Event-related Potentials of Attention and Memory Inpost-traumatic Stress: Brain Mapping Using Electrophysiology Withhigh-resolution Scalp Topography

Weber, D. L. (2004). Event-related potential indicesof attention and memory in post-traumatic stressdisorder. Ph. D. Thesis, School of Psychology, TheFlinders University of South Australia, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide SA 5001, Australia. Primary Supervisor: C. Richard Clark, Ph. D.; Co-Supervisor: Alexander C. McFarlane, BMBS, MD. This dissertation used advanced neuroimaging methodsto investigate cognitive processes in post-traumaticstress disorder (PTSD). After publication of earlierwork, we and several other groups replicated andextended findings of abnormal attention fornon-traumatic information in PTSD. This thesisdeveloped this area of work in two ways: (a) it used event-related potentials recorded from a dense scalptopography (using 128 scalp electrodes) and newmethods of topographic analysis, and (b) it examinedseveral components of cognitive function in PTSD, including selective attention, working memory, andtarget detection.