Search results for "Behavioral medicine"
showing 10 items of 15 documents
Cannabinoid CB1 receptors in distinct circuits of the extended amygdala determine fear responsiveness to unpredictable threat.
2016
The brain circuits underlying behavioral fear have been extensively studied over the last decades. Although the vast majority of experimental studies assess fear as a transient state of apprehension in response to a discrete threat, such phasic states of fear can shift to a sustained anxious apprehension, particularly in face of diffuse cues with unpredictable environmental contingencies. Unpredictability, in turn, is considered an important variable contributing to anxiety disorders. The networks of the extended amygdala have been suggested keys to the control of phasic and sustained states of fear, although the underlying synaptic pathways and mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, we…
Genetic risk prediction and neurobiological understanding of alcoholism.
2014
We have used a translational Convergent Functional Genomics (CFG) approach to discover genes involved in alcoholism, by gene-level integration of genome-wide association study (GWAS) data from a German alcohol dependence cohort with other genetic and gene expression data, from human and animal model studies, similar to our previous work in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. A panel of all the nominally significant P-value SNPs in the top candidate genes discovered by CFG (n=135 genes, 713 SNPs) was used to generate a genetic risk prediction score (GRPS), which showed a trend towards significance (P=0.053) in separating alcohol dependent individuals from controls in an independent German…
Interactive effects of avoidant coping and parental hypertension on Rate Pressure Product reactivity in women
2005
Background: Previous research suggests that personality, situational context variables, and genes might interact to potentiate cardiovascular stress responses.Purpose: Our purpose is to examine interactive effects of dispositional avoidant coping and parental hypertension on cardiovascular reactivity to three different laboratory stressors.Method: Participants were 63 healthy female students. Stressors were an evaluated videotaped speech, the cold pressor, and viewing of the speech video. Heart rate and blood pressure were continuously recorded during baselines and tasks.Results: After controlling for age, body mass index, smoking status, reported exercise, alcohol consumption, oral contrac…
Chromosome 8p as a potential hub for developmental neuropsychiatric disorders: implications for schizophrenia, autism and cancer.
2009
Defects in genetic and developmental processes are thought to contribute susceptibility to autism and schizophrenia. Presumably, owing to etiological complexity identifying susceptibility genes and abnormalities in the development has been difficult. However, the importance of genes within chromosomal 8p region for neuropsychiatric disorders and cancer is well established. There are 484 annotated genes located on 8p; many are most likely oncogenes and tumor-suppressor genes. Molecular genetics and developmental studies have identified 21 genes in this region (ADRA1A, ARHGEF10, CHRNA2, CHRNA6, CHRNB3, DKK4, DPYSL2, EGR3, FGF17, FGF20, FGFR1, FZD3, LDL, NAT2, NEF3, NRG1, PCM1, PLAT, PPP3CC, S…
Behavioral medicine interventions in diabetes.
2010
Poor glycemic control is prevalent in the majority of patients with diabetes and has a strong impact on medical as well as psychological outcomes. Psychological and behavioral variables are of particular interest, as the patients themselves are the most determining factor of treatment success. Consequently, a wide range of behavioral medicine interventions are aimed at improvement in diabetes self-management, coping strategies, blood glucose awareness, and stress reduction. This review provides an overview of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published in the past 18 months (from March 2008 to September 2009) that evaluated behavioral medicine interventions in patients with diabetes. The …
Genome-wide meta-analysis identifies six novel loci associated with habitual coffee consumption
2015
Contains fulltext : 155360.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) Coffee, a major dietary source of caffeine, is among the most widely consumed beverages in the world and has received considerable attention regarding health risks and benefits. We conducted a genome-wide (GW) meta-analysis of predominately regular-type coffee consumption (cups per day) among up to 91,462 coffee consumers of European ancestry with top single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) followed-up in ~30 062 and 7964 coffee consumers of European and African-American ancestry, respectively. Studies from both stages were combined in a trans-ethnic meta-analysis. Confirmed loci were examined for putative functional and b…
CNTN6 mutations are risk factors for abnormal auditory sensory perception in autism spectrum disorders
2017
International audience; Contactin genes CNTN5 and CNTN6 code for neuronal cell adhesion molecules that promote neurite outgrowth in sensory-motor neuronal pathways. Mutations of CNTN5 and CNTN6 have previously been reported in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), but very little is known on their prevalence and clinical impact. In this study, we identified CNTN5 and CNTN6 deleterious variants in individuals with ASD. Among the carriers, a girl with ASD and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder was carrying five copies of CNTN5. For CNTN6, both deletions (6/1534 ASD vs 1/8936 controls; P=0.00006) and private coding sequence variants (18/501 ASD vs 535/33480 controls; P=0.000…
Psychological correlates of physical activity and exercise preferences in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan cancer survivors.
2020
OBJECTIVE: Interventions to increase physical activity (PA) in cancer survivors have often adopted a 'one-size-fits-all' approach, and may benefit from being tailored to psychological constructs associated with behavior. The study objective was to investigate the exercise preferences and psychological constructs related to PA among cancer survivors. METHODS: Post-treatment colorectal, endometrial, and breast cancer survivors (n=183) living in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas completed survey measures of PA, exercise preferences, attitudes, self-efficacy, perceived behavioral control (PBC), and intention toward PA. RESULTS: A structural equation model with adequate fit and quality ind…
Introducing mindfulness and compassion‐based interventions to improve verbal creativity in students of clinical and health psychology
2021
OBJECTIVES In the field of psychotherapy, verbal creativity has been suggested as an important aspect in psychotherapists' training. In the present study, the effects of a mindfulness and compassion-based intervention (MCBI) on verbal creativity are analysed in students of clinical and health psychology (N = 90). DESIGN Students were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 37), in which an MCBI was applied, and a waiting list group (n = 26) with no intervention. We also assessed a non-randomized active control group (n = 27), in which students received training in basic psychotherapy skills. METHODS Verbal creativity (fluency, flexibility, and originality) was evaluated in a pre-, p…
Promoting scientific integrity through open science in health psychology: results of the Synergy Expert Meeting of the European health psychology soc…
2021
The current article describes a position statement and recommendations for actions that need to be taken to develop best practices for promoting scientific integrity through open science in health psychology endorsed at a Synergy Expert Group Meeting. Sixteen Synergy Meeting participants specializing in health, social and behavioural psychology convened to discuss priority issues regarding scientific integrity promotion and open science in health psychology. The group developed a set of recommendations for researchers, gatekeepers, and research end-users. The group process followed a nominal group technique and voting system to elicit and decide on the most relevant and topical issues. Seve…