Child sexual abuse (CSA) survivors can present post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alterations in EEG activity and cognition. The aim of this study was to evaluate EEG correlations in female adolescents with CSA-related PTSD during performance of the Wisconsin Card-Sorting Test (WSCT). Inter- and intrahemispheric EEG correlations (INTERr and INTRAr) of those subjects were calculated at rest and during performance of WCST. On this task, the PTSD group obtained higher scores than the control group for the number of correct responses and failure to maintain set. In the between-groups comparisons, the PTSD group presented a higher INTERr between frontal areas in the gamma and slow bands, as well as a higher correlation in the delta band at Fp1-F3; however, this group presented a lower INTRAr between Fp1-P3 and Fp2-P4 in the theta and alpha1 bands. In the comparison between conditions, the PTSD group presented an increased correlation during execution of the WCST, mainly in the gamma band, while the control group showed a decrease of INTRAr in the slow bands. Results are discussed with respect to the influence of CSA- related PTSD on the development of cognition and functional connectivity in the brain.
KeywordsChild Sexual AbusePost-Traumatic Stress DisorderEEG CorrelationWCSTAdolescents
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