The role of hedonics in the Human Affectome.

International audience; Experiencing pleasure and displeasure is a fundamental part of life. Hedonics guide behavior, affect decision-making, induce learning, and much more. As the positive and negative valence of feelings, hedonics are core processes that accompany emotion, motivation, and bodily states. Here, the affective neuroscience of pleasure and displeasure that has largely focused on the investigation of reward and pain processing, is reviewed. We describe the neurobiological systems of hedonics and factors that modulate hedonic experiences (e.g., cognition, learning, sensory input). Further, we review maladaptive and adaptive pleasure and displeasure functions in mental disorders …

Prospective study of nocebo effects related to symptoms of idiopathic environmental intolerance attributed to electromagnetic fields (IEI-EMF).

The exact causes of Idiopathic Environmental Intolerance Attributed to Electromagnetic Fields (IEI-EMF, i.e., experience of somatic symptoms attributed to low-level electromagnetic fields) are still unknown. Psychological causation such as nocebo effects seem plausible. This study aimed to experimentally induce a nocebo effect for somatic symptom perception and examined whether it was reproducible after one week. We also examined whether these effects were associated with increased sympathetic activity and whether interoceptive accuracy (IAcc) moderated these relationships. Participants were recruited from the general population and instructed that electromagnetic exposure can enhance somat…

Idiopathic Environmental Intolerance: A Treatment Model

Idiopathic environmental intolerance (IEI) refers to a health condition characterized by the presence of multiple symptoms in different organ systems in response to a variety of environmental cues, such as chemical exposures, electromagnetic radiation, infrasound from windmill farms, (parts of) buildings, foods, etc. Typically, the symptoms arise in response to triggers and at dosages that do not cause symptoms in the majority of people, and no clear link with any physiological dysfunction can be found. The condition varies in a dimensional way from very mild, for which no medical help is sought, to very disabling, compromising normal life. The condition is controversial, but several indica…

Die Erfassung allgemeiner Wirkfaktoren in der Psychotherapie

Zusammenfassung: Theoretischer Hintergrund. Stundenbögen dienen einer standardisierten Prozessdiagnostik und Verlaufsdokumentation. Bislang vorliegende Instrumente werden in der Praxis häufig nicht eingesetzt, haben einen eingeschränkten Geltungsraum oder weisen psychometrische Schwächen auf. Der Mainzer Stundenbeurteilungsbogen (MSB) versucht allgemeine Wirkfaktoren ökonomisch zu erfassen. Ziel der Studie ist die Untersuchung des MSB in der Patienten- und Therapeutenversion hinsichtlich Faktorenstruktur, Itemstatistiken und Gütekriterien. Methoden: Der MSB wurde zu zwei Zeitpunkten (5. und 20. therapeutische Sitzung) in einer Stichprobe ambulanter Psychotherapiepatienten ( N = 4.608, N = …

Are media reports able to cause somatic symptoms attributed to WiFi radiation? An experimental test of the negative expectation hypothesis

People suffering from idiopathic environmental intolerance attributed to electromagnetic fields (IEI-EMF) experience numerous non-specific symptoms that they attribute to EMF. The cause of this condition remains vague and evidence shows that psychological rather than bioelectromagnetic mechanisms are at work. We hypothesized a role of media reports in the etiology of IEI-EMF and investigated how somatosensory perception is affected. 65 healthy participants were instructed that EMF exposure can lead to enhanced somatosensory perception. Participants were randomly assigned to watch either a television report on adverse health effects of EMF or a neutral report. During the following experiment…

Anxiety and depression during the first wave of COVID-19 in Germany – results of repeated cross-sectional surveys

Wie häufig werden Diagnosen aus dem Bereich der sexuellen Funktionsstörungen an deutschen Hochschulambulanzen für Psychotherapie an psychologischen Instituten vergeben?

ZusammenfassungEinleitung Sexuelle Funktionsstörungen gelten als häufig. Gleichzeitig fehlen epidemiologische Daten zur Behandlungsprävalenz sexueller Funktionsstörungen in der ambulanten Psychotherapie. Im Rahmen eines Projekts zur Koordination der Datenerhebung an den deutschen Hochschulambulanzen für Psychotherapie wird erstmals eine Schätzung für dieses Behandlungssegment möglich.Forschungsziele Das Ziel dieser Studie ist die Darstellung der festgestellten F52-Diagnosen an deutschen Hochschulambulanzen für Psychotherapie an psychologischen Instituten.Methoden 16 Hochschulambulanzen für Erwachsene übermittelten ausgewählte Daten zur Eingangsdiagnostik ihrer Patient_innen (N = 4 504; M Al…

sj-pdf-1-cep-10.1177_0333102420928076 - Supplemental material for Determination of psychosocial factors in cluster headache – construction and psychometric properties of the Cluster Headache Scales (CHS)

