Search results for "Function"
showing 10 items of 14432 documents
Nicotine effects on anterior cingulate cortex in schizophrenia and healthy smokers as revealed by EEG-informed fMRI
2012
Abstract Nicotine can have beneficial effects on attention performance and corresponding brain function in both schizophrenia patients and healthy controls, but it remains controversial whether nicotine affects brain function differentially in patients vs. controls. The effects of nicotine on brain activity elicited by attention-requiring oddball-type tasks have not been studied in schizophrenia patients. In this study we sought to investigate the impact of nicotine on the p300 evoked potential component and corresponding fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) activation measures in schizophrenia patients and controls. Applying a double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over design, the…
Association of attentional network function with exon 5 variations of the CHRNA4 gene
2007
Mutational analyses in xenopus oocyte and mice models indicate that the positive effect of nicotine on attention may be modulated by genetic variations within exon 5 of the alpha4 subunit of the nicotinergic acetylcholine receptor gene CHRNA4. The potential relevance of exon 5 is further emphasized by two recent family-based association studies of nicotine dependence because subgroups of nicotine-dependent subjects are thought to 'self-medicate' attentional deficits with nicotine. We investigated a synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP): rs1044396, which has recently been associated with nicotine-dependence, plus two adjacent synonymous SNPs rs1044394 and rs1044393 in exon 5 of n …
Interoceptive and multimodal functions of the operculo-insular cortex: tactile, nociceptive and vestibular representations.
2013
The operculo-insular cortex has been termed the 'homeostatic control center' or 'general magnitude estimator' of the human mind. In this study, somatosensory, nociceptive and caloric vestibular stimuli were applied to reveal, whether there are mainly common, or possibly specific regions activated by one modality alone and whether lateralization effects, time pattern differences or influences of the aversive nature of the stimuli could be observed. Activation of the dorsal posterior insula was caused by all stimuli alike thus terming this area multimodal. Early phases of the noxious heat and caloric vestibular stimulation led to responses in the anterior insula. Using conjunction analyses we…
Searching for a Gastrointestinal Subgroup Within the Somatoform Disorders
2001
The authors examined whether patients suffering from functional gastrointestinal symptoms constitute a separate group within the broader concept of the somatoform disorders. The authors compared 103 patients with a severe gastrointestinal syndrome, 220 patients with a somatization syndrome according to DSM-IV, and 250 clinical control subjects with nonsomatoform mental disorders. The gastrointestinal group showed more catastrophizing thinking, complained more about autonomic sensations, felt bodily weaker, was less tolerant towards bodily discomfort, had developed more hypochondriacal fears and behaviors, was more depressed, and was more severely disabled in different areas of psychosocial …
Dysfunctional belief domains related to obsessive-compulsive disorder: a further examination of their dimensionality and specificity
2010
International consensus has been achieved on the existence of several dysfunctional beliefs underlying the development and/or maintenance of the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Nevertheless, questions such as the dimensionality of the belief domains and the existence of OCD-specific dysfunctional beliefs still remain inconclusive. The present paper addresses these topics through two different studies. Study 1: A series of confirmatory factor analyses (N= 573 non-clinical subjects) were carried out on the Obsessive Beliefs Spanish Inventory-Revised (OBSI-R), designed to assess dysfunctional beliefs hypothetically related to OCD. An eight-factor model emerged as the best factorial soluti…
Cognitive therapy for autogenous and reactive obsessions: Clinical and cognitive outcomes at post-treatment and 1-year follow-up
2009
This study provides data about the differential effectiveness of cognitive therapy (CT) for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptom presentation. Two OCD manifestations, autogenous and reactive, are considered. Seventy OCD patients started CT; 81.40% completed it and 72.85% were available 1 year later. Fifteen of the 57 treatment completers had autogenous obsessions, whereas 33 had reactive obsessions. Nine patients had both obsession modalities. Reactive patients were more severe, as they scored higher on thought suppression and on the dysfunctional beliefs of intolerance to uncertainty and perfectionism. Autogenous patients scored higher on the over-importance of thoughts beliefs. Alt…
Clinical obsessions in obsessive–compulsive patients and obsession-relevant intrusive thoughts in non-clinical, depressed and anxious subjects: Where…
2007
Contemporary cognitive models of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) assume that clinical obsessions evolve from some modalities of intrusive thoughts (ITs) that are experienced by the vast majority of the population. These approaches also consider that the differences between "abnormal" obsessions and "normal" ITs rely on quantitative parameters rather than qualitative. The present paper examines the frequency, contents, emotional impact, consequences, cognitive appraisals and control strategies associated with clinical obsessions in a group of 31 OCD patients compared with the obsession-relevant ITs in three control groups: 22 depressed patients, 31 non-obsessive anxious patients, and 30 …
Discovering what is hidden: The role of non-ritualized covert neutralizing strategies in Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder
2015
Abstract Background and objectives Neutralizing strategies are secondary to obsessions and an additional cause of distress and interference, but they have received little attention in theories and research, especially the non-ritualized covert strategies. This study focuses on the comparative impact of non-ritualized covert and compulsive-overt strategies in the course of OCD. Methods Eighty-two OCD adult patients completed measures assessing distress, interference, appraisals and overt and covert neutralizing strategies to control obsessions. Thirty-eight patients who had completed cognitive therapy were assessed again after treatment. Results Only overt compulsions are associated with OCD…
Group versus individual cognitive treatment for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Changes in non-OCD symptoms and cognitions at post-treatment and one-y…
2011
Current cognitive approaches postulate that obsessions and compulsions are caused and/or maintained by misinterpretations about their meaning. This assumption has led to the development of cognitive therapeutic (CT) procedures designed to challenge the dysfunctional appraisals and beliefs patients have about their obsessions. Nonetheless, few studies have compared the efficacy of individual and group CT in changing the dysfunctional cognitions that hypothetically underlie Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). In this study, 44 OCD patients were assigned to individual (n = 18) or group (n = 24) CT. Sixteen completed the individual CT, and 22 completed the group CT. The effects of the two CT c…
Effects of Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms on Neuropsychological Test Performance: Complicating an Already Complicated Story
2011
Theoretical models of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) implicate neurocognitive dysfunction, particularly deficits in nonverbal memory and executive functioning, in the pathogenesis of the disorder. The opposite hypothesis (poor performance in neuropsychological test as an epiphenomenon of OCD symptoms) has rarely been contemplated although checking behavior, obsessional doubt, lack of motivation, and slowness as well as preoccupation with touching objects may result in secondary test impairment and mimic manifestations of neural dysfunction. A total of 60 patients with OCD and 30 healthy controls were tested with a multi-functional neuropsychological battery. At the end of the testing p…