ABSTRACT
Background: Occupational stress, dissatisfaction, higher risk for chronical and psychological disorders impairs the well-being of care nurses staff and maintaining the quality of elderly and disabled care. However, few studies have compared the psychological and physical stress in nurses working in inpatient and outpatient care settings. Aim: The aim of the present study was to compare perceived stress, workload and psychosomatic complaints in nurses working in inpatient and outpatient care settings. Methods: 158 care nurses working in geriatric and disabled care participated in the quantitative cross-sectional survey study. Comparisons of stress, workload and psychosomatic complaints were made between the inpatient and outpatient care group. Results: Nurses working in the outpatient care reported more subjective experience of stress and more workload compared to nurses working in inpatient care. Additionally, nurses working in outpatient care reported more psychosomatic complaints compared to nurses in inpatient care. Conclusions: Our results suggest that inpatient and outpatient nurses experience their nursing activities differently stressful. In future research the differential stress factors need to be explored to provide adequate job training and develop stress prevention programs.
Subject(s)
Nursing Staff, Hospital , Occupational Stress , Humans , Aged , Workload , Cross-Sectional Studies , Inpatients , Job Satisfaction , Ambulatory Care , Surveys and Questionnaires , Nursing Staff, Hospital/psychologyABSTRACT
Background: Intensive care nurses have irregular and unusual working hours due to shift work, which can disrupt the natural light-dark rhythm and thus increase the risk for sleep disorders. Aim of the work: The aim of this post hoc analysis was to investigate the prevalence of self-reported sleep problems and associated factors among intensive care nurses working in Germany. Methods: This analysis was a post hoc analysis of a cross-sectional study, which was performed as an online survey. Collected data were sociodemographic, work-related and health-related data. These data were used to calculate the prevalence and respective 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) of sleep problems. Factors associated with sleep problems were identified using the χ2-test, Fisher's exact test, and logistic regression analysis. Results: The link to the online survey was accessed 1163 times and 490 intensive care nurses participated in the survey. A total of 432 intensive care nurses were included in this analysis, of whom 82.87% were women. A total of 57.64% (95% CI: 52.83-62.35%) reported sleep problems. Significantly associated with sleep problems were age (50-59 years odds ratio [OR]: 2.05, 95% CI: 1.00-4.21, pâ¯= 0.047 vs. 20-29 years) and living in a family (OR: 0.50, 95% CI: 0.27-0.93, pâ¯= 0.029 vs. single/living alone). In addition, depression (OR: 1.09, 95% CI: 1.06-1.12, pâ¯≤ 0.001), anxiety (OR: 1.10, 95% CI: 1.06-1.14, pâ¯≤ 0.001) and stress (OR: 1.09, 95% CI: 1.06-1.12, pâ¯≤ 0.001) levels were significantly associated with sleep problems. Conclusion: Sleep problems were present in one out of every two participating intensive care nurses and in particular mental health was associated with sleep problems.
ABSTRACT
Mental stress evokes several physiological responses such as the acceleration of heart rate, increase of electrodermal activity and the release of adrenaline. Moreover, physiological stress responses interact with emotional and behavioral stress responses. In the present study we provide evidence that viscero-sensory feedback from the heart (cardiac perception) is an important factor modulating emotional and cognitive stress responses. In our study, we compared participants with high versus low cardiac perception using a computerized mental stress task, in which they had to respond to rapidly presented visual and acoustic stimuli. Additionally, we assessed physiological responses (heart rate, skin conductance). Participants high in cardiac perception reported more negative emotions and showed worse task performance under the stressor than participants low in cardiac perception. These results were not moderated by physiological responses. We conclude that cardiac perception modulates stress responses by intensifying negative emotions and by impairing cognitive performance.
Subject(s)
Cognition/physiology , Emotions/physiology , Feedback, Physiological/physiology , Stress, Psychological/physiopathology , Stress, Psychological/psychology , Female , Galvanic Skin Response/physiology , Heart Rate/physiology , Humans , Male , Psychomotor Performance/physiology , Young AdultABSTRACT
Previous research has shown that individuals with good perception of cardiac signals, referred to as cardiac interoceptive awareness, experience emotions more intensely. To investigate if emotional experience in high cardiac interoceptive awareness arises from biases in attention, we compared the performance of participants with high versus regular cardiac interoceptive awareness in an emotional Stroop task. Participants with high cardiac interoceptive awareness showed attention interference for negative words, whereas participants with regular cardiac interoceptive awareness showed attention facilitation for positive words. Our data provide further evidence for the emotion information process associated with cardiac interoceptive awareness. The results support the notion that better access to cardiac changes accompanying negative emotional conditions results in automatic vigilance for negative information and may interfere with cognitive processing.
