Skip to content
Project Directory
  • Français
Donate Now
  • Français
  • About
    • What We Do
    • Leadership
    • Team
    • Publications
    • Careers
  • Diseases/Disorders
    • One Brain
    • ALS
    • Alzheimer’s
    • Autism
    • Brain Cancer
    • Brain Injury
    • Epilepsy
    • Mental Illness
    • Multiple Sclerosis
    • Parkinson’s
    • Stroke
    • Other
  • Research
    • Programs
    • Funding Opportunities
    • Program Partners
    • Announcements
  • Impact
  • Ways To Give
    • Giving to Research
    • How You Can Help
    • Events

Funded Grants

Back to results

Neural indices of a modified auditory oddball task and their symptom correlates in post-traumatic stress disorder dissociative vs. non-dissociative subtypes

Project Overview

Dr. Hubert van Tol Travel Fellowship

Individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may experience differences in discriminating between and paying attention to certain types of sounds. These differences can be measured using brain electrical activity. Previous work has shown that PTSD is associated with reductions in the magnitude of response and increases in response processing time to neutral (non-emotional) sounds, and increases in response to trauma-related sounds. As well, there are different sub-types of PTSD that have been identified, including those who have ‘dissociative’ vs. ‘non-dissociative’ types. It is not known how these different sub-types respond to neutral vs. trauma-related sounds. This study assessed differences in brain electrical responses to target, distractor, and trauma-related (e.g. gunshots, screams) sounds, and examined their relationship with symptoms in individuals with dissociative and non-dissociative PTSD sub-types. Twenty-four (N=17 with ‘non-dissociative’ and N=7 with ‘dissociative’ sub-types) current or past members of the Canadian Armed Forces participated in an auditory test where they were instructed to respond (button press) to low-pitch target tones presented alongside frequently occurring, higher-pitched tones. Participants also heard unexpected ‘distractor’ and trauma-related sounds. Self-report measures of mood, anxiety, trauma, and emotional state were also collected. The results indicated that those with the dissociative sub-type had longer response times to the trauma-related sounds. Across the entire sample, the magnitude of the response to the target sounds, the response time to the distractor sounds, and the magnitude of the response to the trauma-related sounds were related to depression symptoms and emotional states. These results suggest that brain electrical responses may be affected by PTSD sub-type, and that there may be more automatic processing of trauma-related sounds in those with a dissociative PTSD sub-type. The data also suggests a relationship between symptoms and brain responses of attention and processing of distractor and trauma-related sounds.

Principal Investigator

Sara de la Salle , University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research (IMHR)

Partners and Donors

Seger-van Tol Family

Project Ongoing

Neural indices of a modified auditory oddball task and their symptom correlates in post-traumatic stress disorder dissociative vs. non-dissociative subtypes

  • Program Type

    Capacity building grants

  • Area of research

    Mental Health

  • Disease Area

    Mental illness

  • Competition

    Rising Stars Trainee Awards

  • Province

    Ontario

  • Start Date

    2022

Contact Us

1200 McGill College Avenue
Suite 1600, Montreal, Quebec
H3B 4G7

+1 (514) 989-2989 info@braincanada.ca

Playing with Marbles Podcast

Join us and take a journey to the real last great frontier – the brain.

Listen

Subscribe to Brain News

Receive our monthly electronic newsletter with updates on funded projects, upcoming events and breakthroughs in brain research.

Sign Up

Territorial acknowledgement

The offices of Brain Canada Foundation are located on the traditional, ancestral territory of the Kanien'kehá:ka Peoples, a place which has long served as a site of meeting and exchange amongst nations. We honour and pay respect to elders past, present and emerging, and dedicate ourselves to moving forward in the spirit of partnership, collaboration, and reconciliation. In our work, we focus our efforts on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action, particularly those that pertain to improving health for Indigenous Peoples and that focus on advancing our own learning on Indigenous issues.

© 2023 Brain Canada Foundation

Registration number: 89105 2094 RR0001

  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy

Design by Field Trip & Co