Torture Exposure Modulates Cognitive Control and Attention Neural Network Connectivity During a Go/NoGo Task.

Background: Torture trauma is characterized by intentional uncontrollable acts, but the long-term effects of torture exposure on cognitive control brain mechanisms are unknown.

Methods: A final sample of 33 torture survivors (TSs) and 44 non-TSs, all with a refugee background, completed a Go/NoGo response inhibition task during functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning. Data-driven independent component analysis identified active networks across the task and on Go, NoGo, and error of commission trials.

Self-construal modulates default mode network connectivity in refugees with PTSD.

Background: While self-construal and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are independently associated with altered self-referential processes and underlying default mode network (DMN) functioning, no study has examined how self-construal affects DMN connectivity in PTSD.

Methods: A final sample of 93 refugee participants (48 with DSM-5 PTSD or sub-syndromal PTSD and 45 matched trauma-exposed controls) completed a 5-minute resting state fMRI scan to enable the observation of connectivity in the DMN and other core networks. A self-construal index was calculated by substracting scores on the collectivistic and individualistic sub-scales of the Self Construal Scale.

Opponent intrinsic brain network connectivity profiles associated with posttraumatic fear and dysphoria symptoms in trauma-exposed refugees.

Objective: Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) studies report functional alterations in the connectivity between intrinsic brain networks in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but PTSD heterogeneity is rarely considered. Evidence points to fear (e.g.

Refugee visa insecurity disrupts the brain's default mode network.

Background: Research has largely focused on the psychological consequences of refugee trauma exposure, but refugees living with visa insecurity face an uncertain future that also adversely affects psychological functioning and self-determination.

Objective: This study aimed to examine how refugee visa insecurity affects the functional brain.

Method: We measured resting state brain activity via fMRI in 47 refugees with insecure visas (i.

Towards a systematic approach for the treatment and rehabilitation of torture and trauma survivors: The experience of STARTTS in Australia.

This paper recovers a text written in 1994 that explored and discussed the complex interac-tion between the psychological and psychoso-cial sequelae of exposure to highly traumatic situations in the context of organized violence, and the stresses and demands of the exile and re-settlement process of refugees. The effects on the individual, the family and refugee communities were explored, and a model to address these problems from a systemic per-spective, involving action at the individual, family, refugee community, mainstream com-munity and mainstream political structures was put forward. The role of approaches such as individual counselling, group work and community development in this framework, and various issues in the practical application of this model were discussed in the context of STARTTS experience.

Evaluating the procedural validity of the multilingual computer assisted self interview (MultiCASI) in a refugee population.

Multimedia-based administration of questionnaires, presenting items both in writing and spoken word, offers numerous potential benefits in transcultural psychiatry, such as improved comprehension of each question, ease of administration, prevention of missing or arbitrary responses, and obviating subsequent data entry. The concept has become known as "Computer-Assisted Self Interviewing" (CASI), and while preliminary results are promising, previous studies have not directly compared CASI to paper-and-pen administration in a large and representative sample of refugees. The aim of this study was to evaluate the procedural validity of multilingual CASI in comparison to paper-based-administration.

Torture exposure and the functional brain: investigating disruptions to intrinsic network connectivity using resting state fMRI.

Torture has profound psychological and physiological consequences for survivors. While some brain structures and functions appear altered in torture survivors, it is unclear how torture exposure influences functional connectivity within and between core intrinsic brain networks. In this study, 37 torture survivors (TS) and 62 non-torture survivors (NTS) participated in a resting-state fMRI scan.

Activating the attachment system modulates neural responses to threat in refugees with PTSD.

Social attachment systems are disrupted for refugees through trauma and forced displacement. This study tested how the attachment system mitigates neural responses to threat in refugees with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Refugees with PTSD (N = 28) and refugee trauma-exposed controls (N = 22) viewed threat-related stimuli primed by attachment cues during a functional magnetic resonance imaging scan.

