Alpha electroencephalograph abnormalities in Vietnam-era combat veterans diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder

The use of EEG and qEEG in the study of PTSD has been unexplored despite data suggesting that negative mood states such as anxiety and depression are associated with specific qEEG findings. All subjects in this study had Novelty Seeking data as measured by Cloninger TCI and eyes-closed EEG. It is hypothesized that, consistent with Davidson's (1993) model, there will be evidence of greater relative right-hemisphere cortical activity among those reporting higher degrees of Novelty Seeking.;Findings among the Low Novelty Seekers include increases in resting alpha activity in the right frontal regions, across the medial temporal, and into left occipital regions. Increases in frontal alpha activity are indicative of decreases in cortical activity. The data demonstrate a left > right hemispheric pattern of increased cortical activity between High compared to Low Novelty Seekers seen in an increase in alpha in the right hemisphere of the Low Novelty Seekers. This is indicative of decreased cortical activity because of the inverse relationship between the alpha rhythm and cortical activity. Greatest statistical significance was found at 9 Hz. Overall activity between 7-16 Hz was localized in Brodmann areas 40, 6, 31 and 32.;Clear differences were found between the High and Low Novelty Seekers based on objective electrophysiological measures. The temperaments of Low Novelty Seekers share the electrophysiological pattern of those who are depressed or anxious, (i.e., avoidant). These findings point to the existence of different neurobiological substrates/cortical networks which are responsible for Novelty Seeking and Novelty Avoiding subsets of PTSD.;Two groups of ten subjects with diagnoses of PTSD were selected on the basis of their degree of reported Novelty Seeking as measured by the TCI. These subjects ranked in the upper or lower third of raw scores on the Novelty Seeking Scale and had EEG data. Using Neuroguide software, High and Low Novelty Seekers were compared with independent sample group t-tests. These data were exported to LORETA to allow the localization of current density in three-dimensional space.