Subject(s)
Attention/physiology , Awareness/physiology , Emotions , Heart/physiology , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Reaction Time/physiology , Stroop Test , Young AdultABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: In addition to central nervous sensitization, affect dysregulation constitutes an important factor in the pathogenesis of fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). The present study is concerned with emotional influences on information processing in FMS. The hypothesis of attentional bias, i.e., selective processing of negatively connoted stimuli, was tested. METHODS: Twenty-seven female FMS patients and 34 healthy women undertook an emotional modification of the Stroop task. Subjects had to decide whether the colors of positive, negative, and neutral adjectives accorded with color words presented in black. Attentional bias was defined as delay in color naming of emotional words relative to neutral words. Affective and anxiety disorders, pain severity, as well as medication were considered as possible factors mediating the expected interference. RESULTS: Patients showed marked attentional bias, manifested in a greater response delay due to negative words compared with the control group. Among the clinical features, pain severity was most closely associated with the extent of the interference. While depression played only a subordinate role, anxiety and medication were without effect. CONCLUSIONS: The study provides evidence of emotionally driven selective attention in FMS. Attentional bias to negative information may play an important role in the vicious circle between negative affective state and pain augmentation. In the management of FMS pain, strategies aiming at conscious direction of attention may be helpful, e.g., imagery techniques or mindfulness training.
Subject(s)
Anxiety Disorders/psychology , Attention , Depressive Disorder/psychology , Emotions , Fibromyalgia/psychology , Adult , Case-Control Studies , Female , Humans , Middle Aged , Multivariate Analysis , Reaction Time , Severity of Illness Index , Stroop TestABSTRACT
The current study examined the relationship between conscious perception of somatic feedback (interoceptive awareness) and neural responses preceding decision-making. Previous research has suggested that decision-making is influenced by body signals from the periphery or the central representation of the periphery. Using event-related fMRI, participants whose interoceptive awareness was assessed using a heartbeat perception paradigm performed the Iowa Gambling Task. The results show a positive relationship between the degree of interoceptive awareness and selection related activity in the right anterior insula and the left postcentral gyrus. Neural activity within the right anterior insula was associated with decision-making performance only in individuals with accurate but not in those with non-accurate interoceptive awareness. These findings support the role of somatic feedback in decision-making processes. They indicate that the right anterior insula holds a representation of somatic markers and that these are more strongly processed with increased interoceptive awareness.
Subject(s)
Awareness/physiology , Cerebral Cortex/physiology , Decision Making/physiology , Feedback, Physiological/physiology , Heart Rate/physiology , Adult , Brain Mapping , Emotions/physiology , Female , Humans , Image Processing, Computer-Assisted , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Male , Neuropsychological TestsABSTRACT
The baroreflex consists of a negative feedback loop adjusting heart activity to blood pressure fluctuations. This review is concerned with interactions between baroreflex function and behavior. In addition to changes in baroreflex cardiac control subject to behavioral manipulations, interindividual differences in reflex function predicted psychological and central nervous features. The sensitivity of the reflex was inversely related to cognitive performance, evoked potential amplitudes, experimental pain sensitivity, and the severity of clinical pain. Possible variables moderating the strength of the associations are tonic blood pressure, gender, and psychiatric disease. It is suggested that these observations reflect inhibition of higher brain function by baroreceptor afferents. While in many cases increased baroreflex function implies stronger inhibition, individual and situational factors modulate the behavioral impact of cardiac regulation.
Subject(s)
Baroreflex/physiology , Behavior/physiology , Autonomic Nervous System/physiology , Cognition/physiology , HumansABSTRACT
The study investigated implicit memory function in fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) and its association with clinical parameters. Implicit memory refers to the influence of past experience on current behavior without conscious awareness of these experiences. Eighteen FMS patients and 25 healthy individuals accomplished a word-stem completion task. As possible factors mediating the expected impairment, pain severity, emotional disorders, and medication were taken into account. The patients displayed markedly reduced task performance and higher levels of depression and anxiety. Among the clinical features, pain severity was most closely associated with performance, whereas depression, anxiety, and medication showed only a minor impact. The study documented reduced implicit memory function in FMS. In contrast to former findings on impaired performance of FMS patients on classical memory tests, lower implicit memory function cannot be ascribed to motivational deficits. Instead, the aberrances may relate to functional inference between central nervous nociceptive activity and cognitive processing.
