Psychology Commons^™

Preliminary Evidence For Medication Effects On Functional Abnormalities In The Amygdala And Anterior Cingulate In Bipolar Disorder, Hilary P. Blumberg, Nelson H. Donegan, Charles A. Sanislow, Susan Collins, Cheryl Lacadie, Pawel Skudlarski, Ralitza Gueorguieva, Robert K. Fulbright, Thomas H. Mcglashan, John C. Gore, John H. Krystal

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

RATIONALE: Abnormal amygdala and frontocortical responses to emotional stimuli are implicated in bipolar disorder (BD) and have been proposed as potential treatment targets.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate amygdala and frontocortical responses to emotional face stimuli in BD and the influences of mood-stabilizing medications on these responses.

METHODS: Functional magnetic resonance imaging was performed while 17 BD participants (5 unmedicated) and 17 healthy comparison (HC) participants viewed faces with happy, sad, fearful, or neutral expressions.

RESULTS: The group by stimulus-condition interaction was significant (p<0.01) for amygdala activation, with the greatest effects in the happy face condition. Relative to HC, amygdala increases were greater in unmedicated BD, but lower in medicated BD. Rostral anterior cingulate (rAC) activation was decreased in unmedicated BD compared to HC; however, BD participants taking medication demonstrated rAC activation similar to HC participants.

CONCLUSIONS: Although the sample sizes were small, these preliminary results suggest that …

Longitudinal Comparison Of Depressive Personality Disorder And Dysthymic Disorder, John C. Markowitz, Andrew E. Skodol, Eva Petkova, Hui Xie, Jianfeng Cheng, David J. Hellerstein, John G. Gunderson, Charles A. Sanislow, Carlos M. Grilo, Thomas H. Mcglashan

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have compared the related diagnostic constructs of depressive personality disorder (DPD) and dysthymic disorder (DD). The authors attempted to replicate findings of Klein and Shih in longitudinally followed patients with personality disorder or major depressive disorder (MDD) in the Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study.

METHODS: Subjects (N = 665) were evaluated at baseline and over 2 years (n = 546) by reliably trained clinical interviewers using semistructured interviews and self-report personality questionnaires.

RESULTS: Only 44 subjects (24.6% of 179 DPD and 49.4% of 89 early-onset dysthymic subjects) met criteria for both disorders at baseline. Depressive personality disorder …

Coping And Psychological Hardiness And Their Relationship To Depression In Older Adults , Dianne E. Schellenberg

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

The roles of coping strategies and psychological hardiness as these affect the relationships to depression in older adults were explored in a population of older adult residents who had recently relocated to long-term-care nursing home facilities. Older adults experience many losses and subsequent stressors as a result of normal aging; therefore, the additional stress that accompanies loss of familiar surroundings and support systems and the relocation to new and unfamiliar surroundings can have a significant impact on physical and psychological well being. A total of 91 residents participated in this study. Coping abilities were evaluated in terms of social problem-solving …