Glenn C. Davis

Posttraumatic stress disorder. The stressor criterion.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was officially introduced into psychiatric nomenclature in 1980, when it was incorporated into DSM-III. There is as yet little empirical research on the validity of the diagnosis/Literature on disasters, civilian and wartime, and on more ordinary stressful life events does not support the view that extreme stressors form a discrete class of stressors in terms of the probability of psychiatric sequelae or the distinctive nature of subsequent psychopathology. Extraordinary stressors are like more ordinary stressful events with respect to their complex differential effects upon individuals. Personal characteristics and the nature of the social environment modify the likelihood and form of the response of individuals to all types of stressors.

Episodic secretion of opioid activity in human plasma and monkey CSF: Evidence for a diurnal rhythm

Abstract Using a radioreceptor assay, opioiod activity has been determined in human plasma and monkey CSF at two-hour intervals across a 24-hour period. In both human plasma and monkey CSF, opioid activity showed an episodic secretion and a significant variation over time, suggesting a diurnal rhythm with increased levels in the morning. This rhythm is similar to those of adrenocorticotropin and beta-lipotropin (LPH) and reciprocal to the diurnal rhythm of pain sensitivity.

Basic and Clinical Studies of Endorphins

Abstract Humans have used opium extracts since antiquity, studied its purified active ingredient, morphine, for over a century, and directly demonstrated its receptors in brain only 6 years ago, an...

Cross-sectional analysis of psychological adaptation to chronic hemodialysis

THE PSYCHOLOGICAL stresses accompanying kidney failure and chronic hemodialysis have been well documented in recent years. Wright, Sand and Livingston [I J classify such stresses into three main types: (a) actual or threatened loss of body parts or function, group membership, financial status and job; (b) injury or threat of injury associated with cannula maintenance; and (c) frustration of instinctual drives related to sex, aggression and eating. In addition, there are the problems of changes in physical appearance (skin discoloration), an unpredictable medical condition due to extra-renal physical complications, severe dependency-independency conflicts, and ambivalence between a ‘fear of death’ and ‘fear of life’ [2]. Several authors [3-51 have suggested a pattern of psychological adaptation, characterized by increased ego defensiveness and lessened affect, associated with the longitudinal course of chronic dialysis. Short and Wilson present MMPI profiles typifving the emotional state of patients at various time periods in dialysis, which reflect the dialysands’ increased tendency to deny (elevations on scales 1, 2, 3 and F-K ratio) and repress (elevated R subscale) the unpleasant reality of their current life situation, i.e., serious illness, loss of functioning, chronic frustration and dependency, and imminent death. These authors also report a reduction in anxiety (lowered A subscale) over time, demonstrating the effectiveness of these defense mechanisms. Wright et al, report similar MMPl findings as well as self-ratings of happiness, which suggest a significant degree of denial and absence of depression in patients retested after a lengthy period of dialysis. Finally, Glassman and Siegal note a discrepancy between the low level of depression and anxiety reported by long-term dialysis patients and their appearance as ‘lethargic, depressed, suffering from generalized pruritus and peripheral neuropathies of varying magnitude, and persistent shunt infections’, which they attribute to massive denial on the part of the patient. A number of shortcomings, however, characterize the studies cited above, which make it difficult to accept unequivocally the generalization concerning defensiveness and affective experience throughout the course of dialysis. One study fails to provide

Abnormalities of fine motor control in schizophrenia

Response time and fine motor control during a classification task were examined in schizophrenics and nonschizophrenics. The task involved decisions about either the sensory characteristics of auditory and visual stimuli or the referential meanings of spoken words and viewed pictures. Nonschizophrenics responded more quickly and exhibited a smoother and faster motor response on all tasks. Response time and motor control were influenced by stimulus modality and the complexity of the classification task in both groups. In the analysis of motor control, the schizophrenics differed from the nonschizophrenics in exhibiting a pattern suggestive of a specific difficulty with decisions involving referential meaning. The observed motor control dysfunction in schizophrenics is a psychomotor deficit similar to previously reported abnormalities in smooth pursuit eye movement. Further, the interaction of group and task variables in the motor response suggests that decisions about the abstract referential meaning of words and pictures produce greater cognitive loads in schizophrenics than in nonschizophrenics.

Naloxone in chronic schizophrenic patients: Neuroendocrine and behavioral effects

Naloxone produced improvement in abnormal thought content in medicated chronic schizophrenic patients, but not in drug-free patients. In contrast, drowsiness and increases in plasma prolactin concentrations were seen only in drug-free schizophrenic patients. Although growth hormone concentrations increased in drug-free and medicated schizophrenic patients, the time course was different in the two groups. Neuroleptics appear to alter naloxones clinical and neuroendocrine effects in chronic schizophrenic patients.