Selective numbing and hyperarousal in male and female Bosnian refugees with PTSD

Emotional numbing is an important symptom of PTSD, but it is not clear whether it affects both positive and negative affect equally or not. To address this question we administered Lang's Looking at Pictures test, in which a series of pictures are rated for valence (pleasant-unpleasant) and arousal (high-low), to 10 male and 11 female Bosnian refugees suffering from PTSD (DSM-IV criteria) and to control groups of 11 male and 10 female Bosnian refugees with similar trauma exposure but without PTSD or any other major mental illness. The mean valence ratings for unpleasant, neutral, and pleasant pictures of both PTSD and control males and females were similar to normal ratings. Likewise, the mean arousal ratings for unpleasant, neutral, and pleasant pictures of both male and female controls were similar to normals, with both unpleasant and pleasant pictures rated more arousing than neutral pictures. In contrast, in both males and females with PTSD pleasant pictures were rated as almost completely non-arousing. Thus, in Bosnian refugees affective numbing is seen primarily with pleasant or positive stimuli.