Working memory function is linked to trauma exposure, independently of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms.

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of the study was to examine how working memory (WM) may be related to exposure to potentially traumatic events and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

METHOD: In four studies, we measured WM function using adaptations of the running span and the reading span tasks. We compared the performance of women reporting experiences of sexual abuse to control participants (total n = 144 controls and 84 victims). We measured severity of the sexual abuse experiences as well as exposure to general life stress.

RESULTS

In all studies, trauma-exposed participants showed significantly lower WM function compared to control participants. In addition to traditional null hypothesis testing, we used a mini-meta analysis to estimate the combined estimated effect size of this difference, which was in the moderate range (d = 0.43 with 0.15-0.70 95% confidence interval). Regression equations showed that PTSD symptoms did not mediate the relationship between trauma exposure and WM function.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results show that trauma exposure per se can be associated with important cognitive correlates even in individuals who do not develop psychopathological reactions.