MEMORY, ATTENTION, AND EXECUTIVE DEFICITS IN POW SURVIVORS - CONTRIBUTING BIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL-FACTORS

This study explores a model of trauma that isolates 2 components of war captivity stress and identifies their possibly distinct contributions to the patterning of neuropsychological deficits. The authors examined associations between deficits categorized in attention, learning and memory, and executive domains and 2 trauma components: biologically induced trauma, or prolonged malnutrition resulting in severe body wasting, and psychological hardship leading to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Measures of neuropsychological functioning, PTSD, and depression were administered to 108 former prisoners of war (POWs). Results of regression analyses examining unique variances shared between trauma components and cognitive impairment indices complement descriptions of cognitive deficits in former POWs who sustained severe captivity weight loss and have relevance to models of PTSD implicating arousal dysregulation.