Preconscious processing of threat in posttraumatic stress disorder

Abstract

Conscious and preconscious processing of threatening information in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was studied using a masked modified Stroop paradigm. Twenty subjects who had been in motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) and met criteria for PTSD were compared with 20 MVA non-PTSD and 20 non-MVA subjects. PTSD subjects, but not MVA or non-MVA subjects, demonstrated greater interference on threat words in both the masked and unmasked conditions. The results suggest that preferential processing of threat-related information in PTSD occurs at a preconscious stage of processing.