Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Ethics Of Placebo-Controlled Trials In Developing Countries To Prevent Mother-To-Child Transmission Of Hiv, John N. Williams

John N. WILLIAMS

Placebo-trials on HIV-infected pregnant women in developing countries like Thailand and Uganda have provoked recent controversy. Such experiments aim to find a treatment that will cut the rate of vertical transmission more efficiently than existing treatments like zidovudine. This scenario is first stated as generally as possible, before three ethical principles found in the Belmont Report, itself a sharpening of the Helsinki Declaration, are stated. These three principles are the Principle of Utility, the Principle of Autonomy and the Principle of Justice. These are taken as voices of moral imperative. But although each has intuitive appeal, it can be shown …

Bimanual Reaching Across The Hemispace: Which Hand Is Yoked To Which?, Gavin Buckingham, Gordon Binsted, David Carey

Gavin Buckingham

When both hands perform concurrent goal-directed reaches, they become yoked to one another. To investigate the direction of this coupling (i.e., which hand is yoked to which), the temporal dynamics of bimanual reaches were compared with equivalent-amplitude unimanual reaches. These reaches were to target pairs located on either the left or right sides of space; meaning that in the bimanual condition, one hand's contralateral (more difficult) reach accompanied by the other hand's ipsilateral (easier) reach. By comparing which hand's difficult reach was improved more by the presence of the other hand's easier ipsilateral reach, we were able to demonstrate asymmetries …

Personality Disorders Predict Relapse After Remission From An Episode Of Major Depressive Disorder: A 6-Year Prospective Study, Carlos M. Grilo, Robert L. Stout, John C. Markowitz, Charles A. Sanislow, Emily B. Ansell, Andrew E. Skodol, Donna S. Bender, Anthony Pinto, M. Tracie Shea, Shirley Yen, John G. Gunderson, Leslie C. Morey, Christropher J. Hopwood, Thomas H. Mcglashan

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

Objective: To examine prospectively the course of major depressive disorder (MDD) and to test for the moderating effects of personality disorder (PD) comorbidity on relapse after remission from an episode of MDD.

Method: Participants were 303 patients (196 women and 107 men) with current DSM-IV diagnosed MDD at baseline enrollment in the Col­laborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study. Major depressive disorder and Axis I psychiatric disorders were assessed with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV, and Axis II PDs were assessed with the Diagnostic Interview for DSM-IV Personality Disorders. The course of MDD was assessed with the Longitudinal Interval Follow­up Evaluation …

Developing Constructs For Psychopathology Research: Research Domain Criteria, Charles A. Sanislow, Daniel S. Pine, Kevin J. Quinn, Michael J. Kozak, Marjorie A. Garvey, Robert K. Heinssen, Philip Sung-En Wang, Bruce N. Cuthbert

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

There exists a divide between findings from integrative neuroscience and clinical research focused on mechanisms of psychopathology. Specifically, a clear correspondence does not emerge between clusters of complex clinical symptoms and dysregulated neurobiological systems, with many apparent redundancies. For instance, many mental disorders involve multiple disruptions in putative mechanistic factors (e.g., excessive fear, deficient impulse control), and different disrupted mechanisms appear to play major roles in many disorders. The Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) framework is a heuristic to facilitate the incorporation of behavioral neuroscience in the study of psychopathology. Such integration might be achieved by shifting the central research focus …

Psychometric Characteristics And Clinical Correlates Of Neo-Pi-R Fearless Dominance And Impulsive Antisociality In The Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study, Edward A. Witt, Christopher J. Hopwood, Leslie C. Morey, John C. Markowitz, Thomas H. Mcglashan, Carlos M. Grilo, Charles A. Sanislow, M. Tracie Shea, Andrew E. Skodol, John G. Gunderson, M. Brent Donnellan

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

This study evaluates the validity of derived measures of the psychopathic personality traits of Fearless Dominance and Impulsive Antisociality from the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO-PI-R; Costa & McCrae, 1992) using data from the Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study (baseline N = 733). These 3 issues were examined: (a) the stability of the measures over a 10-year interval, (b) their criterion-related validity, and (c) their incremental validity relative to an alternative NEO-PI-R profile-rating approach for assessing psychopathy. NEO-PI-R Fearless Dominance and Impulsive Antisociality scales were relatively stable across 10 years and demonstrated differential associations with measures of personality pathology and psychopathology …