Subject(s)
Fibromyalgia/psychology , Pain/psychology , Recognition, Psychology/physiology , Verbal Learning/physiology , Adult , Aged , Case-Control Studies , Cognition/physiology , Female , Fibromyalgia/complications , Fibromyalgia/physiopathology , Humans , Middle Aged , Pain/physiopathology , Reference Values , Repetition Priming/physiologyABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: Increased cerebral blood flow during processing of acute pain has repeatedly been observed in fibromyalgia syndrome. The study investigated the time dynamics of the pain-related hemodynamic response in fibromyalgia using transcranial Doppler sonography. METHODS: In 25 women with fibromyalgia and 25 healthy participants, blood flow velocities in the anterior and middle cerebral arteries of both hemispheres were recorded, while heat stimuli of 45°C were applied to their forearms. Thermal pain threshold and subjective pain experience during stimulation were assessed, and the participants completed the McGill Pain Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory, and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. RESULTS: The early component of the blood flow response in both anterior cerebral arteries, that is, the steep flow increase during the initial stimulation period, was more pronounced in the patients than in the controls (mean [standard deviation] = 1.28% [1.85%] versus 0.24% [1.58%], p = .04). The patients showed lower pain threshold (p = .018), stronger sensory and affective pain experience (p < .001), and increased values on all questionnaire scales (all p values < .001). Although higher scores on each of the scales were associated with a stronger early blood flow response (r values ranging from 0.17 to 0.36), clinical pain severity proved to be the best predictor (ß = .33, p = .02). CONCLUSIONS: The increased blood flow response in the anterior cerebral arteries reflects hyperactivity of medial structures of the neuromatrix of nociception, structures involved in the processing of affective and cognitive aspects of pain. Aberrances in cerebral blood flow related to fibromyalgia and its clinical characteristics become particularly apparent in the enhancement of the initial component of the hemodynamic response.
Subject(s)
Brain/blood supply , Cerebral Arteries/physiopathology , Fibromyalgia/physiopathology , Pain Perception , Adult , Anterior Cerebral Artery/physiopathology , Blood Flow Velocity , Case-Control Studies , Female , Fibromyalgia/diagnostic imaging , Hot Temperature , Humans , Middle Aged , Middle Cerebral Artery/physiopathology , Pain Measurement , Pain Threshold , Time Factors , Ultrasonography, Doppler, TranscranialABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Functional transcranial Doppler sonography (fTCD) enables reliable quantification of cerebral blood flow modulation during neural activation processes. Its high-time resolution, relatively simple technical arrangement, and low costs could make fTCD a useful tool in the investigation of brain activity underlying pain experience in fundamental and clinical research. The present pilot study explored the suitability of this technique to investigate cerebral hemodynamics during the processing of experimental heat pain. DESIGN: In 46 healthy subjects, blood flow velocities in the anterior cerebral arteries (ACA) and middle cerebral arteries (MCA) of both hemispheres were recorded, while heat stimuli of 45 and 47°C were applied to their left forearms (stimulus duration 20 seconds). Subjective sensory and affective pain intensities were assessed using visual analog scales. RESULTS: A biphasic right dominant blood flow increase arose in the ACA and MCA with maxima around 5 and 15 seconds after stimulus onset. The response was stronger under stimulation with 47°C with respect to 45°C, and the magnitude of the late response component correlated positively with sensory and affective pain intensity under the 45°C condition. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that fTCD measurements prove sensitive both to different levels of physical intensity of painful stimuli and to interindividual differences in nociceptive responding. fTCD may be a valuable tool in clinical pain research, for instance, when it comes to quantifying the temporal dynamics of exaggerated nociceptive responses in chronic pain, or evaluating treatment effects on nociceptive processing.
