Distancing strategies in l’aquila 2009 earthquake survivors: clinical and neurobiological prospectives

The aim of the present study was to explore the neural correlate in response to pictures featuring their own city before and after an earthquake and those of an unfamiliar city in the L’Aquila 2009 earthquake survivors. Moreover, the association between psychological variables and the brain responses to the pictures of L’Aquila after the earthquake was explored. Electroencephalographic (EEG) data of thirty-two adults (final sample: survivors group (n = 15) age M = 31.40, SD = 9.42 vs. control group (n = 15) age M = 30.53, SD = 10.01) were recorded, using a 256-electrodes HydroCel-Geodesic-Sensor-Net, during a visual task that included earthquake-related stimuli. Participants were assessed for post-traumatic and dissociation symptoms. Event-related potential (ERP) components and low-resolution electromagnetic tomography (sLORETA) were analyzed. In survivors, source localization indicated a lower intensity of the amygdala, hippocampal, parahippocampal, and temporopolar areas in response to visual stimuli concerning the earthquake compared to the control group. Results indicated a reduced limbic activation in response to visual stimuli that evoked the recall of earthquake in survivors. This finding suggests that survivors probably adopted a distancing strategy towards stimuli that may elicit an emotional activation related to collective trauma. A possible clinical implication could be developing psychological and psychotherapeutic interventions focused on the restructuring of the distancing strategies in natural disasters survivors. Moreover, the neurobiological activation could be considered as an outcome of the improvements of the psychological and psychotherapeutic intervention. Future studies could investigate the efficacy of specific interventions on distancing strategies from both psychological and neurobiological perspectives.