The influence of emotion on working memory: Exploratory fMRI findings among men with histories of childhood sexual abuse.

BACKGROUND

Childhood maltreatment can have detrimental consequences on individual well-being and cognitive functioning. One type of childhood maltreatment that remains stigmatized and under-researched among men is child sexual abuse (CSA). Research examining the neurophysiological consequences of CSA in males is limited even further.

OBJECTIVE

To provide preliminary insight into the neural basis of the impact of CSA during two working memory tasks.

PARTICIPANTS AND

SETTING

Men with CSA histories, with and without post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD; CSA + PTSD n = 7, mean age = 45; CSA-PTSD; n = 9, mean age = 41), and men without a CSA history nor PTSD (n = 13, mean age = 36) participated in the study at a local hospital.

METHODS

Participants completed a letter n-back task and an emotional picture n-back task during fMRI to measure working memory and the influence of emotion on working memory. They also completed self-report measures to assess mental health and childhood abuse histories.

RESULTS

In the letter n-back task, men with CSA + PTSD had less activation in the cerebellum and left fusiform gyrus compared to CSA-PTSD men. During the working memory task with negative emotional pictures the control group had greater frontal activation, while the CSA-PTSD group had greater limbic activation. Analyses were performed with independent-samples t-tests.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides preliminary empirical evidence of the impact CSA can have on men regarding working memory when negative stimuli are involved. It highlights that CSA, even without a diagnosis of PTSD, can have a significant neurophysiological impact. It also provides clinicians with information to support well-being and help with potential day to day challenges.