Helping Prostate Cancer Patients Understand The Causes Of Anxiety And Depression: Comparing Cancer-Caused Vs Patient Response Events, Christopher Sharpley, Vicki Bitsika, David Christie

Vicki Bitsika

Background: Prostate cancer (PCa) patients have elevated anxiety and depression, often showing impairments in decision-making and weakened relationships with their partner and family. Although treatment for these psychological side-effects of PCa is strongly recommended, relatively little is known of the causal processes underlying them. This study compared cancer-based lifestyle changes vs patient behavioural responses to cancer as predictors of anxiety and depression among PCa patients. Methods: PCa patients (381) were surveyed for their responses to standardised anxiety and depression questionnaires, plus a questionnaire designed to assess the kinds of lifestyle changes that had occurred to them and their responses to …

The Influence Of Competing Perceptual And Motor Priors In The Context Of The Size-Weight Illusion, Gavin Buckingham, Melvyn Goodale

Gavin Buckingham

When lifting objects of identical mass but different sizes, people perceive the smaller objects as weighing more than the larger ones (the 'size-weight' illusion, SWI). While individual's grip and load force rates are rapidly scaled to the objects' actual mass, the magnitude of the force used to lift these SWI-inducing objects is rarely discussed. Here, we show that participants continue to apply a greater loading force to a large SWI-inducing cube than to a small SWI cube, lift after lift. These differences in load force persisted long after initial errors in grip and load force rates had been corrected. Interestingly, …

On The Number Of Trials Necessary For Stabilization Of Error-Related Brain Activity Across The Life Span, Jason Themanson, Matthew Pontifex, Mark Scudder, Michael Brown, Kevin O'Leary, Chien-Ting Wu, Charles Hillman

Jason R. Themanson, Ph.D

The minimum number of trials necessary to accurately characterize the error-related negativity (ERN) and the error positivity (Pe) across the life span was investigated using samples of preadolescent children, college-age young adults, and older adults. Event-related potentials and task performance were subsequently measured during a modified flanker task. Response-locked averages were created using sequentially increasing errors of commission in blocks of two. Findings indicated that across all age cohorts ERN and Pe were not significantly different relative to the within-participants grand average after six trials. Further, results indicated that the ERN and Pe exhibited excellent internal reliability in preadolescent children …

Autobiography And The Family Frame: Jaret Belliveau's “Dominion Street” At Gallery Tpw, Matthew Ryan Smith

Matthew Ryan Smith, Ph.D.

Documented over a period of five years, “Dominion Street” presents a visual narrative of love, loss, and life encapsulated within an East Coast milieu. Privy to the Belliveau family’s emotional and physical plights, the artist utilizes an autobiographic frame offering up strikingly informal glimpses of his family.

Archetypal Energies, "Psychic Politics", And The Transformative Potential Of The Health Care Debate, Carroy U. Ferguson

Carroy U "Cuf" Ferguson, Ph.D.

In a previous message, I spoke of “Archetypal Energies, The Emergence of Obama As A Practical Idealist, and Global Transformation” (February/March 2009). I suggested that at issue is what I called “psychic politics for global transformation, nurtured by practical idealism and the Archetypal Energies.” To reiterate, I have described Archetypal Energies as Higher Vibrational Energies, operating deep within our individual and collective psyches, which have their own transcendent value, purpose, quality, and “voice” unique to the individual. We experience them as “creative urges” to move us toward our Highest Good or Optimal Realities. I use easily recognized terms to evoke …

Methodological Considerations For Treatment Trials For Persons With Borderline Personality Disorder, Mary C. Zanarini, Barbara Stanley, Donald W. Black, John C. Markowitz, Marianne Goodman, Paul Pilkonis, Thomas R. Lynch, Kenneth Levy, Peter Fonagy, Martin Bohus, Joan Farrell, Charles A. Sanislow

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

BACKGROUND: The National Institute of Mental Health convened an international group of experts to examine the conduct of treatment trials for persons with borderline personality disorder (BPD). The rapid growth of treatment research had led to the recognition that investigators face unique methodological issues with these challenging patients.

