Reconceptualizing complex posttraumatic stress disorder: A predictive processing framework for mechanisms and intervention

Abstract

In this article, we introduce a framework for interpreting Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD) through predictive processing, a neuroscience concept explaining the brain’s interpretation and prediction of sensory information. While closely related to PTSD, C-PTSD encompasses additional symptom clusters marked by disturbances in self-organization (DSO), such as negative self-concept, affect dysregulation, and relational difficulties, typically resulting from prolonged traumatic stressors. Our model leverages advances in computational psychiatry and neuroscience, offering a mechanistic explanation for these symptoms by illustrating how prolonged trauma disrupts the brain's predictive processing. Specifically, altered predictive mechanisms contribute to C-PTSD's symptomatology, focusing on DSO: (1) Negative self-concept emerges from maladaptive priors that bias perception towards self-criticism, misaligning expected and actual interoceptive states; (2) Misalignment between predicted and actual interoceptive signals leads to affect dysregulation, with sensitivity to bodily cues; and (3) Relationship challenges arise from skewed social prediction errors, fostering mistrust and withdrawal. This precision-focused approach sheds light on the dynamics underpinning C-PTSD and highlights potential intervention targets aimed at recalibrating the predictive processing system.