Supplemental material, sj-pdf-1-cep-10.1177_0333102420928076 for Determination of psychosocial factors in cluster headache – construction and psychometric properties of the Cluster Headache Scales (CHS) by Timo Klan, Anne-Kathrin Bräscher, Annabella Vales, Eva Liesering-Latta, Michael Witthöft and Charly Gaul in Cephalalgia

Differential Classical Conditioning of the Nocebo Effect: Increasing Heat-Pain Perception without Verbal Suggestions

Background: Nocebo effects, including nocebo hyperalgesia, are a common phenomenon in clinical routine with manifold negative consequences. Both explicit expectations and learning by conditioning are known to induce nocebo effects, but the specific role of conditioning remains unclear, because conditioning is rarely implemented independent of verbal suggestions. Further, although pain is a multidimensional phenomenon, nocebo effects are usually assessed in subjective ratings only, neglecting, e.g., behavioral aspects. The aim of this study was to test whether nocebo hyperalgesia can be learned by conditioning without explicit expectations, to assess nocebo effects in different response chan…

Behandlungsdiagnosen in universitären Ambulanzen für psychologische Psychotherapie im Jahr 2016

Zusammenfassung. Theoretischer Hintergrund: Im Jahr 2013 entstand die Initiative, Daten der universitären Psychotherapieambulanzen zusammenzuführen, um so eine deutschlandweite Forschungsdatenplattform zu schaffen. Der Forschungsverbund KODAP (Koordination der Datenerhebung und -auswertung an Forschungs-‍, Lehr- und Ausbildungsambulanzen für psychologische Psychotherapie) organisiert dieses komplexe Vorhaben. Fragestellung / Methode: In der vorliegenden Studie wird die technische und organisatorische Machbarkeit einer solchen Forschungskooperation im Hinblick auf die Übermittlung und Zusammenführung der Daten dargestellt. Gleichzeitig wird die im Jahr 2016 in den Ambulanzen behandelte Patie…

Somatic Symptom Perception From a Predictive Processing Perspective: An Empirical Test Using the Thermal Grill Illusion.

OBJECTIVE In a predictive processing perspective, symptom perceptions result from an integration of preexisting information in memory with sensory input. Physical symptoms can therefore reflect the relative predominance of either sensory input or preexisting information. In this study, we used the thermal grill illusion (TGI), which applies interlaced warm and cool temperatures to the skin to create a paradoxical heat-pain experience. Assuming that the TGI compared with single-temperature stimulation relies more importantly on an active integration process of the brain to create this paradoxical sensation, we tested the hypothesis whether a manipulation of the expectations during TGI would …

On the origin of worries about modern health hazards: Experimental evidence for a conjoint influence of media reports and personality traits

Objective: Worries about health threatening effects of potential health hazards of modern life (e.g. electric devices and pollution) represent a growing phenomenon in Western countries. Yet, little is known about the causes of this growing special case of affective risk perceptions termed Modern Health Worries (MHW). The purpose of this study is to examine a possible role of biased media reports in the formation of MHW. Design: In two experiments, we investigated whether typical television reports affect MHW. In Study 1, 130 participants were randomly assigned to a film on idiopathic environmental intolerance (IEI) or a control film about cystic fibrosis. In Study 2, 82 participants were ra…

Somatic Symptom Perception and Interoception

Abstract. Models of chronic somatic symptoms assume that abnormalities in interoception are related to the development and maintenance of symptom distress. Different models, however, disagree on the exact nature of the assumed abnormality: cognitive-behavioral models stress a hypervigilant cognitive style (predicting higher interoceptive accuracy) whereas predictive processing models assume a less detailed sensory processing (predicting lower interoceptive accuracy). This study aimed at testing the relationship between interoception and symptom perception. Using structural equation modeling, associations between cardiac interoception and symptom perception were tested in a sample of studen…

Nocebo hyperalgesia induced by implicit conditioning.

abstract Background and objectives Nocebo hyperalgesia (i.e., increased pain sensitivity based on expectations) can be induced by conditioning, but is supposed to be mediated by conscious expectation. Although recent evidence points to the feasibility of subliminal conditioning of nocebo hyperalgesia with masked faces, face processing might be a special case and the practical implications of subliminal conditioning remain questionable. This study aimed to implicitly condition nocebo hyperalgesia using supraliminal cues. Methods Implicit differential nocebo conditioning (N = 48 healthy participants) was implemented by coupling high and low painful electric stimuli to varying visual stimuli t…

Different Brain Circuitries Mediating Controllable and Uncontrollable Pain.

