AUTHOR=Norte Carlos Eduardo , Volchan Eliane , Vila Jaime , Mata Jose Luis , Arbol Javier R. , Mendlowicz Mauro , Berger William , Luz Mariana Pires , Rocha-Rego Vanessa , Figueira Ivan , Souza Gabriela Guerra Leal de TITLE=Tonic Immobility in PTSD: Exacerbation of Emotional Cardiac Defense Response JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology VOLUME=10 YEAR=2019 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01213 DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01213 ISSN=1664-1078 ABSTRACT=
Among defensive behaviors, tonic immobility (TI) is considered the last defensive resort when life is at extreme risk. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is the main psychiatric consequence resulting from exposure to traumatic events. Increasing evidence indicate an association between peritraumatic tonic immobilility and severity of PTSD. Cardiac defense response, a reactivity to perceived danger or threat, has been studied by recording heart rate changes that follows the presentation of an unpredictable intense auditory aversive stimulus. The aim of this study was to investigate potential distinctiveness in cardiac defense response among PTSD patients who presented – compared to those that did not – TI reaction in the laboratory setting. Patients (