Psychiatry research
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Psychiatry research · Mar 2013
Neural correlates of affective priming effects based on masked facial emotion: an fMRI study.
Affective priming refers to the phenomenon that subliminal presentation of facial emotion biases subsequent evaluation of a neutral object in the direction of the prime. The aim of the present study was to specify the neural correlates of evaluative shifts elicited by facial emotion shown below the threshold of conscious perception. We tested the hypotheses whether the amygdala is involved in negative priming, whereas the nucleus accumbens participates in positive priming. ⋯ No significant priming based on happy faces was found. However, nucleus accumbens activation to happy faces correlated with the positive priming score. The present findings confirm that the amygdala but also other brain regions, especially the medial frontal cortex, appear involved in automatically elicited negative evaluative shifts.
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Psychiatry research · Mar 2013
Replication analysis for composition of the Delirium Motor Subtype Scale (DMSS) in a referral cohort from Northern India.
The Delirium Motor Subtype Scale (DMSS) was developed by discerning the best differentiating motor activity symptoms from the Delirium Motor Checklist (DMC), a compilation of psychomotor symptoms from other subjective scales. To broaden its validation we replicated the original work done in a palliative care population in a psychiatric referral population. 100 consecutive C/L Psychiatry referrals with DSM-IV delirium in an Indian general hospital were assessed with the Delirium Rating Scale-Revised-98 (DRS-R98) and DMC and compared to 60 nondelirious hospitalized controls. Disturbances of motor activity were almost invariably present in patients with delirium and at a much higher frequency than in nondelirious control subjects. ⋯ Items loading at >0.65 were selected for the replication scale if they also either correlated significantly with DRS-R98 motor items or were significantly more frequent in delirious patients vs. controls. The resultant scale comprised 12 items (five hyperactive and seven hypoactive) and was similar to the original DMSS. Combining motor items from the original DMSS and replicated version produced a 13-item amended DMSS that may have broader generalizability than the original DMSS.
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Psychiatry research · Mar 2013
Optimism and mental imagery: a possible cognitive marker to promote well-being?
Optimism is associated with a range of benefits not only for general well-being, but also for mental and physical health. The development of psychological interventions to boost optimism derived from cognitive science would have the potential to provide significant public health benefits, yet cognitive markers of optimism are little understood. The current study aimed to take a first step in this direction by identifying a cognitive marker for optimism that could provide a modifiable target for innovative interventions. ⋯ Vividness of positive future imagery was significantly associated with optimism, even when adjusting for socio-demographic factors and everyday imagery use. The ability to generate vivid mental imagery of positive future events may provide a modifiable cognitive marker of optimism. Boosting positive future imagery could provide a cognitive target for treatment innovations to promote optimism, with implications for mental health and even physical well-being.
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Hair-pulling disorder (trichotillomania, HPD) is a disabling condition that is characterized by repetitive hair-pulling resulting in hair loss. Although there is evidence of structural grey matter abnormalities in HPD, there is a paucity of data on white matter integrity. The aim of this study was to explore white matter integrity using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in subjects with HPD and healthy controls. ⋯ However, there were significant associations of increased MD in white matter tracts of the fronto-striatal-thalamic pathway with longer HPD duration and increased HPD severity. Our findings suggest that white matter integrity in fronto-striatal-thalamic pathways in HPD is related to symptom duration and severity. The molecular basis of measures of white matter integrity in HPD deserves further exploration.
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Psychiatry research · Jan 2013
The use of the theory of planned behavior to predict engagement in functional behaviors in schizophrenia.
In schizophrenia, low motivation may play a role in the initiation and frequency of functional behaviors. Several reviews support the efficacy of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to predict engagement in various behaviors, but little research has utilized the TPB to explain functional behavior in schizophrenia. This study tested the TPB for predicting prospective engagement in functional behaviors in a sample of 64 individuals with schizophrenia. ⋯ Using path analysis, social norms and control were significantly related to intentions, which in turn predicted greater engagement in functional behaviors. Results suggest that patients with schizophrenia make reasoned decisions for or against engaging in functional behaviors. Skills training interventions that also target components of the TPB may be effective for increasing motivation to engage in learned behaviors.