Uncontrollable, compared with controllable, painful stimulation can lead to increased pain perception and activation in pain-processing brain regions, but it is currently unknown which brain areas mediate this effect. When pain is controllable, the lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) seems to inhibit pain processing, although it is unclear how this is achieved. Using fMRI in healthy volunteers, we examined brain activation during controllable and uncontrollable stimulation to answer these questions. In the controllable task, participants self-adjusted temperatures applied to their hand of pain or warm intensities to provoke a constant sensation. In the uncontrollable task, the temperature time …

Determination of psychosocial factors in cluster headache - construction and psychometric properties of the Cluster Headache Scales (CHS).

Background Cluster headache (CH) is clinically associated with considerable psychosocial burden. However, instruments to assess and characterize psychosocial factors in cluster headache more specifically are lacking. This study aimed to develop a self-report questionnaire, which assesses the broadest possible spectrum of psychosocial factors in cluster headache, the Cluster Headache Scales (CHS). Method Items of the Cluster Headache Scales were constructed based on a literature review and semi-structured interviews with several experts (including persons with cluster headache). A cross-sectional online survey was conducted to determine the psychometric properties and the factor structure of…

sj-pdf-2-cep-10.1177_0333102420928076 - Supplemental material for Determination of psychosocial factors in cluster headache – construction and psychometric properties of the Cluster Headache Scales (CHS)

Supplemental material, sj-pdf-2-cep-10.1177_0333102420928076 for Determination of psychosocial factors in cluster headache – construction and psychometric properties of the Cluster Headache Scales (CHS) by Timo Klan, Anne-Kathrin Bräscher, Annabella Vales, Eva Liesering-Latta, Michael Witthöft and Charly Gaul in Cephalalgia

Early Adverse Effects of Behavioural Preventive Strategies During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Germany: An Online General Population Survey

Background Quarantine and physical distancing represent the two most important non-pharmaceutical actions to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. Comparatively little is known about possible adverse consequences of these behavioural measures in Germany. This study aimed at investigating potential early adverse effects associated with quarantine and physical distancing at the beginning of the countrywide lockdown in Germany in March 2020. Method Using a cross-sectional online survey (N = 4,268), adverse consequences attributed to physical distancing, symptoms of psychopathology, and sociodemographic variables were explored in the total sample as well as in high-risk groups (i.e., people with a ph…

The Underestimated Significance of Conditioning in Placebo Hypoalgesia and Nocebo Hyperalgesia

Placebo and nocebo effects are intriguing phenomena in pain perception with important implications for clinical research and practice because they can alleviate or increase pain. According to current theoretical accounts, these effects can be shaped by verbal suggestions, social observational learning, and classical conditioning and are necessarily mediated by explicit expectation. In this review, we focus on the contribution of conditioning in the induction of placebo hypoalgesia and nocebo hyperalgesia and present accumulating evidence that conditioning independent from explicit expectation can cause these effects. Especially studies using subliminal stimulus presentation and implicit con…

sj-pdf-2-cep-10.1177_0333102420928076 - Supplemental material for Determination of psychosocial factors in cluster headache – construction and psychometric properties of the Cluster Headache Scales (CHS)

Supplemental material, sj-pdf-2-cep-10.1177_0333102420928076 for Determination of psychosocial factors in cluster headache – construction and psychometric properties of the Cluster Headache Scales (CHS) by Timo Klan, Anne-Kathrin Bräscher, Annabella Vales, Eva Liesering-Latta, Michael Witthöft and Charly Gaul in Cephalalgia

sj-pdf-2-cep-10.1177_0333102420928076 - Supplemental material for Determination of psychosocial factors in cluster headache – construction and psychometric properties of the Cluster Headache Scales (CHS)

Supplemental material, sj-pdf-2-cep-10.1177_0333102420928076 for Determination of psychosocial factors in cluster headache – construction and psychometric properties of the Cluster Headache Scales (CHS) by Timo Klan, Anne-Kathrin Bräscher, Annabella Vales, Eva Liesering-Latta, Michael Witthöft and Charly Gaul in Cephalalgia

Matching research and practice: Prediction of individual patient progress and dropout risk for basic routine outcome monitoring.

OBJECTIVE Despite evidence showing that systematic outcome monitoring can prevent treatment failure, the practical conditions that allow for implementation are seldom met in naturalistic psychological services. In the context of limited time and resources, session-by-session evaluation is rare in most clinical settings. This study aimed to validate innovative prediction methods for individual treatment progress and dropout risk based on basic outcome monitoring. METHODS Routine data of a naturalistic psychotherapy outpatient sample were analyzed (N = 3902). Patients were treated with cognitive behavioral therapy with up to 95 sessions (M = 39.19, SD = 16.99) and assessment intervals of 5-15…