Hongying Fan

The Zuckerman–Kuhlman personality questionnaire in bipolar I and II disorders: A preliminary report

Patients with bipolar disorder have tendencies of higher impulsivity and sensation seeking, they might contribute differently to the emotional states of bipolar I (BD I) and II (BD II). We administered the Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire (ZKPQ), the Plutchik-van Praag Depression Inventory (PVP), the Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ), and the Hypomania Checklist (HCL-32) in 23 patients with BD I, 22 BD II, and 64 healthy volunteers. Both BD I and II scored higher on ZKPQ Impulsive sensation seeking (and its Impulsivity facet), Neuroticism-anxiety and Aggression-hostility, and on PVP and HCL-32 scales than controls did; BD I scored higher on MDQ and General sensation seeking facet than controls did. Compared to BD II, BD I scored higher on Impulsive sensation seeking (and General sensation seeking) and on MDQ. Moreover, General sensation seeking predicted MDQ, and Activity predicted HCL-32 in BD I. Aggression-hostility predicted HCL-32 in BD II. General sensation seeking predicted MDQ and HCL-32, and together with Neuroticism-anxiety, predicted PVP in controls. Our study suggests that Impulsive sensation seeking, and its General sensation seeking facet might help to delineate the two types of bipolar disorder.

Stressful Parental-Bonding Exaggerates the Functional and Emotional Disturbances of Primary Dysmenorrhea.

BackgroundSome evidence suggests that women with primary dysmenorrhea (or painful period) often have traumatic experience with parental attachments, but the exact relationship is still unclear.PurposeThis study aims to investigate associations between styles of the parental bonding and the detailed aspects of the disorder in Chinese university-student women.MethodsFrom university-student women, we have invited 50 primary dysmenorrhea patients and 111 healthy volunteers, to undergo tests of the Functional and Emotional Measure of Dysmenorrhea (FEMD), the Family Relationship Questionnaire (FRQ), and the visual analogue scale for the pain intensity experienced.ResultsBesides the high scores of the FEMD Functional and Emotional scales, the dysmenorrhea patients also scored significantly higher than the healthy controls on the FRQ scales of Paternal Dominance and Maternal Abuse. In patients, the FEMD Emotional scale was negatively predicted by the Paternal Freedom Release scale, and the FEMD Functional scale was positively predicted by the Maternal Dominance scale.ConclusionsInappropriate parental bonding or chronic traumatic attachment styles have respective relationships with the functional and emotional disturbances experienced by the primary dysmenorrhea patients.

Relationship between Chinese adjective descriptors of personality and emotional symptoms in young Chinese patients with bipolar disorders.

Objective To investigate whether personality traits are related to emotional symptoms (mania, hypomania, and depression) in Chinese patients with bipolar disorders. Methods Patients with bipolar I and II disorders, and healthy volunteers, were assessed using the Chinese Adjective Descriptors of Personality (CADP) questionnaire, Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ), Hypomanic Checklist (HCL-32), and Plutchik–van Praag Depression Inventory (PVP). Results Seventy-three patients with bipolar I disorder, 35 with bipolar II disorder and 216 healthy controls were included. Bipolar I and II groups scored significantly higher on MDQ, HCL-32 and PVP scales than controls; the bipolar II group scored lower on the MDQ, but higher on the HCL-32 and PVP than bipolar I. In the bipolar I group, the CADP Intelligent trait (β, 0.25) predicted MDQ; Intelligent (β, −0.24), Agreeable (β, 0.22) and Emotional (β, 0.34) traits predicted PVP. In the bipolar II group, Intelligent (β, 0.22), Agreeable (β, −0.24) and Unsocial (β, 0.31) traits predicted MDQ; Intelligent (β, −0.20), Agreeable (β, −0.31) and Emotional (β, −0.26) traits predicted HCL-32. Conclusions Four out of five Chinese personality traits were associated with emotional symptoms in patients with bipolar I or II disorder, but displayed different associations depending on disorder type.

