The impact of Post-traumatic stress disorder on memory: A review of flashbulb memories, selective attention, and false memories

The International School @ ParkCity, Kuala Lumpur, 52200, Malaysia

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Abstract

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects an individual’s emotion, behaviors and cognitive functions, especially memory ability. PTSD patients may show defects in daily memory, flashbulb memory, selective attention, and false memory. However, existing studies have not reached a consensus. The present study aims to clarify how PTSD affects various memory kinds, and explore its potential mechanisms. This article focuses on the abnormal characteristics of PTSD patients in flashbulb memory, selective attention, and false memory. This literature review comprehensively analyzes multiple studies and theories to reveal the internal mechanism of PTSD memory bias. This study shows that the memory of PTSD patients is affected by emotional arousal, cognitive bias, and neural mechanisms, and usually shows highly vivid but fragmented and distorted characteristics. Since false memories originate from internal cognitive mechanisms, judicial and clinical treatments should carefully evaluate the recollections of PTSD patients and optimize cognitive correction and emotion regulation treatment strategies.