Subject(s)
Brain Mapping/methods , Brain/blood supply , Cerebrovascular Circulation/physiology , Hemodynamics/physiology , Pain/physiopathology , Adult , Brain/physiopathology , Female , Hot Temperature , Humans , Male , Physical Stimulation , Ultrasonography, Doppler, TranscranialABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: Alexithymia is characterized by a difficulty in identifying and describing one's emotions. Recent research has associated differential effects of the alexithymia facets to hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis markers during stress. This study aimed to analyze how the facets of alexithymia interact with autonomic reactivity as well as self- and observer-rated anxiety during a social stress task. METHODS: With the use of a public-speaking paradigm, skin conductance levels (SCLs) and heart rate (HR) during the defined periods of baseline, preparation, stress, and recovery were assessed in 60 volunteers (42 females, mean age 22.8) categorized as having either high (HDA) or low (LDA) degrees of alexithymia. RESULTS: We found smaller SCLs during preparation and speech in the HDA group. Regression analyses indicated that only the alexithymia facet "difficulty in describing feelings" (DDF) was associated with smaller electrodermal responses. In the HDA group, self- and observer-rated anxiety was higher in the HDA than in the LDA group, which was attributable to higher scores in the subscales "difficulty in identifying feelings" (DIF) and "externally oriented thinking" (EOT). CONCLUSIONS: Our data support and specify the decoupling hypothesis of alexithymia by showing that the facets of alexithymia are differentially related to autonomic reactivity as well as self- and observer-rated anxiety during social stress.
Subject(s)
Affective Symptoms/physiopathology , Anxiety/physiopathology , Autonomic Nervous System/physiopathology , Stress, Psychological/physiopathology , Adult , Affective Symptoms/psychology , Anxiety/psychology , Emotions , Female , Heart Rate/physiology , Humans , Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System/physiopathology , Male , Pituitary-Adrenal System/physiopathology , Severity of Illness Index , Social Behavior , Speech , Stress, Psychological/psychology , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Transcranial Doppler sonography (TCD) allows the continuous non-invasive assessment of intracranial blood flow velocities with high temporal resolution. It may therefore prove suitable for biofeedback of cerebral perfusion. PURPOSE: The study explored whether healthy individuals can successfully be trained in self-regulation of cerebral blood flow using TCD biofeedback. METHODS: Twenty-two subjects received visual feedback of flow velocities in the middle cerebral arteries of both hemispheres. They were randomly assigned to two groups, one of which attempted to increase, the other to decrease the signal within eight training sessions. Heart rate and respiratory frequency were also monitored. RESULTS: Both groups achieved significant changes in flow velocities in the expected directions. Modulations in heart rate and respiratory frequency during biofeedback did not account for these effects. CONCLUSIONS: TCD biofeedback enables efficient self-regulation of cerebral blood flow. It is promising in applications such as the treatment of migraine and post-stroke rehabilitation.
Subject(s)
Biofeedback, Psychology/physiology , Cerebrovascular Circulation/physiology , Social Control, Informal/methods , Ultrasonography, Doppler, Transcranial/methods , Adult , Biofeedback, Psychology/methods , Blood Flow Velocity/physiology , Brain/blood supply , Brain/physiology , Female , Heart Rate/physiology , Humans , Male , Middle Cerebral Artery/physiology , Photic Stimulation/methods , Respiratory Rate/physiologyABSTRACT
In the present study we investigated the impact of viscero-sensory feedback on memory performance. Participants with good and poor perception of their heart activity were presented with positive, negative and neutral words while heart rate and skin conductance were measured. After a distractor task, participants were asked to complete primed and unprimed wordstems. Implicit memory performance was assessed in terms of accuracy of completion. In our study, participants with good cardiac perception completed significantly more wordstems of previously presented positive and negative words, whereas no group differences were found for wordstems of neutral words and physiological measures during encoding. Our findings document a substantial role of visceral feedback in implicit memory processes. They are in line with Damasio's somatic marker hypothesis stating that access to information about somatic processes facilitates cognitive processing.
Subject(s)
Emotions/physiology , Heart Rate/physiology , Memory/physiology , Perception/physiology , Vocabulary , Adult , Analysis of Variance , Concept Formation/physiology , Electrocardiography/methods , Female , Galvanic Skin Response/physiology , Humans , Male , Neuropsychological Tests , Young AdultABSTRACT
The study explored interactions between systemic hemodynamics and cerebral blood flow during attentional processing. Using transcranial Doppler sonography, blood flow velocities in the middle cerebral arteries (MCA) of both hemispheres were recorded while 50 subjects performed a cued reaction time task. Finger arterial pressure and heart rate were also continuously monitored. Doppler sonography revealed a right dominant blood flow response. The extent of the increase measured in second two of the interstimulus interval showed a clear positive association with reaction speed. Task-related changes in blood pressure and heart rate proved predictive of changes in MCA flow velocities in limited time windows of the response. Besides an association between cerebral blood flow and attentional performance, the results suggest a marked impact of systemic hemodynamics on the blood flow response. All observed interactions are highly dynamic in time.
