Memory fragmentation in posttraumatic stress disorder

Following the events of 9/11, the Iraq war, and the tsunami disaster in South East Asia, public awareness of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has undoubtedly increased. One of the key features of PTSD is the alteration of memory functioning. Some researchers have proposed that the traumatic event is remembered more fragmented and disorganised in trauma survivors with PTSD than in those without PTSD; however, results are inconsistent. While these studies have focused on the memory of the trauma itself, others have examined non-autobiographical memory and have provided evidence for an impairment of general memory functioning in trauma survivors with PTSD. The present book aims to combine these separate streams of research in order to improve our understanding of memory functioning in PTSD. Based upon a review of contemporary theoretical concepts and own empirical results, implications for treatment and neuropsychological assessment of patients with PTSD are discussed.