Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
Conditions
Brief summary
Post-traumatic stress disorder is associated with altered processing of sensory stimuli. The clinical phenotype PTSD has predominantly been described for the visual and auditory sensory modalities. However, PTSD symptoms such as intrusive memories are often evoked by olfactory and tactile cues in the environment. Moreover, little is known about whether aberrant responses to social olfactory and tactile stimuli are also present in a subclinical population.The purpose of this study is to compare trauma-exposed subjects (e.g. childhood maltreatment) with non-exposed controls in the processing of olfactory and tactile stimuli. This sensory characterizations hold potential to identify potential biomarkers for the course of trauma-related disorders and to inform trauma therapies focusing on sensory integration.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALProcessing of social olfactory and tactile stimuli
Processing of social olfactory and tactile stimuli in trauma-exposed individuals and controls is examined using functional magnetic resonance imaging.
Sponsors
University Hospital, Bonn
Study design
Observational model
CASE_CONTROL
Time perspective
CROSS_SECTIONAL
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 60 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Signed informed consent * Subjects that have experienced a traumatic event that meets the DSM-5 criteria
Exclusion criteria
* Schizophrenia, schizoaffective or other psychotic disorder * Neurological disorders * Psychotropic medication * Subjects suffering from a respiratory tract infection or other respiratory disorder known to affect olfactory functioning at investigator's discretion * Subjects with anosmia or other previous primary olfactory dysfunction (olfactory threshold score using the Sniffin' Sticks ≤ 5) * Dermatitis of the extremities or other skin disorders that affect the skin sensitivity of the extremities
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Emotion recognition ratings obtained during a forced-choice emotional face recognition task with stimuli of varying intensities (neutral to fearful). | Ratings will be assessed throughout fMRI scanning over the course of 25 minutes. | — |
| Neural substrates of social tactile stimuli processing. | The neural substrates will be assessed througout fMRI scanning over the course of 20 minutes. | fMRI scanning will be used to measure neural respones to tactile stimuli. |
| Valence ratings of social tactile stimuli. | Ratings will be assessed throughout fMRI scanning over the course of 20 minutes. | — |
| Neural substrates of social olfactory stimuli processing. | The neural substrates will be assessed througout fMRI scanning over the course of 25 minutes. | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Oxytocin plasma concentrations. | The oxytocin plasma concentrations of all participants will be assessed 15 minutes before fMRI scanning onset.. | — |
| Olfactory performance in a n-butanol odor staircase threshold test. | The olfactory threshold of all participants will be assessed in a screening session at least 24 hours prior to fMRI scanning. | Participants' olfactory performance will be assessed by administering the 'Sniffin' Sticks' test, which measures nasal chemosensory performance based on pen-like odor dispensing devices. |
Countries
Germany
Outcome results
None listed