摘要:

This study represents an attempt to replicate the central results of earlier work on stimulus intensity control. It uses a diverse sample of 40 hospitalized schizophrenic subjects, both chronic and acute. Two measures of stimulus intensity control were used: the Petrie kinesthetic figural aftereffects procedure (KFA), and the EEG method of average evoked response (AER). Finding the earlier results generally applicable, it presents a model of the function of stimulus intensity control in schizophrenia, which suggests that acute schizophrenics are particularly vulnerable to being inundated by stimuli, and therefore, that in order to protect themselves, they tend to reduce the perceived intensity of stimuli. Chronic schizophrenics have higher AER amplitudes and reduce less than acutes, suggesting that among chronics, the reducing mechanism either never was present or failed, whereas paranoid schizophrenics tend to be augmenters—a response style consistent with vigilant scanning.

ISSN:0022-3018    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1976

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Ten neurotic patients (five males and five females) were treated over a period of 2 to 6 months (mean, 4.1) as outpatients. The study allowed for a maximum of 75 hours of psychotherapy (mean, 51.55 hours). During the course of treatment, two to four (mean, 3.5) administrations of MDA (3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine) were employed as adjunctive aids in an effort to enhance the psychotherapeutic process. The mean duration of the drug sessions was 8 hours (range, 6 to 14 hours). The first administration of MDA took place when, in the therapist's judgment, sufficient rapport had been established with the patient. All patients received an initial dose of 75 mg of MDA; subsequent dosage was allowed to range up to 200 mg. On these occasions, the drug appeared to be well tolerated with no serious side effects or complications observed.Psychometric assessments were obtained pre- and post-treatment, employing the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), Wittenborn Psychiatric Rating Scales (WPRS), and Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS). In addition, follow-up evaluations were obtained 6 months after the termination of therapy by the use of the MMPI, WPRS, BPRS, and a Social History Questionnaire (SHQ) which had also been administered before treatment was initiated.Clinically, the impression was obtained that psychotherapy and the adjunctive use of MDA appeared to facilitate improvement in these patients. This impression was substantiated by significant reductions in scores on the psychometric assessments measuring depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive traits. The measures evaluating the sense of well-being and self-actualization also were encouraging. Although some of the patients were not as responsive as others, there were no observations to suggest that the condition of any of these patients had become worse.

ISSN:0022-3018    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1976

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

This study investigates the long term or residual effects resulting from severe and extended exposure to stress. The samples were prisoners of war who were interned in Japan (high stress group) or Europe (low stress group) during the Second World War. They were examined in the following three areas: neuropsychological, psychiatric, and physical/neurological. Significant differences were found in all three spheres between the two groups. Second, to examine further the effect of length of internment on these variables, the low stress group was divided into long term and short term internment duration groups, and then the three groups were compared. Significant differences were found among these three groups. These results are discussed in relation to a traditional model of explanation.

ISSN:0022-3018    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1976

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Previous attempts at program evaluation of partial hospitalization programs have consisted largely of descriptive and anecdotal reports of programs and patient characteristics. There have been no comparative or experimental studies of the effectiveness of differing day treatment programs. In the current study, Goal Attainment Scaling, a goal-oriented program evaluation system, was used with 56 randomly selected partial hospitalization patients who attended two day hospitals: one program was based on behavioral-educational methods, and the other was an eclectic program based on the concepts of a therapeutic community. Patients attending the behavioral-educational program showed greater attainment of their therapeutic goals than did the patients involved in the eclectic program. The greater effectiveness of the behavioral-educational day program increased from the 3-month follow-up to the 2-year follow-up.

ISSN:0022-3018    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1976

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

The effects of cerebral electric therapy (electrosleep) and placebo on self-ratings of anxiety, depression, and hostility were compared. No difference in the amount of improvement shown by the two groups appeared on any of the five measures employed, although a major placebo effect was evident on all of the criteria. The results argue against the use of electrosleep as a treatment for these symptoms except when it may be employed for its placebo value.

