet Iyadurai, Lalitha
Visser, Renée M.
Lau-Zhu, Alex
Porcheret, Kate
Horsch, Antje
Holmes, Emily A.
James, Ella L.
author_sort Iyadurai, Lalitha
collection PubMed
description Intrusive memories of a traumatic event can be distressing and disruptive, and comprise a core clinical feature of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Intrusive memories involve mental imagery-based impressions that intrude into mind involuntarily, and are emotional. Here we consider how recent advances in cognitive science have fueled our understanding of the development and possible treatment of intrusive memories of trauma. We conducted a systematic literature search in PubMed, selecting articles published from 2008 to 2018 that used the terms “trauma” AND (“intrusive memories” OR “involuntary memories”) in their abstract or title. First, we discuss studies that investigated internal (neural, hormonal, psychophysiological, and cognitive) processes that contribute to intrusive memory development. Second, we discuss studies that targeted these processes using behavioural/pharmacological interventions to reduce intrusive memories. Third, we consider possible clinical implications of this work and highlight some emerging research avenues for treatment and prevention, supplemented by new data to examine some unanswered questions. In conclusion, we raise the possibility that intrusive memories comprise an alternative, possibly more focused, target in translational research endeavours, rather than only targeting overall symptoms of disorders such as PTSD. If so, relatively simple approaches could help to address the need for easy-to-deliver, widely-scalable trauma interventions.
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spelling pubmed-64756512019-04-25 Intrusive memories of trauma: A target for research bridging cognitive science and its clinical application Iyadurai, Lalitha Visser, Renée M. Lau-Zhu, Alex Porcheret, Kate Horsch, Antje Holmes, Emily A. James, Ella L. Clin Psychol Rev Article Intrusive memories of a traumatic event can be distressing and disruptive, and comprise a core clinical feature of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Intrusive memories involve mental imagery-based impressions that intrude into mind involuntarily, and are emotional. Here we consider how recent advances in cognitive science have fueled our understanding of the development and possible treatment of intrusive memories of trauma. We conducted a systematic literature search in PubMed, selecting articles published from 2008 to 2018 that used the terms “trauma” AND (“intrusive memories” OR “involuntary memories”) in their abstract or title. First, we discuss studies that investigated internal (neural, hormonal, psychophysiological, and cognitive) processes that contribute to intrusive memory development. Second, we discuss studies that targeted these processes using behavioural/pharmacological interventions to reduce intrusive memories. Third, we consider possible clinical implications of this work and highlight some emerging research avenues for treatment and prevention, supplemented by new data to examine some unanswered questions. In conclusion, we raise the possibility that intrusive memories comprise an alternative, possibly more focused, target in translational research endeavours, rather than only targeting overall symptoms of disorders such as PTSD. If so, relatively simple approaches could help to address the need for easy-to-deliver, widely-scalable trauma interventions. Elsevier Science 2019-04 /pmc/articles/PMC6475651/ /pubmed/30293686 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2018.08.005 Text en © 2018 The Authors http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Iyadurai, Lalitha
Visser, Renée M.
Lau-Zhu, Alex
Porcheret, Kate
Horsch, Antje
Holmes, Emily A.
James, Ella L.
Intrusive memories of trauma: A target for research bridging cognitive science and its clinical application
title Intrusive memories of trauma: A target for research bridging cognitive science and its clinical application
title_full Intrusive memories of trauma: A target for research bridging cognitive science and its clinical application
title_fullStr Intrusive memories of trauma: A target for research bridging cognitive science and its clinical application
title_full_unstemmed Intrusive memories of trauma: A target for research bridging cognitive science and its clinical application
title_short Intrusive memories of trauma: A target for research bridging cognitive science and its clinical application
title_sort intrusive memories of trauma: a target for research bridging cognitive science and its clinical application
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6475651/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30293686
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2018.08.005
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