METHODS: Conference members reviewed critical aspects of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy trial design for patients with BPD.

RESULTS: This article summarizes discussions held on March 17-18, 2005.

CONCLUSION: This paper addresses the most pressing issues in sample selection and trial design pertaining to BPD; issues that have bedeviled both investigators submitting applications and …

State Effects Of Major Depression On The Assessment Of Personality And Personality Disorder, Leslie C. Morey, M. Tracie Shea, John C. Markowitz, Robert L. Stout, Christopher J. Hopwood, John G. Gunderson, Carlos M. Grilo, Thomas H. Mcglashan, Shirley Yen, Charles A. Sanislow, Andrew E. Skodol

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

OBJECTIVE: The authors sought to determine whether personality disorders diagnosed during a depressive episode have long-term outcomes more typical of those of other patients with personality disorders or those of patients with noncomorbid major depression.

METHOD: The authors used 6-year outcome data collected from the multisite Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study (CLPS). Diagnoses and personality measures gathered from the study cohort at the index assessment using interview and self-report methods were associated with symptomatic, functional, and personality measures at 6-year follow-up. Of 668 patients initially recruited to the CLPS, 522 were followed for 6 years. All participants had either a …

22. Young Children’S Emerging Ability To Make False Statements., Thomas D. Lyon, Elizabeth C. Ahern, Jodi A. Quas

Thomas D. Lyon

Effects Of Duration Of Untreated Psychosis On Long-Term Outcome Of People Hospitalized With First Episode Schizophrenia, Amresh Shrivastava, Nilesh Shah, Megan Johnston, Larry Stitt, Meghana Thakar, Gurusamy Chinnasamy

Amresh Srivastava

Duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) has emerged as a reliable predictor of outcome but continues to remain under scientific scrutiny. The present study examines the effect of differential periods of DUP on long-term outcome of first episode schizophrenia at Mumbai, India. This research was a prospective, 10-year follow-up naturalistic study. Hospitalized patients of first episode schizophrenia were selected and followed up. Results showed that the mean DUP was higher for a group which showed clinical recovery on Clinical Global Impression Scale [14.0 months (SD=8.0) in recovered and 10.8 months (SD=5.7) in non-recovered group (P=0.091)]. DUP was not found to be …

Cognitive Neurosciences: A New Paradigm In Management And Outcome Of Schizophrenia, Amresh K. Shrivastava, Megan E. Johnston

Amresh Srivastava

No abstract provided.

Gating Of Vibrotactile Detection During Visually Guided Bimanual Reaches, Gavin Buckingham, David Carey, Francisco Colino, John Degrosbois, Gordon Binsted

Gavin Buckingham

It is far more difficult to detect a small tactile stimulation on a finger that is moving compared to when it is static. This suppression of tactile information during motion, known as tactile gating, has been examined in some detail during single-joint movements. However, the existence and time course of this gating has yet to be examined during visually guided multi-joint reaches, where sensory feedback may be paramount. The current study demonstrated that neurologically intact humans are unable to detect a small vibratory stimulus on one of their index fingers during a bimanual reach toward visual targets. By parametrically altering …

14. Investigative Interviewing Of The Child., Thomas D. Lyon

Thomas D. Lyon

21. Children’S Reasoning About Disclosing Adult Transgressions: Effects Of Maltreatment, Child Age, And Adult Identity., Thomas D. Lyon, Elizabeth C. Ahern, Lindsay A. Malloy, Jodi A. Quas

Thomas D. Lyon

Lifting Without Seeing: The Role Of Vision In Perceiving And Acting Upon The Size Weight Illusion, Gavin Buckingham, Melvyn Goodale

Gavin Buckingham

BACKGROUND: Our expectations of an object's heaviness not only drive our fingertip forces, but also our perception of heaviness. This effect is highlighted by the classic size-weight illusion (SWI), where different-sized objects of identical mass feel different weights. Here, we examined whether these expectations are sufficient to induce the SWI in a single wooden cube when lifted without visual feedback, by varying the size of the object seen prior to the lift.

METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Participants, who believed that they were lifting the same object that they had just seen, reported that the weight of the single, standard-sized cube that they …

Improving Risk Assessment With Suicidal Patients: A Preliminary Evaluation Of The Clinical Utility Of The Scale For Impact Of Suicidality - Management, Assessment And Planning Of Care (Sis-Map), Charles Nelson, Megan Johnston, Amresh Srivastava

Amresh Srivastava

Although a number of suicide risk assessment tools are available to clinicians, the high levels of suicide still evident in society suggest a clear need for new strategies in order to facilitate the prevention of suicidal behaviors. The present study examined the utilization of a new structured clinical interview called the Scale for Impact of Suicidality Management, Assessment and Planning of Care (SIS-MAP). SIS-MAP ratings were obtained from a group of incoming psychiatric patients over a 6-month period at Regional Mental Health Care, St. Thomas, Ontario. A canonical discriminant function analysis resulted in a total 74.0% of original grouped cases …

The Relation Of Aerobic Fitness To Neuroelectric Indices Of Cognitive And Motor Task Preparation, Jason Themanson, Keita Kamijo, Kevin O'Leary, Matthew Pontifex, Charles Hillman

Jason R. Themanson, Ph.D

The relation of aerobic fitness to task preparation was examined in a sample of young adults separated into higher- and lower-fit groups according to their maximal oxygen consumption. Participants performed a modified Sternberg working memory task under speed and accuracy instructions while measures of task performance and contingent negative variation (CNV) were collected. Analyses revealed no significant fitness differences between groups on task performance measures. However, frontal CNVamplitude was significantly larger for lower-fit participants compared to higher-fit participants during the speed instructions, an effect not found for the accuracy instructions. These results suggest that lower-fit individuals may rely to a …

Lifting Without Seeing: The Role Of Vision In Perceiving And Acting Upon The Size‐Weight Illusion, Gavin Buckingham, Melvyn Goodale

Gavin Buckingham

Our expectations of an object’s heaviness not only drive our fingertip forces, but also our perception of heaviness. This effect is highlighted by the classic size-weight illusion (SWI), where different‐sized objects of identical mass feel different weights (Charpentier, 1891) long after any initial errors in the application of fingertip forces have been corrected (Flanagan & Beltzner, 2000).

Here, we examined whether our expectations about the weight of an upcoming lift are sufficient to induce the SWI in a single wooden cube when lifted without visual feedback, by varying the size of the object seen prior to the lift during a …

General Psychological Distress Symptoms And Help-Seeking Intentions In Young Australians, Coralie Wilson

Coralie J Wilson

Epidemiological studies suggest that young people might have a tendency to avoid help when they experience symptoms of psychological distress. There is growing evidence that many young people prefer no help from anyone for their mental health problems. The current study examined the association between symptoms of general psychological distress and intentions to seek help from friends, family and professional mental health sources in a sample of 109 trade (TAFE) students from regional and rural Australia. Participants were 67% male and aged from 15-25 years. Higher levels of general psychological distress symptoms were associated with stronger intentions to not seek …

Adolescents' Suicidal Thinking And Reluctance To Consult General Medical Practitioners, Coralie Wilson

Coralie J Wilson

Appropriate help-seeking is widely recognized as a protective factor, and vital for early treatment and prevention of mental health problems during adolescence. General medical practitioners (GPs), that is, family doctors, provide a vital role in the identification of adolescents with mental health problems and the provision of treatment as well as access to other specialists in mental health care services. The current study is part of a larger multi-cite study developed and led by the first author. It examines the association between suicidal ideation and intentions to seek help from a GP for suicidal thoughts, emotional problems and physical health …

Laterality, Perception, And Action During The Size-Weight Illusion, Gavin Buckingham, Nathalie Ranger, Melvyn Goodale

Gavin Buckingham

In the classic size-weight illusion (SWI), a small object will feel heavier than an larger object of equal weight (Charpentier, 1891). Individuals continue to perceive this illusory difference in weight long after their gripping and lifting forces have scaled to the actual, identical, mass of the illusion-inducing stimuli (Flanagan & Beltzner, 2000).

