Working memory performance is related to childhood trauma but not psychotic-like experiences in a nonpsychiatric sample.

OBJECTIVE: This project seeks to clarify the impact of childhood trauma and psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) on working memory (WM) and explore gender differences in these relationships. The effect of childhood trauma on WM performance has yet to be explored in individuals with PLEs, despite consistent associations between trauma, psychosis spectrum symptoms, and WM performance. METHOD: In 466 undergraduates, positive PLEs (Prodromal Questionnaire) and trauma (Childhood Trauma Questionnaire) were examined to determine contributions to WM performance on a spatial n-back task. We conducted hierarchical linear regressions on the total sample and stratified by gender to examine the effects of childhood trauma, positive PLEs, and their interaction on WM performance. Supplemental analyses explored attenuated negative and disorganized symptoms. RESULTS: Controlling for age, there were no significant main effects of positive PLEs, childhood trauma, their interaction, or three-way interaction including gender in predicting WM. After stratifying by gender, childhood trauma was significantly associated with poorer WM in females only. Post hoc analyses revealed that in the full sample, physical neglect predicted WM performance and was a trend for females, while sexual abuse trended toward predicting WM in males. Supplemental analyses of attenuated negative and disorganized symptoms revealed childhood trauma significantly predicted WM in the full sample and females only for negative symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Females who have experienced childhood trauma may be at greater risk for WM problems, irrespective of co-occurring PLEs, suggesting that cognitive difficulties may be partially attributable to history of trauma. These findings have potential implications for intervention strategies in trauma-exposed individuals. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The relationship between sleep, dissociation and psychotic-like experiences.

BACKGROUND: Sleep disturbances have frequently been associated with the full spectrum of psychosis, from psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) to individuals who meet diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia. Similarly, dissociative experiences have been linked to both sleep disturbances and PLEs. AIM: The aim of this study was to examine the role of dissociation in the relationship between sleep quality and PLEs. METHODS: PLEs, dissociative symptoms, and sleep quality were examined in 1677 young adults using self-report measures. A mediation analysis was performed to examine whether dissociative experiences account for some of the relationship between sleep quality and PLEs. RESULTS: Dissociative symptoms significantly mediated the relationship between sleep quality and PLEs, with both age and gender used as covariates. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that dissociation may be a key contributor to the relationship between disrupted sleep and PLEs, which could have treatment and identification implications.