Credit score: Pixabay/CC0 Public Area
Trauma alone does not trigger posttraumatic stress dysfunction (PTSD); how we course of and picture it performs a key function, based on new analysis. A current Baycrest research means that having vivid visible imagery is linked to a larger danger of growing PTSD, during which debilitating psychological well being signs persist for multiple month following publicity to traumatic or extremely aggravating occasions. This research is among the many largest in offering high-quality proof of this hyperlink and analyzing visible and spatial imagery as distinct options of reminiscence.
The findings are printed within the journal Medical Psychological Science.
“Most of us are exposed to trauma at some point, but only a minority of us develop PTSD,” stated Dr. Brian Levine, Senior Scientist on the Rotman Analysis Institute, a part of the Baycrest Academy for Analysis and Training (BARE), and senior writer of this research, titled “The Curse of Imagery: Trait Object and Spatial Imagery Differentially Relate to Symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.”
“Our research will help us understand why some are resilient to this disorder whereas others are at risk. Our results could help improve treatments for individuals who are struggling with this disorder, improving their quality of life.”
On this research, led by Dr. Ryan Yeung, a postdoctoral fellow at BARE, 806 adults who reported having been uncovered to trauma accomplished a sequence of on-line questionnaires about their psychological well being, trauma publicity, PTSD signs, and visible and spatial imagery. The researchers then examined the connection between PTSD signs and the power of individuals’ visible and spatial imagery. The findings have been confirmed in a separate pattern of 493 undergraduate college students.
Visible imagery refers to bodily options of scenes that evoke a way of vividness, corresponding to shapes and colours, whereas spatial imagery refers back to the location of components inside scenes.
Important research findings:
A extra vivid visible imagery was linked to extra PTSD signs throughout age and gender.
A stronger spatial imagery was related to fewer PTSD signs, though this relationship was confined to males within the undergraduate pattern.
“The ability to vividly re-experience past events is usually beneficial, but our results indicate that it can make it harder to overcome the psychological after-effects of distressing or traumatic events,” stated Dr. Levine. “On the other hand, the better you are at navigating and recognizing where things fit in space, including in the ‘space’ of your life, the less likely you are to develop PTSD.”
Dr. Yeung added, “Considering individual differences in these aspects of memory could help us predict who may be at risk following exposure to trauma and provide them with the necessary support as early as possible.”
In future research, the analysis staff will look at these results in longitudinal research by testing paramedic college students earlier than and after occupational publicity to traumatic occasions. Further research might be performed to find out the affect of gender and organic intercourse on imagery and PTSD.
Extra info:
Ryan C. Yeung et al, The Curse of Imagery: Trait Object and Spatial Imagery Differentially Relate to Signs of Posttraumatic Stress Dysfunction, Medical Psychological Science (2025). DOI: 10.1177/21677026251315118
Offered by
Baycrest Company Centre for Geriatric Care
Quotation:
Parsing trauma by the thoughts’s eye: Research reveals hyperlink between visible imagery and PTSD (2025, April 10)
retrieved 10 April 2025
from https://medicalxpress.com/information/2025-04-parsing-trauma-mind-eye-reveals.html
This doc is topic to copyright. Aside from any truthful dealing for the aim of personal research or analysis, no
half could also be reproduced with out the written permission. The content material is supplied for info functions solely.