ISSN:0022-3018    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1976

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

How long does chlorpromazine last? This question regarding the persistence of chlorpromazine (CPZ) in chronically medicated schizophrenic patients after drug discontinuation led to wide ranging preliminary answers. These varied from a few to several days for blood studies up to many months for urinary and clinical studies.At least two implications of the question need to be considered: a) the pharmacological persistence of active drug and/or metabolites after drug discontinuation; and b) the persistence of the therapeutic effects regardless of whether or not active drug and/or metabolites are pharmacologically present. For example, a patient's behavior may improve while on CPZ and this improvement may persist after the active drug and/or metabolites cease to be present in the patient's body. These two areas of inquiry were examined by looking at blood, urinary, and clinical data.Although blood studies undoubtedly give the most definitive data, they are greatly complicated by the lack of definitive information regarding the active moiety (moieties) and crucial sites of action, the large number of metabolites (up to 150 or so), the minute quantities involved (ng/ml), the wide inter- and intrapatient variations, and the newness and lack of complete comparability of the quantitative methodologies. Within these limitations, there are a number of studies that are fairly consistent in showing a half-life of disappearance from the plasma of CPZ and/or metabolites in the range of a few to several hours. This would usually mean that most of the drug and metabolites are cleared from the plasma in a few days after drug discontinuation.Urinary studies are related less directly than blood studies to desired clinical effects. Under steady-state conditions in various studies, 43 to 63 per cent of a daily therapeutic dose of CPZ can be recovered in the urine in 24 hours. After drug discontinuation, urinary drug and/or metabolites in most studies last from about 3 to 18 days, with sometimes minimal or trace amounts after this.The clinical studies show a continuation of therapeutic benefits for up to 6 months and longer in some studies, but there are a number of studies showing placebo (withdrawn) groups deteriorating significantly more than continued drug groups much before this, even as early as 1 to 2 weeks off drug.This examination of the literature tends toward a duration of substantial pharmacological (therapeutic) action of CPZ of no more than a few days after drug discontinuation. For a small number of patients, clinical deterioration begins about the same time, whereas in many others, clinical improvement lasts weeks or months. Some of this latter continuation of improvement is likely not due to CPZ and/or metabolites currently active. There do remain many unanswered questions regarding the persistence of minute amounts of CPZ and/or metabolites in storage and possibly at active sites, and whether or not in some patients this makes a significant contribution.

ISSN:0022-3018    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1976

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

The authors analyze a series of 20 patients seen over the past 4 years who have shown a dramatic improvement following the introduction of lithium carbonate to their therapy. The results indicate that these patients showed a consistent syndrome with the following features: a) anergic endogenous depression; b) positive family history in first degree probands; c) obsessional personality traits and symptoms; d) hypochondriasis and somatic symptoms; e) failure to respond to previous antidepressant therapy with tricyclic and MAOI compounds as well as ECT.A previous study by Gittleson showed that one third of a series of psychotic depressives admitted to the Maudsley Hospital, London, also displayed obsessional symptoms and hypochondriasis. These patients, however, seemed to do as well with standard antidepressant treatment as a control group of psychotic depressives without obsessional features. However, in this series, there was a 7 per cent residue whose obsessional symptoms worsened, even after recovery from their depression. The authors' group of patients represented approximately 3 per cent of all psychotic depressives seen over the 4-year period and could, therefore, coincide with Gittleson's residue. The mean age of onset of illness in the authors' depressive group was 45.5 years, and this finding, coupled with the high incidence of psychotic depression in first degree relatives, indicates that these patients were suffering from a psychotic depression modified by personality traits, rather than an atypical obsessional neurosis. The consistency of clinical features and specificity of response to lithium therapy appear to indicate that this is a clearly definable clinical syndrome worthy of further investigation.

ISSN:0022-3018    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1976

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Despite differences in psychological development and personality structure, blood levels of testosterone and estradiol were equivalent in two monozygotic male twins of divergent sexual orientation.

ISSN:0022-3018    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1976

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Thirty-six hospitalized patients who were considered by emergency room physicians to have ingested medically serious tricyclic overdoses were studied. The purpose of the project was to determine if psychiatric daignosis and associated psychiatric factors correlated with the severity of the overdose as defined by plasma drug levels. Medically serious overdoses were ingested by patients with alcoholism, primary affective disorder, undiagnosed psychiatric illness, and Briquet's syndrome. Prior psychiatric treatment, prior admissions, prior overdoses, or precipitating events did not correlate with the medical severity of the ingestion. Attempting to predict the individual medical severity of the overdose from psychiatric factors resulted in a dangerous underestimation of the risk for patients with Briquet's syndrome and an overprediction in the case of primary affective disorder.

ISSN:0022-3018    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1976

数据来源: OVID

ISSN:0022-3018    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1976

数据来源: OVID