Authors:

HOLMES, E.A

Reference:

Year of publication:

2004

CBU number:

6006

Abstract:

Objectives: The "tricoteuse" were female spectators who knitted by the guillotine during the French revolution. Execution at the guillotine is an example of a traumatic event. What affect might knitting during trauma have on the development of intrusive images or flashbacks of that trauma? This talk will link analogue, experimental studies of intrusive memory with clinical research on intrusions with patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Design and Methods: Study 1: Patients with PTSD described their intrusions, and the "hotspots" (worst moments) in their trauma. Study 2: An experimental series investigating intrusion development after a traumatic film (Holmes, Brewin & Hennessy, in press, JEP:G). Nonclinical participants viewed a trauma film under various encoding conditions. Afterwards, intrusive images of the film were recorded in a diary for one week. Analysis: Study 1: Examples of intrusions in PTSD are given. A qualitative analysis is described of the cognitive themes in hotspots of trauma memory. Study 2: As predicted, performing a visuospatial pattern-tapping task during the traumatic film was associated with a reduction in later intrusions compared to a no-task control condition. Conversely, a concurrent verbal interference task was associated with an increase in intrusions. Conclusion: The findings of both studies are related to dual process models of memory and recent cognitive models of PTSD (Brewin et al., 1996; Ehlers & Clark, 2000). It might therefore be speculated that knitting at the guillotine could be protective against flashback development, whereas talking during the execution might exacerbate intrusions. The wider clinical context will be discussed.