Subject(s)
Attention/physiology , Cerebrovascular Circulation/physiology , Hemodynamics/physiology , Visual Perception/physiology , Adult , Blood Pressure/physiology , Body Mass Index , Data Interpretation, Statistical , Female , Fingers/blood supply , Heart Rate/physiology , Humans , Male , Middle Cerebral Artery/diagnostic imaging , Middle Cerebral Artery/physiology , Psychomotor Performance/physiology , Regional Blood Flow/physiology , UltrasonographyABSTRACT
The study investigated relationships between affective states and decision-making performance using the Iowa Gambling Task. Playing the task involves making decisions between four card decks. Two decks yield high gains and high losses, and if chosen continuously these decks lead to net loss. In contrast, the other two decks yield small gains and small losses, but lead to net profit if they are selected continuously. Correlation and regression analyses revealed a positive relationship between trait-anxiety and decision-making performance and a negative relationship between self-reported emotion regulation and decision-making performance. In addition, anticipatory skin conductance responses were related positively to trait-anxiety and negatively to self-reported emotion regulation. These findings support the somatic marker hypothesis suggesting that emotions facilitate decision-making in complex situations that have uncertain future outcomes.
Subject(s)
Affect/physiology , Decision Making/physiology , Psychomotor Performance/physiology , Adult , Anxiety/physiopathology , Anxiety/psychology , Choice Behavior/physiology , Emotions/physiology , Female , Galvanic Skin Response/physiology , Humans , Male , Young AdultABSTRACT
In the present study we provide the first empirical evidence that viscero-sensory feedback from an internal organ is associated with decision-making processes. Participants with accurate vs. poor perception of their heart activity were compared with regard to their performance in the Iowa Gambling Task. During this task, participants have to choose between four card decks. Decks A and B yield high gains and high losses, and if played continuously, result in net loss. In contrast, decks C and D yield small gains and also small losses, but result in net profit if they are selected continuously. Accordingly, participants have to learn to avoid the net loss options in favor of the net gain options. In our study, participants with good cardiac perception chose significantly more of the net gain and fewer of the net loss options. Our findings document the substantial role of visceral feedback in decision-making processes in complex situations.
Subject(s)
Decision Making/physiology , Heart Rate/physiology , Heart/physiology , Self Concept , Adult , Anxiety/psychology , Data Interpretation, Statistical , Electrocardiography , Executive Function/physiology , Female , Gambling/psychology , Humans , Male , Personality , Young AdultABSTRACT
The present study investigated whether the D-camphor-crataegus berry extract combination Korodin elevates blood pressure and enhances cognitive performance in the elderly population. Eighty women aged between 50 and 80 years were examined based on a randomized, placebo controlled double blind design. Blood pressure was measured sphygmomanometrically and through continuous noninvasive recording. Cognitive performance was assessed by means of two tests measuring general information processing capacity and visuomotor speed. The administration of the drug led to a short term increase in blood pressure as well as in cognitive performance as compared to placebo. Potential physiological mechanisms of action mediating this effect, including hemodynamic alterations, sympathetic stimulation as well as improvement of cerebral metabolism are discussed.
