Using network models to explore the associations between posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and subjective cognitive functioning

2023/09/09 by Mia Maria Günak, Omid V. Ebrahimi, Robert H. Pietrzak +1 · 1 voice
Neuroscience · Psychology · #Functional Brain Connectivity Studies #Mental Health Research Topics #Stress Responses and Cortisol

paper · doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2023.102768

openalex publication_date 2023/09/09 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

Several studies have identified relationships between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and cognitive functioning. Here, we aimed to elucidate the nature of this relationship by investigating cross-sectional associations between subjective cognitive functioning (SCF) and 1) the PTSD sum score, 2) symptom domains, and 3) individual symptoms. We also investigated temporal stability by testing whether results replicated over a 3-year period. We estimated partial correlation networks of DSM-5 PTSD symptoms (at baseline) and SCF (at baseline and follow-up, respectively), using data from the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study (NHRVS; N = 1484; Mdn = 65 years). The PTSD sum score was negatively associated with SCF. SCF was consistently negatively associated with the PTSD symptom domains 'marked alterations in arousal and reactivity' and 'negative alterations in cognitions and mood', and showed robust relations with the specific symptoms 'having difficulty concentrating' and 'trouble experiencing positive feelings'. Results largely replicated at the 3-year follow-up, suggesting that some PTSD symptoms both temporally precede and are statistically associated with the development or maintenance of reduced SCF. We discuss the importance of examining links between specific PTSD domains and symptoms with SCF-relations obfuscated by focusing on PTSD diagnoses or sum scores-as well as investigating mechanisms underlying these relations. Registration Number: 37069 (https://aspredicted.org/n5sw7.pdf).

Citations

• A General Structural Equation Model with Dichotomous, Ordered Categorical, and Continuous Latent Variable Indicators
• The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions.
• Risk of dementia and mild cognitive impairment in older people with subjective memory complaints: meta-analysis
• Prediction of Dementia by Subjective Memory Impairment<subtitle>Effects of Severity and Temporal Association With Cognitive Impairment</subtitle><alt-title>Dementia and Subjective Memory Impairment</alt-title>
• A network theory of mental disorders
• Post-traumatic stress disorder as a risk factor for dementia: systematic review and meta-analysis
• Comparing network structures on three aspects: A permutation test.
• Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

Discussions

• (12/12) Links to publications from two of the three studies: - Günak et al. (2023): doi.org/10.1016/j.ja... - Günak et al. (2025): doi.org/10.1192/j.eu... [bsky, 1 points, 0 comments]

Related

• Using network analysis to characterize clinical improvement during cognitive processing therapy
• Network Analysis of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms in a National Sample of U.S. Adults: Implications for the Phenotype and the ICD‐11 Model of PTSD
• The Effects of Modifying Dysfunctional Appraisals in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Using a Form of Cognitive Bias Modification: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial in an Inpatient Setting
• Amygdala, Medial Prefrontal Cortex, and Hippocampal Function in PTSD
• Salience and central executive networks track overgeneralization of conditioned-fear in post-traumatic stress disorder