Dopamine correlates of neurological and psychological status in untreated Parkinsonism. (1/2819)

Thirty-seven untreated Parkinsonism patients showed significant positive correlations among decreased excretion of free dopamine, MMPI scores indicative of schizophrenic-like looseness of thinking, and the severity of all Parkinsonism signs except tremor. The data could indicate that abnormalities of dopamine metabolism may underlie both the motor and mental abnormalities of Parkinsonism.  (+info)

Ethanol as a hypnotic in insomniacs: self administration and effects on sleep and mood. (2/2819)

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of low ethanol doses on sleep and mood and to assess its reinforcing effects used as a hypnotic. Twenty healthy adults, aged 21-45 yrs, all moderate social drinkers, were studied: eleven subjects had insomnia and nine were normal sleepers, as documented by clinical polysomnography. On two sampling nights each, ethanol (0.5 g/kg) or placebo was administered before sleep in color-coded cups presented in three doses (0.2, 0.2, and 0.1 g/kg) separated by 15 min. On three subsequent nights subjects chose their preferred presleep beverage (0.2 g/kg ethanol or placebo) based on cup color and were given an opportunity for 3 additional refills (0.2 g/kg each) of the chosen beverage at 15 min intervals, yielding a total possible dose of 0.8 g/kg. Insomniacs chose ethanol 67% of nights and normals 22%. Insomniacs chose significantly more ethanol refills than normals for an average nightly dose of 0.45 g/kg and normals took significantly more placebo refills. On the sampling nights 0.5 g/kg ethanol reduced REM sleep for both groups for the 8-hr sleep period and in insomniacs increased stage 3-4 sleep and reduced stage 1 sleep during the first half of the night to the level seen in the normals. Other sleep variables were not altered in either group or halves of the night. Presleep improvements in the Profile of Mood States tension and concentration factors were also associated with ethanol administration. Thus, acutely, both sleep and mood effects appear to be associated with the reinforcing effects of ethanol as a hypnotic for insomniacs.  (+info)

Some neurobiological aspects of psychotherapy. A review. (3/2819)

Ever since the idea was accepted that memory is associated with alterations in synaptic strength, studies on the cellular and molecular mechanisms responsible for the plastic changes in neurons have attracted wide interest in the scientific community. This article explores the process of memory consolidation leading to persistent modifications in synaptic plasticity as a mechanism by which psychotherapy facilitates changes in the permanent storage of information acquired throughout the individual's life. The psychobiological interrelationships of affect, attachment, and memory offer a perspective regarding the etiology and treatment of clinical disturbances of affect. Analogies between brain physiology and modes of psychotherapy provide the foundation for a review of psychiatric disorders involving the inability to control fear, obsessions, compulsions, and delusions, all of which respond to psychotherapeutic interventions.  (+info)

Sustained antidepressant effect of sleep deprivation combined with pindolol in bipolar depression. A placebo-controlled trial. (4/2819)

Total sleep deprivation (TSD) shows powerful but transient clinical effects in patients affected by bipolar depression. Pindolol blocks the serotonergic 5-HT1A autoreceptor, thus improving the antidepressant effect of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. We evaluated the interaction of TSD and pindolol in the treatment of acute episodes of bipolar depression. Forty bipolar depressed inpatients were randomized to receive pindolol 7.5 mg/day or placebo for nine days in combination with three consecutive TSD cycles. Pindolol significantly improved the antidepressant effect of TSD, and prevented the short-term relapse after treatment. The response rate (HDRS scores < 8) at the end of treatment was 15/20 for pindolol, and 3/20 for placebo. Coadministration of pindolol and TSD resulted in a complete response, which could be sustained for six months with lithium salts alone, in 65% of cases. This results suggest a major role for serotonergic transmission in the mechanism of action of TSD, and makes TSD treatment more effective in the treatment of bipolar depression.  (+info)

Emotional status after right vs. left temporal lobectomy. (5/2819)

Nineteen temporal lobectomy patients with epilepsy were evaluated (11 right and 8 left) with a brief questionnaire that addressed: (1) General Happiness; (2) Depression; (3) Anxiety; (4) Impulse Control; and (5) Socialization. The patients with left temporal lobectomy reported increases in depression and decreases in socialization compared with the right temporal lobectomy patients after surgery. Furthermore although the right temporal lobectomy patients reported increases in general happiness, no changes in general happiness were reported by the left temporal lobectomy patients. The present study supported the idea that an increased negative affect is associated with left rather than right temporal lobectomy. This is consistent with a model of negative emotional valence when the right hemisphere dominates awareness.  (+info)

