About this Research Topic
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a chronic and pathological condition that can occur after exposure to traumatic experiences, such as threats to life, witnessing the death of other people and suffering physical or sexual attacks. PTSD correlates with a myriad of other mental disorders, such as depression, anxiety disorders, and alcohol/drug abuse, as well as chronic medical conditions. Importantly, recent studies show that subtle deficits in several cognitive domains can act as risk factors for the development of PTSD in people exposed to traumatic situations. Some of these factors are, for example, intelligence levels, attentional biases, and executive functions, as well as changes in neurological processes related to sleep quality. Furthermore, it has also been observed that PTSD can both worsen these deficiencies and create other cognitive alterations, such as susceptibility for the development of dementia (due to premature aging), and changes in associative learning processes, such as classical conditioning.
Despite evidence showing that cognitive functioning is associated by and interacts with PTSD symptom maintenance and exacerbation, we need more information regarding the involvement of individual differences in cognitive vulnerability factors as predictors of PTSD development. Also, aiming a better understanding of its development across time, we also need to better understand how PTSD impacts neurophysiological mechanisms which in turn could influence cognitive functioning. In this sense, the overarching goal of the present Research Collection is to gather information regarding cognitive and neurophysiological alterations correlated or caused by PTSD.
We welcome submissions of manuscripts dealing with (but not limited to) the bidirectional interaction with PTSD and:
1. Threat-related attentional impairments;
2. Use of maladaptive emotion regulation strategies;
3. Dysfunctions in executive functioning, including working memory updating, inhibition and set-shifting;
4. Sustained attention;
5. Planning, i.e. the ability to create and implement strategical behaviors to obtain a future goal;
6. Disturbances in Sleep Quality;
7. Neurocognitive decline;
8. PTSD social cognition deficits
We encourage researchers with different expertise and backgrounds to contribute with studies dealing with the above-mentioned topics. Research studies employing new technologies are welcome, as well as studies using more traditional methods. Finally, we will consider both submissions with mainly theoretical focus as well empirical studies, covering original papers, review articles and meta-analysis.
Despite evidence showing that cognitive functioning is associated by and interacts with PTSD symptom maintenance and exacerbation, we need more information regarding the involvement of individual differences in cognitive vulnerability factors as predictors of PTSD development. Also, aiming a better understanding of its development across time, we also need to better understand how PTSD impacts neurophysiological mechanisms which in turn could influence cognitive functioning. In this sense, the overarching goal of the present Research Collection is to gather information regarding cognitive and neurophysiological alterations correlated or caused by PTSD.
We welcome submissions of manuscripts dealing with (but not limited to) the bidirectional interaction with PTSD and:
1. Threat-related attentional impairments;
2. Use of maladaptive emotion regulation strategies;
3. Dysfunctions in executive functioning, including working memory updating, inhibition and set-shifting;
4. Sustained attention;
5. Planning, i.e. the ability to create and implement strategical behaviors to obtain a future goal;
6. Disturbances in Sleep Quality;
7. Neurocognitive decline;
8. PTSD social cognition deficits
We encourage researchers with different expertise and backgrounds to contribute with studies dealing with the above-mentioned topics. Research studies employing new technologies are welcome, as well as studies using more traditional methods. Finally, we will consider both submissions with mainly theoretical focus as well empirical studies, covering original papers, review articles and meta-analysis.
Keywords: Trauma, PTSD, Deficits, Cognition, Neurophysiology
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