The independence of our weight perception and fingertip force application has only been quantified in the right hand of right-handers. The immunity to this perceptual illusion may be affected by manual asymmetries (e.g., Gonzalez, Ganel & Goodale, 2006).

We examined perception of heaviness and fingertip force scaling in …

Developing Constructs For Psychopathology Research: Research Domain Criteria, Charles A. Sanislow, Daniel S. Pine, Kevin J. Quinn, Michael J. Kozak, Marjorie A. Garvey, Robert K. Heinssen, Philip S. Wang, Bruce N. Cuthbert

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

There exists a divide between findings from integrative neuroscience and clinical research focused on mechanisms of psychopathology. Specifically, a clear correspondence does not emerge between clusters of complex clinical symptoms and dysregulated neurobiological systems, with many apparent redundancies. For instance, many mental disorders involve multiple disruptions in putative mechanistic factors (e.g., excessive fear, deficient impulse control), and different disrupted mechanisms appear to play major roles in many disorders. The Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) framework is a heuristic to facilitate the incorporation of behavioral neuroscience in the study of psychopathology. Such integration might be achieved by shifting the central research focus …

Help-Negation And Suicidal Ideation: The Role Of Depression, Anxiety And Hopelessness., Coralie J. Wilson

Frank Deane

Help-negation is expressed behaviorally by the refusal or avoidance of available help and cognitively by the inverse relationship between self-reported symptoms of psychological distress and help-seeking intentions. The current study is part of a larger multi-cite research program developed and led by the first author. It examines the association between suicidal ideation and intentions to seek help from friends, family and professional mental health sources in a sample of 302 Australian university students. Participants were 77.5% female and aged from 18-25 years old, with 85.4% aged 21 years or younger. Higher levels of suicidal ideation were related to lower help-seeking …

Help-Negation And Suicidal Ideation: The Role Of Depression, Anxiety And Hopelessness., Coralie J. Wilson

Coralie J Wilson

Help-negation is expressed behaviorally by the refusal or avoidance of available help and cognitively by the inverse relationship between self-reported symptoms of psychological distress and help-seeking intentions. The current study is part of a larger multi-cite research program developed and led by the first author. It examines the association between suicidal ideation and intentions to seek help from friends, family and professional mental health sources in a sample of 302 Australian university students. Participants were 77.5% female and aged from 18-25 years old, with 85.4% aged 21 years or younger. Higher levels of suicidal ideation were related to lower help-seeking …

Gay And Lesbian Elders: History, Law, And Identity Politics In The United States, Nancy J. Knauer

Nancy J. Knauer

The approximately two million gay and lesbian elders in the United States are an underserved and understudied population. At a time when gay men and lesbians enjoy an unprecedented degree of social acceptance and legal protection, many elders face the daily challenges of aging isolated from family, detached from the larger gay and lesbian community, and ignored by mainstream aging initiatives. Drawing on materials from law, history, and social theory, this book integrates practical proposals for reform with larger issues of sexuality and identity. Beginning with a summary of existing demographic data and offering a historical overview of pre-Stonewall views …

Estudio Sobre El Comportamiento Y Salud En Los Jóvenes Escolares De La República Dominicana: Resultados De 2009, Juan B. Peña, Elián P. Cabrera-Nguyen, Diana Chaves, Rosa Fernández

Elián P. Cabrera-Nguyen

This scientific report on risk behaviors among adolescents in the Dominican Republic (DR) was prepared for the DR Ministry of Education. The study used a stratified cluster design of public high schools in the DR with sample weights. The questionnaire included items from the 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Results of this nationally representative survey were presented to a delegation from the DR Ministry of Education at Washington University's Brown School. This report was also presented at the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo. Dr. Juan Peña, assistant professor at Washington University's Brown School, was the PI and is listed as …