Informational processing in PTSD/TBI veterans with alcoholic behavior (2015)

Undergraduates: Ashley Creese, Danielle Rogers

Faculty Advisor: Ayse Belger
Department: Psychology & Neuroscience

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Veterans that have been diagnosed with posttraumatic brain disorder (PTSD) typically engage in binge drinking behavior to regulate their negative emotional symptoms resulting in hyperarousal to stimuli (Stewart, Pihl, Conrod, & Dongier, 1998). Studies have revealed that binge drinking affects an individual's cognitive function through reduced and/or delayed neural and informational processing in evoked related potential (ERP) components (Maurage et al., 2012). Thus, the current study examines the extent alcoholic behavior interferes with executive functioning and affective processing in recent combat veterans with PTSD and traumatic brain injury (TBI). Ninetysix veterans with PTSD and TBI (91.67% male) aged 24-59 participated in an oddball paradigm where their task was to respond to an infrequent target stimuli amongst standard stimuli. Electroencephalogram (EEG) was used to record their brain activity during the tasks. By examining the clinical administered PTSD scale (CAPS) score and their drinking behavior score we were able to assess if their diagnosis and/or drinking behavior influenced their response. The results indicate that veterans with a high CAPS score may have a significant positive correlation with their drinking behavior and performance on the oddball task. Consequently, PTSD/TBI veterans who have a high CAPS score and engage in heavy binge drinking behavior have an increased reduction in executive functioning and corresponding brain activity. _x000D_