What is the effect of PTSD on Veterans? A Report.
In Beijing, China, I participated an experiment about the effect of PTSD on Veterans. It taught me the procedures to conduct a psychological experiment and inspires me about my psychological research on the effect of environment on social anxiety disorder (SAD). Below is the report.
Aim of the research: Use Electroencephalogram & Cognitive Assessment System to analyze the effect of PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder) on human.
Participants: 200 randomly selected 18-to-20-year-old people without the history of PTSD.
My task: Assist researchers to conduct the experiment and collect data.
Introduction to the Electroencephalogram & Cognitive Assessment System (ECAS):
ECAS is a software designed by the researcher that displays on pad and consists all of the procedures of the experiment. There are 4 procedures:
1. Audio-visual paradigm: in this paradigm, participants were assigned to watch a stress-induced video clip, specifically from Saving Private Ryan, and were asked for feedback about their feeling. The aim of the video is to create stress and anxiety. The aim of the feedback is to record the pace, volume, tone, and tempo of their response. These objective indicators are then put into a big model of stressful voice and analyzed.
2. Cognitive paradigm: participants were assigned to two tasks:
a. Rapid Visual Information Processing (RVP). In this assessment, A white box is shown in the center of the screen, inside which digits from 2 to 9 appear in a random order, at the rate of 100 digits per minute. Participants are requested to detect target sequences of digits (for example, 2-4-6, 3-5-7, 4-6-8). When the participant sees the target sequence, they must respond by selecting the button in the center of the screen as quickly as possible. The researcher aims to record latency (speed of response), probability of false alarms, and the level of sensitivity.
b. Stop Signal Test (SST). In this assessment, participants must respond to an arrow stimulus, by selecting one of two options, depending on the direction in which the arrow points. They should select the left-hand button when they see a left-pointing arrow and the right-hand button when they see a right-pointing arrow. However, when the arrow turns red, the participants should not press any button. The interval time between where the arrow appears and where it turns red is random. Researcher records times of direction errors, proportion of successful stops, reaction time on Go trials, and stop signal reaction time.
3. Scale: there are two scales for participants:
a. Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS)
b. Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS)
The aim of these scales is to determine whether the biological data matches the existing psychological data.
Notice*: In the process, EEG of prefrontal cortex and EMG is continuously recorded.
Method:
1. Participants should sign the informed consent;
2. Clean the skin. Wear prefrontal cortex EEG recording electrode and electromyography (EMG) detection equipment to the system;
3. Connect the equipment to the system with Bluetooth;
4. Conduct Impedance detection to confirm the adhesion between the device's electrodes and the skin
5. Conduct resting measurement. Participants sit with eyes closed and calm breathe for 5 minutes.
6. Use the system to complete the tasks.