{"id":{"repo_id":"texas","oai_identifier":"oai:repositories.lib.utexas.edu:2152/134535"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/texas/oai:repositories.lib.utexas.edu:2152/134535","repository":{"repo_id":"texas","name":"University of Texas","base_url":"https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Effects of behavioral tasks on memory reconsolidation and trauma-related symptoms : a randomized clinical trial","abstract":"Most individuals will experience a trauma throughout their lifetime. While many spontaneously recover, others develop symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Although empirically supported, trauma-focused PTSD treatments currently exist, they are typically time-consuming, require a specialized provider, are economically costly for the individual receiving treatment, and are associated with moderate to high non-response and dropout rates (20 to 50%). As such, it is imperative to devise empirically informed alternative interventions for the prevention and treatment of PTSD among trauma-exposed populations. Recent studies suggest that visuospatial tasks (e.g., Tetris) may disrupt the reconsolidation of fear memories and may have clinical utility for the treatment of PTSD. The overarching objective of this dissertation was to investigate the effects of a visuospatial task on memory reconsolidation and trauma-related symptoms in trauma-exposed individuals after exposure to a trauma memory reactivation procedure using a virtual format. To accomplish this, we conducted a three-arm, single-blind, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial. Trauma-exposed participants were randomized to one of three treatment conditions: (1) a visuospatial task (playing Tetris for 15 minutes), (2) a word association task (playing a word association game for 15 minutes), or (3) a no-treatment control condition (no gameplay). We hypothesized that participants in the visuospatial task condition would show greater reductions in emotional reactivity, trauma symptoms, trauma-related cognitions, and trauma-related safety behaviors, as well as greater increases in posttraumatic growth, trauma-coping self-efficacy, and psychological resilience at two-week follow-up. Findings revealed a significant effect of the visuospatial task on increased posttraumatic growth at 24-hour follow-up, but not at two-week follow-up. Interestingly, results also demonstrated a significant effect of the word association task, the active control condition, on increased posttraumatic growth and reduced trauma-related cognitions at two-week follow-up. However, no significant effect was observed for the visuospatial task on emotional reactivity, trauma symptoms, trauma-related cognitions, safety behaviors, or trauma-coping self-efficacy. Nonetheless, this dissertation offers further insight into the potential mechanisms by which visuospatial and word association tasks may disrupt memory reconsolidation and inform future studies in trauma prevention and treatment, potentially providing an alternative, scalable intervention for individuals experiencing trauma-related distress.","abstract_html":"Most individuals will experience a trauma throughout their lifetime. While many spontaneously recover, others develop symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Although empirically supported, trauma-focused PTSD treatments currently exist, they are typically time-consuming, require a specialized provider, are economically costly for the individual receiving treatment, and are associated with moderate to high non-response and dropout rates (20 to 50%). As such, it is imperative to devise empirically informed alternative interventions for the prevention and treatment of PTSD among trauma-exposed populations. Recent studies suggest that visuospatial tasks (e.g., Tetris) may disrupt the reconsolidation of fear memories and may have clinical utility for the treatment of PTSD. The overarching objective of this dissertation was to investigate the effects of a visuospatial task on memory reconsolidation and trauma-related symptoms in trauma-exposed individuals after exposure to a trauma memory reactivation procedure using a virtual format. To accomplish this, we conducted a three-arm, single-blind, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial. Trauma-exposed participants were randomized to one of three treatment conditions: (1) a visuospatial task (playing Tetris for 15 minutes), (2) a word association task (playing a word association game for 15 minutes), or (3) a no-treatment control condition (no gameplay). We hypothesized that participants in the visuospatial task condition would show greater reductions in emotional reactivity, trauma symptoms, trauma-related cognitions, and trauma-related safety behaviors, as well as greater increases in posttraumatic growth, trauma-coping self-efficacy, and psychological resilience at two-week follow-up. Findings revealed a significant effect of the visuospatial task on increased posttraumatic growth at 24-hour follow-up, but not at two-week follow-up. Interestingly, results also demonstrated a significant effect of the word association task, the active control condition, on increased posttraumatic growth and reduced trauma-related cognitions at two-week follow-up. However, no significant effect was observed for the visuospatial task on emotional reactivity, trauma symptoms, trauma-related cognitions, safety behaviors, or trauma-coping self-efficacy. Nonetheless, this dissertation offers further insight into the potential mechanisms by which visuospatial and word association tasks may disrupt memory reconsolidation and inform future studies in trauma prevention and treatment, potentially providing an alternative, scalable intervention for individuals experiencing trauma-related distress.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Thomas, Estrella Victoria"],"institution":"The University of Texas at Austin","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":"Psychology - Clinical Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Telch, Michael Joseph"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":["Cobb, Adam R.","Monfils, Marie","Carlson, Caryn","Powers, Mark"],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-08","date_published":"2025-08","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:01:12Z","subjects":["Trauma","PTSD","Clinical trial","Tetris","Memory reconsolidation","Behavioral tasks"],"languages":["English"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://doi.org/10.26153/tsw/61858"],"render_values":[{"text":"https://doi.org/10.26153/tsw/61858","href":"https://doi.org/10.26153/tsw/61858","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/2152/134535","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Telch, Michael Joseph"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Cobb, Adam R.","Monfils, Marie","Carlson, Caryn","Powers, Mark"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Thomas, Estrella Victoria"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2025-10-17T17:59:47Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2025-08"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Psychology - Clinical Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["The University of Texas at Austin"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Trauma","PTSD","Clinical trial","Tetris","Memory reconsolidation","Behavioral tasks"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["English"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/2152/134535","https://doi.org/10.26153/tsw/61858"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Most individuals will experience a trauma throughout their lifetime. While many spontaneously recover, others develop symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Although empirically supported, trauma-focused PTSD treatments currently exist, they are typically time-consuming, require a specialized provider, are economically costly for the individual receiving treatment, and are associated with moderate to high non-response and dropout rates (20 to 50%). As such, it is imperative to devise empirically informed alternative interventions for the prevention and treatment of PTSD among trauma-exposed populations. Recent studies suggest that visuospatial tasks (e.g., Tetris) may disrupt the reconsolidation of fear memories and may have clinical utility for the treatment of PTSD. The overarching objective of this dissertation was to investigate the effects of a visuospatial task on memory reconsolidation and trauma-related symptoms in trauma-exposed individuals after exposure to a trauma memory reactivation procedure using a virtual format. To accomplish this, we conducted a three-arm, single-blind, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial. Trauma-exposed participants were randomized to one of three treatment conditions: (1) a visuospatial task (playing Tetris for 15 minutes), (2) a word association task (playing a word association game for 15 minutes), or (3) a no-treatment control condition (no gameplay). We hypothesized that participants in the visuospatial task condition would show greater reductions in emotional reactivity, trauma symptoms, trauma-related cognitions, and trauma-related safety behaviors, as well as greater increases in posttraumatic growth, trauma-coping self-efficacy, and psychological resilience at two-week follow-up. Findings revealed a significant effect of the visuospatial task on increased posttraumatic growth at 24-hour follow-up, but not at two-week follow-up. Interestingly, results also demonstrated a significant effect of the word association task, the active control condition, on increased posttraumatic growth and reduced trauma-related cognitions at two-week follow-up. However, no significant effect was observed for the visuospatial task on emotional reactivity, trauma symptoms, trauma-related cognitions, safety behaviors, or trauma-coping self-efficacy. Nonetheless, this dissertation offers further insight into the potential mechanisms by which visuospatial and word association tasks may disrupt memory reconsolidation and inform future studies in trauma prevention and treatment, potentially providing an alternative, scalable intervention for individuals experiencing trauma-related distress."]},{"key":"dc:format.mimetype","label":"Dc Format Mimetype","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Effects of behavioral tasks on memory reconsolidation and trauma-related symptoms : a randomized clinical trial"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Telch, Michael Joseph"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Cobb, Adam R.","Monfils, Marie","Carlson, Caryn","Powers, Mark"],"dc:creator":["Thomas, Estrella Victoria"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2025-10-17T17:59:47Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2025-08"],"dc:description.abstract":["Most individuals will experience a trauma throughout their lifetime. While many spontaneously recover, others develop symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Although empirically supported, trauma-focused PTSD treatments currently exist, they are typically time-consuming, require a specialized provider, are economically costly for the individual receiving treatment, and are associated with moderate to high non-response and dropout rates (20 to 50%). As such, it is imperative to devise empirically informed alternative interventions for the prevention and treatment of PTSD among trauma-exposed populations. Recent studies suggest that visuospatial tasks (e.g., Tetris) may disrupt the reconsolidation of fear memories and may have clinical utility for the treatment of PTSD. The overarching objective of this dissertation was to investigate the effects of a visuospatial task on memory reconsolidation and trauma-related symptoms in trauma-exposed individuals after exposure to a trauma memory reactivation procedure using a virtual format. To accomplish this, we conducted a three-arm, single-blind, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial. Trauma-exposed participants were randomized to one of three treatment conditions: (1) a visuospatial task (playing Tetris for 15 minutes), (2) a word association task (playing a word association game for 15 minutes), or (3) a no-treatment control condition (no gameplay). We hypothesized that participants in the visuospatial task condition would show greater reductions in emotional reactivity, trauma symptoms, trauma-related cognitions, and trauma-related safety behaviors, as well as greater increases in posttraumatic growth, trauma-coping self-efficacy, and psychological resilience at two-week follow-up. Findings revealed a significant effect of the visuospatial task on increased posttraumatic growth at 24-hour follow-up, but not at two-week follow-up. Interestingly, results also demonstrated a significant effect of the word association task, the active control condition, on increased posttraumatic growth and reduced trauma-related cognitions at two-week follow-up. However, no significant effect was observed for the visuospatial task on emotional reactivity, trauma symptoms, trauma-related cognitions, safety behaviors, or trauma-coping self-efficacy. Nonetheless, this dissertation offers further insight into the potential mechanisms by which visuospatial and word association tasks may disrupt memory reconsolidation and inform future studies in trauma prevention and treatment, potentially providing an alternative, scalable intervention for individuals experiencing trauma-related distress."],"dc:format.mimetype":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/2152/134535","https://doi.org/10.26153/tsw/61858"],"dc:language.iso":["English"],"dc:subject":["Trauma","PTSD","Clinical trial","Tetris","Memory reconsolidation","Behavioral tasks"],"dc:title":["Effects of behavioral tasks on memory reconsolidation and trauma-related symptoms : a randomized clinical trial"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Psychology - Clinical Psychology"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy"],"thesis:institution_name":["The University of Texas at Austin"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:01:12Z"}