Apples and oranges: PTSD patients and healthy individuals are not comparable in their subjective and physiological responding to emotion induction and bilateral stimulation.

Objectives: Bilateral stimulation is a core element of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy, a psychotherapeutic intervention for the treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Promising previous findings showed measurable physiological effects of bilateral stimulation in healthy individuals, but studies that replicated these findings in PTSD patients are sparse.

Methods: 23 patients with PTSD and 30 healthy controls were confronted with affective standard scripts (pleasant, neutral, unpleasant) while bilateral tactile stimulation was applied.