Looking at it from a different angle: The role of viewpoint-dependency in traumatic intrusions.

Project Information

TRAUMA_CONTEXT

Grant agreement ID: 749206

DOI

10.3030/749206

Project closed

EC signature date 30 November 2017

Start date 1 April 2018

End date 31 March 2020

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 183 454,80

EU contribution

€ 183 454,80

Coordinated by

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON
United Kingdom

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - TRAUMA_CONTEXT (Looking at it from a different angle: The role of viewpoint-dependency in traumatic intrusions.)

Reporting period: 2018-04-01 to 2020-03-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Emotional memories guide our behaviour and are critical for our survival. However, they can become dysfunctional and contribute to the development of mental disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), characterized by distressing intrusive memories. Although it is well-established that emotional experiences can have a memory-enhancing effect, it is not fully understood when and why emotional memories become maladaptive. According to Dual Representation Theory, intrusive memories arise when spatial representations of the traumatic event are insufficiently allocentric - i.e. independent of one’s viewpoint, coding features relative to each other rather than to the viewer. This project consisted of a series of experimental studies with healthy participants, in which we tested the role of allocentric memory formation in an aversive Virtual Reality (VR) scenario that provokes intrusive memories. VR makes spatial elements and viewpoints fully controllable. We attempted to exploit these possibilities in order to measure and train allocentric memory during and after emotionally challenging experiences, with the ultimate aim of reducing intrusive memories.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Study 1 (N=92) demonstrates that spatial memory is better when tested from the original encoding perspective compared to a shifted viewpoint which requires additional allocentric processing. Better spatial memory was also evident for scene elements that caused higher levels of distress, and among individuals who had superior pre-existing allocentric memory abilities. Replicating and extending these findings, we showed that the VR scenario successfully elicits intrusive memories whether measured in a 3-day intrusion diary (Study 2; N=100) or in a laboratory-based intrusion provocation task (Study 3; N=96). Attempts to manipulate explicit spatial encoding strategies in Studies 2 and 3 were largely unsuccessful in altering objective indices of spatial memory. However, correlational analyses suggested that a stronger subjective focus on spatial relationships may be associated with lower intrusion-related distress. Our findings have implications for the role of spatial memory formation in PTSD and indicate novel avenues for future research, including an allocentric memory training that we are currently developing.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

We developed and validated novel VR-based paradigms that provide an entirely new window for experimentation on intrusive memories and their corresponding spatial representations. For example, our methodology allows the precise and flexible measurement of spatial memory of those elements of a scene that later form the content of distressing intrusions. Furthermore, our studies provide novel insights into spatial memory of emotional scene elements and about the strategies that people use to learn information about their spatial surroundings. Based on these insights, we developed a spatial memory training that will serve as a basis for our planned follow-up research. Since the mechanisms behind the development of debilitating traumatic intrusions are still poorly understood, this line of research contributes to a pressing issue by advancing our understanding of trauma-related psychopathology and putting psychobiological theories of PTSD under empirical scrutiny. Clinically, there are clear implications for the potential future diagnostic and prognostic use of cognitive markers in trauma victims. Indeed, we developed an allocentric spatial memory training that might be the basis for an entirely new treatment approach. The insights gained are particularly relevant for high-risk groups, like emergency service personnel or refugees from war zones, likely to develop PTSD.

Overview of the Project's Background and Empirical Approach