Subject(s)
Blood Pressure/drug effects , Camphor/pharmacology , Cognition/drug effects , Crataegus , Phytotherapy , Plant Extracts/pharmacology , Aged , Analysis of Variance , Double-Blind Method , Drug Therapy, Combination , Female , Fruit , Humans , Middle AgedABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Resilience can be defined as the capacity to recover following stress or trauma exposure by adopting healthy strategies for dealing with trauma and stress. Although the importance of stress resilience has been recognized, the underlying neurocognitive mediators have not yet been identified. Thus, the primary goal of this study was to investigate memory-related brain activity in traumatized policemen who attended a pre-traumatic general stress coping program. METHOD: Ten traumatized male police officers were compared to demographically matched non-traumatized officers (n=15) on associative memory by using a block design paradigm. Participants with either another psychiatric comorbidity or neurological disorder were excluded. During functional brain imaging (1.5-Tesla), face-profession pairs had to be encoded twice. For subsequent retrieval the faces were presented as cue stimuli for associating the category of the prior learned profession. Additionally, clinical pattern, stress coping style, and cognitive parameters were assessed. RESULTS: Less BOLD activation was found in the hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus and fusiform gyrus in the trauma group when compared with the non-trauma group during encoding. This was accompanied by slower reaction times in the trauma group during retrieval. Further impairments were found in context memory and in the use of positive cognitive coping strategies. DISCUSSION: Support was provided for the presence of memory-related disturbances in brain activity associated with trauma even in a resilient population. The contribution of the changes in stress coping ability needs to be further examined in longitudinal studies.
Subject(s)
Adaptation, Psychological/physiology , Brain/physiopathology , Cognition/physiology , Face , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic , Adolescent , Adult , Brain/blood supply , Brain Mapping , Case-Control Studies , Humans , Image Processing, Computer-Assisted/methods , Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods , Male , Mental Recall/physiology , Middle Aged , Multivariate Analysis , Neuropsychological Tests , Oxygen/blood , Photic Stimulation/methods , Police , Reaction Time/physiology , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/pathology , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/physiopathology , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/psychology , Surveys and Questionnaires , Young AdultABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Structural imaging studies of patients suffering from depressive disorder have revealed reduced hippocampal volume in the majority of cases. The present study aimed specifically at investigating the hippocampal function in unipolar depression using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). METHODS: Eleven unipolar depressed patients and eleven healthy control participants matched for age, gender and years of education underwent an associative learning paradigm during fMRI scanning. In the encoding condition of the paradigm, participants had to learn face-profession pairs. These pairs had to be remembered in the retrieval condition. RESULTS: Hippocampal activity did not differ between depressive patients and control participants during encoding or retrieval. However, during encoding, depressive patients showed increased activity in the left parahippocampal gyrus and decreased activity in frontal and parietal regions. Retrieval of the associative pairs also yielded decreased activation patterns in depressive patients in frontal and parietal areas. LIMITATIONS: The present findings may be limited by the small sample size of participants. Additionally the comparatively young age of the depressive sample could indicate a comparatively shorter duration of illness, and thereby less salient measurable hippocampal abnormalities. CONCLUSION: The current study suggests that depression is associated with modified memory-related brain function. In particular the parahippocampal gyrus, the prefrontal cortex and parietal regions show functional alterations during associative learning. These structures as well as their interrelationships may play an important role in the pathogenesis of depressive disorder.
Subject(s)
Brain/pathology , Depressive Disorder/pathology , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Memory/physiology , Adult , Brain/physiopathology , Dentate Gyrus/pathology , Dentate Gyrus/physiopathology , Female , Frontal Lobe/pathology , Frontal Lobe/physiopathology , Hippocampus/pathology , Hippocampus/physiopathology , Humans , Male , Parietal Lobe/pathology , Parietal Lobe/physiopathologyABSTRACT
In the last decade several studies have shown memory deficits in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) which have been associated with a reduced hippocampus volume. However, until now we do not know how or whether these structural abnormalities turn into functional abnormalities. Thus, the primary purpose of the present study was the investigation of the hippocampal function using functional magnet resonance imaging (fMRI). We compared PTSD patients and healthy control participants using an associative learning paradigm consisting of two encoding and one retrieval condition. During fMRI scanning participants had to learn face-profession pairs. Afterwards only faces were presented as cue stimuli for associating the category of the prior learned target profession and the participants had to decide whether this face belonged to a scientific or an artistic profession. Additionally, cognitive functioning, i.e. memory and attention, was examined using neuropsychological standard tests. During encoding PTSD patients showed stronger hippocampal and weaker prefrontal activation compared to healthy control participants. During retrieval the two groups did not differ neither in hippocampus activation nor in accuracy of retrieval. PTSD patients however showed a reduced activation in the left parahippocampal gyrus and other memory-related brain regions. We did not find any significant memory differences between PTSD patients and healthy control participants. The results suggest that PTSD has an effect on memory-related brain function despite intact memory functioning. In particular the hippocampal/parahippocampal regions and the prefrontal cortex show functional alterations during associative learning and memory.