Psychosomatic medicine
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Childhood adversity is a vulnerability factor for chronic pain. However, the underlying pain mechanisms influenced by childhood adversity remain unknown. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the impact of childhood adversity on dynamic pain sensitivity in young adults. ⋯ These findings suggest that enhancement of central sensitization may provide a mechanism underlying the pain hypersensitivity and chronicity linked to childhood adversity.
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Psychosomatic medicine · Jul 2016
Clinical TrialPatient Health Questionnaire Anxiety and Depression Scale: Initial Validation in Three Clinical Trials.
We examine the reliability and validity of the Patient Health Questionnaire Anxiety and Depression Scale (PHQ-ADS)-which combines the nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire depression scale and seven-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale-as a composite measure of depression and anxiety. ⋯ The PHQ-ADS may be a reliable and valid composite measure of depression and anxiety which, if validated in other populations, could be useful as a single measure for jointly assessing two of the most common psychological conditions in clinical practice and research.
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Psychosomatic medicine · Jun 2016
Randomized Controlled TrialEfficacy of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia in Older Adults With Occult Sleep-Disordered Breathing.
The aims of the study were to determine whether mild, occult sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) moderates the efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBTI) in older adults and to explore whether CBTI reduces the number of patients eligible for positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy. ⋯ CBTI improves sleep in older veterans with insomnia and untreated mild SDB. Larger trials are needed to assess whether CBTI reduces the number of patients with mild SDB eligible for PAP.
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Psychosomatic medicine · Apr 2016
Randomized Controlled TrialSources of Placebo-Induced Relief From Nausea: The Role of Instruction and Conditioning.
It is well documented that expectancies alter the nauseous response. However, the lack of integration in research examining sources of expectancy has limited our understanding of how expectancies are formed and, consequently, our ability to intervene. The present study explored the role of both instructions and conditioning in placebo-induced relief from nausea. ⋯ These findings indicate that placebo responding in nausea can be induced both through positive instructions and as little as one pairing of a treatment with a reduction in nausea, as well as their combination. This suggests that using placebo effects to complement antiemetic therapy may offer an important method of further reducing nausea in the clinic.
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Interoceptive fear learning and generalization have been hypothesized to play a key role in unexplained abdominal and esophageal pain in patients with functional gastrointestinal disorders. However, there is no experimental evidence demonstrating that fear learning and generalization to visceral sensations can be established in humans and alter visceral perception. ⋯ These data show that fear learning using visceral stimuli induces fear generalization and influences visceral perception. These findings support the idea that in functional gastrointestinal disorder, fear learning and generalization can foster gastrointestinal-specific anxiety and contribute to visceral hypersensitivity.