Selective processing of threat cues in posttraumatic stress disorder.

Vietnam combat veterans with (n?=?15) and without (n?=?15) posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) performed a modified Stroop task in which they named the colors of neutral words (e.g., INPUT), positive words (e.g., LOVE), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) words (e.g., GERMS), and PTSD words (e.g., BODYBAGS). In contrast to normal controls, PTSD patients took significantly longer to color-name PTSD words than to color-name neutral, OCD, and positive words. Because Stroop interference reflects involuntary semantic activation, it may provide a quantitative measure of intrusive cognitive activity, the hallmark symptom of PTSD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)