The impact of torture on interpersonal threat and reward neurocircuitry.

Objective: Torture adversely influences emotional functioning, but the neurophysiological mechanisms underpinning its impact are unknown. This study examined how torture exposure affects the neural substrates of interpersonal threat and reward processing.

Methods: Male refugees with ( = 31) and without ( = 27) torture exposure completed a clinical interview and functional magnetic resonance imaging scan where they viewed fear, happy and neutral faces.

Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Profiles in Traumatized Refugees.

Although it is well documented that exposure to severe, cumulative trauma and postdisplacement stress increases the risk for posttraumatic stress symptom disorder (PTSD), less is known about the representation and predictors of complex PTSD (CPTSD) symptoms in refugee populations. We examined PTSD and CPTSD symptom profiles (co-occurring PTSD and disturbances in self-organization [DSO] symptoms) and their premigration, postmigration, and demographic predictors, using latent class analysis (LCA), in a cohort of 112 refugees resettled in Australia. The LCA identified a four-factor model as the best fit to the data, comprising classes categorized as: (a) CPTSD, exhibiting high levels of PTSD and DSO symptoms (29.

Capoeira Angola: An alternative intervention program for traumatized adolescent refugees from war-torn countries.

Background: Following resettlement in Australia, young traumatized refugees often face social challenges, including language and cultural barriers and social adjustment, which can lead to behavioral difficulties. Providing support at this vulnerable stage is therefore vital for reducing future setbacks.

Objective: The STARTTS Capoeira Angola program was developed to help traumatized adolescents successfully integrate into their school environments.

Evaluation of Neurofeedback for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Related to Refugee Experiences Using Self-Report and Cognitive ERP Measures.

. Neurofeedback holds promise as an intervention for the psychophysiological dysfunction found in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Few empirical studies have assessed the efficacy of neurofeedback for PTSD, and none in individuals with refugee trauma.

Neurofeedback as an adjunct therapy for treatment of chronic posttraumatic stress disorder related to refugee trauma and torture experiences: two case studies.

Objective: The objective of this study was to describe the use of neurofeedback for refugee-related chronic posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in two case studies.

Methods: We describe the assessment and application of neurofeedback integrated into the treatment of two clients with chronic PTSD. We include details of our treatment schedule, symptoms and quantitative electrophysiological data for each case.

Mental health literacy among refugee communities: differences between the Australian lay public and the Iraqi and Sudanese refugee communities.

Purpose: This study investigated differences in mental health knowledge and beliefs between participants from the Iraqi and Sudanese refugee communities, and Australian-born individuals, in Sydney, Australia.

Methods: Ninety-seven participants were given vignettes of characters describing symptoms of major depressive disorder and posttraumatic stress. They were required to identify psychological symptoms as disorders, rate beliefs about the causes of and helpful treatments for these disorders, and rate attitude statements regarding the two characters.

Two year psychosocial and mental health outcomes for refugees subjected to restrictive or supportive immigration policies.

Australia has been at the forefront of implementing immigration policies that aim to limit the flow of asylum seekers over recent decades. Two controversial polices have been the use of immigration detention for unauthorized arrivals and the issuing of temporary protection visas (TPVs) for refugees who arrived without valid visas. We conducted a longitudinal survey over 2 years commencing in 2003 of 104 consecutive refugees from Iran and Afghanistan attending a state-wide early intervention program in New South Wales.

A comparison of the mental health of refugees with temporary versus permanent protection visas.

Objectives: To determine the impact of the Australian provisions for temporary rather than permanent protection for asylum seekers found to be genuine refugees.

Design And Setting: A comparison of the mental health of Persian-speaking refugees with temporary (n = 49) versus permanent (n = 67) protection visas attending an early intervention program in Sydney, New South Wales, 2002-03.

Measures: Standard measures were used to assess past trauma, detention experiences, postmigration stresses, symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression and functional impairment.