Function of Autobiographical Memory (Specificity of Episodic and Semantic Aspects) in Persons with PTSD

Two studies examined the relationship between the ability to access specific autobiographical material in memory and symptoms of posttraumatic stress. Participants completed the AMT and AMI followed by IES-R, Persian versions of BDI,BAI and the WAIS-R. Study 1 consists of two samples of privates with and without posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and a sample of healthy control. Results showed that reduced specificity of memories on the AMT and AMI is associated withincreased posttraumatic stress in traumatized samples. Study 2 examined retrieval of episodic and semantic autobiographical information from previous lifetime periods in groups of cancer survivors with posttraumatic stress and healthy controls. The cancer survivors were able to generate fewer specific episodic and semantic details about the past compared to the controls. The more symptomatic survivors showed the greatest memoryimpairment. The data from both studies are discussed in terms of compromised access to specific autobiographical material in distressed trauma survivors reflecting a process of affect regulation.