Subjective, psychomotor, and physiological effects of cumulative doses of opioid mu agonists in healthy volunteers. (6/2819)

The subjective, psychomotor, and physiological effects of three opioid mu-receptor agonists were studied in healthy volunteers using a cumulative-dosing procedure. Sixteen volunteers with no history of drug abuse received i.v. injections of saline (SAL), morphine (MOR), hydromorphone (HM), or meperidine (MEP) in a randomized double-blind crossover design. Subjects received 1 injection/h for the first 4 h, and a 3-h recovery period followed. SAL was injected first during each session, then SAL or increasing doses of each drug were administered every hour for the next 3 h. The absolute doses per injection were MOR: 2.5, 5, and 10 mg/70 kg; HM: 0.33, 0.65, and 1.3 mg/70 kg; and MEP: 17.5, 35, and 70 mg/70 kg. These injections resulted in cumulative doses of MOR: 2.5, 7.5, and 17.5; HM: 0.33, 0.98, and 2.28; and MEP: 17.5, 52.5, and 122.5 mg/70 kg. Subjects completed mood forms and psychomotor tests, and physiological measures were recorded at various times after each injection and during recovery. MEP tended to produce the most intense effects immediately after drug injection, which dissipated rapidly. MOR produced the mildest effects but was associated with unpleasant side effects during recovery and after the session. HM's effects were stronger than MOR's, and the recovery from HM was slower than with MEP. None of the opioids produced consistent effects that are typically associated with abuse liability. Orderly dose-response functions suggested that our cumulative-dosing procedure is an efficient way of determining dose-response functions for multiple opioids within the same subjects within the same study.  (+info)

Comparing single and cumulative dosing procedures in human triazolam discriminators. (7/2819)

This study evaluated a cumulative dosing procedure for drug discrimination with human participants. Four participants learned to discriminate triazolam (0.35 mg/70 kg) from placebo. A crossover design was used to compare the results under a single dosing procedure with results obtained under a cumulative dosing procedure. Under the single dosing procedure, a dose of triazolam (0, 0.05, 0.15, or 0.35 mg/70 kg) or secobarbital (0, 25, 75, or 175 mg/70 kg) was administered 45 min before assessment. Determining each dose-effect curve thus required four sessions. Under the cumulative dosing procedure, four doses of triazolam (0, 0.05, 0.10, and 0.20 mg/70 kg) or secobarbital (0, 25, 50, and 100 mg/70 kg) were administered approximately 55 min apart, producing a complete dose-effect curve in one four-trial session. Regardless of procedure, triazolam and secobarbital produced discriminative stimulus and self-reported effects similar to previous single dosing studies in humans. Shifts to the right in cumulative dose-effect curves compared to single dose-effect curves occurred on several self-report measures. When qualitative stimulus functions rather than quantitative functions are of interest, application of cumulative dosing may increase efficiency in human drug discrimination.  (+info)

Psychosocial stress and treatment outcome following assisted reproductive technology. (8/2819)

This study investigated the association between psychosocial stress and outcome of in-vitro fertilization and gamete intra-Fallopian transfer treatment. Ninety women, enrolled for treatment at a private infertility clinic, completed two self-administered psychometric tests (Bi-polar Profile of Mood States, POMS; and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, STAI) and a questionnaire to ascertain demographic and lifestyle characteristics before the start of treatment. Approximately 12 months later an outcome measure was determined for each participant in terms of whether she was pregnant or not pregnant and the number of treatment cycles undertaken to achieve clinical pregnancy. The women's scores on the psychological tests were similar to published normative scores. On univariate analysis, history of a previous pregnancy was positively related to the probability of pregnancy and full-time employment, a more 'hostile' mood state and higher trait anxiety were associated with a lower cumulative pregnancy rate. A Cox multiple regression model found previous pregnancy history, trait anxiety, and the POMS agreeable-hostile and elated-depressed scales to be the most important lifestyle and stress variables predictive of pregnancy. The results emphasize the importance of psychosocial stress in treatment outcome but indicate that the relationships are complex. Further studies are required to validate whether these findings can be generalized to other populations.  (+info)

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