The effect of motor interference therapy on traumatic memories: A randomized, double blind, controlled study

Abstract

Abstract Introduction: Traumatic memories are a core symptom of PTSD and stress-related disorders, as well as a transdiagnostic symptom found in many different mental disorders. There are effective psychological treatments for PTSD symptoms, but access to these specialized treatments can be difficult and expensive. One potential for treatment is the use of visuospatial tasks to interrupt memory reconsolidation processes. The aim of this pilot study was to determine the usefulness of Motor Interference Therapy (MIT), which consists of a visuospatial task verbally directed through an audio, for the treatment of traumatic memories. Methods: We conducted a randomized, double blind, controlled study. 28 participants with at least one traumatic memory causing distress were randomized to receive either MIT or an abbreviated version of Jacobson´s Progressive Muscle Relaxation Technique (PMR). Both interventions were administered twice for a total duration of 30 minutes. The assessment scales (PTSD Symptom Severity Scale-Revised, visual-analog scale (EQ-VAS) from EuroQol 5D, and a visual analogue scale of traumatic memory distress) were administered by a blinded researcher to the treatment group in three times: before the intervention, one week after the intervention and one month later. Only the visual-analog scale that rated the level of stress provoked by the traumatic memory was also applied immediately after the intervention. For each dependent variable a Group (PMR, MIT) x Session analysis of variance was conducted with repeated measures on the second variable. Critical Group x Session interactions were analyzed further with pairwise comparisons. Analyses of covariance were conducted to evaluate posttest scores adjusted for any pretest differences. Results: Mean scores improved from pretest to posttests for both interventions on all seven measures, and these improvements were statistically significant in all seven cases for MIT and in five of seven cases for PMR. Significant statistical differences were observed between groups on the visual analog scale for traumatic memories: MR scores declined from pretest to the immediate posttest (p = .002) but showed no further decline. MIT scores also declined from pretest to immediate posttest (p < .001), but they continued to improve over the subsequent week (p = .002) and were sustained one month following treatment. Mean MIT scores were lower than mean PMR scores at one week and one month (ps < .002). no adverse events were reported in either group. Conclusion: MIT is an easy to apply technique that requires few resources and little training. The results strongly suggests that MIT could be a useful tool in the treatment of traumatic memories and yields proof-of-principle support for conducting future research with a large cohort, properly powered to stablish efficacy. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03627078