Forgetting to Remember: The Impact of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder on Prospective and Retrospective Memory Performance

Objective: We examined the impact of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on both prospective (PM) and retrospective (RM) memory performance among a cross-sectional veteran sample.

Method: Data from tests of PM/RM memory and PTSD, anxiety, depression and sleep disturbance symptoms were examined among a prospectively recruited sample of 26 veterans with confirmed PTSD (PTSD+) and 26 well-matched, combat-exposed controls who did not meet criteria for PTSD (PTSD-).

Results: Small-to-moderate negative correlations emerged between PTSD symptom severity, visuospatial RM and some aspects of PM; general anxiety correlated more strongly with memory. The PTSD+ group demonstrated significantly worse, but still average visuospatial RM; differences in PM were nonsignificant between groups. Regression analyses implicated generalized anxiety, but not other psychiatric symptomology, as significant contributors to all memory performances.

Conclusions: Minimal memory differences were found between veterans with and without PTSD. PM/RM memory performance was better explained by generalized anxiety rather that PTSD-specific symptoms.