Inhibitory brainstem reflexes under external emotional-stimuli in bipolar I and II disorders

BackgroundBipolar disorder types I (BD I) and II (BD II) might present different dysfunctions of the cortex and brainstem, as reflected by the second exteroceptive suppression period of temporalis muscle activity (ES2) under different stimuli of external emotions.MethodsThis study included 30 BD I and 20 BD II patients, and 40 healthy volunteers. All participants were invited to answer the Mood Disorder Questionnaire, the Hypomania Checklist-32, and the Plutchik-van Praag Depression inventory, as well as to undergo the ES2 test under external emotional-stimuli (emotional pictures plus sounds) of Disgust, Erotica, Fear, Happiness, and Sadness.ResultsThe scale scores were elevated in both patient groups, but were not correlated with ES2 parameters. Compared to healthy controls, BD I showed prolonged ES2 latency under Erotica, and their perceived happiness and sadness intensities were negatively correlated with the respective ES2 durations, while BD II showed prolonged ES2 latencies under Disgust and Happiness, and shortened ES2 durations under Disgust, Happiness and Sadness. Moreover, ES2 duration under Sadness was significantly shorter in BD II than that in BD I.ConclusionsThe cortico-brainstem inhibitory dysfunctions in BD I and BD II was different, and this difference was independent of the patient’s ongoing emotions. Our study thus provides some hints to distinguish the two types of bipolar disorders.

Predicting Personality Disorder Functioning Styles by the Five-Factor Nonverbal Personality Questionnaire in Healthy Volunteers and Personality Disorder Patients

Background: Detecting personality disorders in the illiterate population is a challenge, but nonverbal tools measuring personality traits such as the Five-Factor Nonverbal Personality Questionnaire (FFNPQ) might help. We hypothesized that FFNPQ traits are associated with personality disorder functioning styles in a predictable way, especially in a sample of personality disorder patients. Methods: We therefore invited 106 personality disorder patients and 205 healthy volunteers to answer the FFNPQ and the Parker Personality Measure (PERM) which measures 11 personality disorder functioning styles. Results: Patients scored significantly higher on the FFNPQ neuroticism and conscientiousness traits and all 11 PERM styles. In both groups, the 5 FFNPQ traits displayed extensive associations with the 11 PERM styles, respectively, and the associations were more specific in patients. Associations between neuroticism, extraversion and agreeableness traits and most PERM styles were less exclusive, but conscientiousness was associated with antisocial (-) and obsessive-compulsive styles, and openness to experience with schizotypal and dependent (-) styles. Conclusions: Our study has demonstrated correlations between FFNPQ traits and PERM styles, and implies the nonverbal measure of personality traits is capable of aiding the diagnoses of personality disorders in the illiterate population. Enlarging sample size and including the illiterate might make for more stable results.

Narrations of Personality Disorders in a Famous Chinese Novel of the Eighteenth Century - A Dream of Red Mansions

Background: Traditional Chinese culture, such as the paternalism, male dominance and collectivism, contribute to normal and disordered personality traits, and the influence might be traced back to an ancient epoch. As a compendium of Chinese culture, the novel, A Dream of Red Mansions (up to first 80 chapters) written in the 18th century, might be a vector of these traces. Methods: We selected and voted on the personality-descriptive terms (adjective)/phrases, and sentences/ paragraphs in the novel, and compared them with the dimensional classification criteria of Section III of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder-Version 5. Results: Some characters in the novel, Jia Baoyu, Wang Xifeng, Lin Daiyu, Xue Baochai, Xue Pan, Jia Yucun, Concubine Zhao, Jia Rui, Miaoyu, and Jia Jing, with their impairments in personality functioning and pathological traits, might be diagnosed as antisocial, borderline, narcissistic, obsessive-compulsive, or schizotypal personality disorder, or a trait-specified. In each character, the personality disorders or traits had their family, societal and religious (Taoism or Buddhism) connections. Conclusion: Our study indicates that Chinese culture has contributed to personality disorders or traits at least from 18th century on, and has disclosed the disadvantages of Taoism, Buddhism, and hierarchy, male dominance and collectivism under the influence of Confucianism in the development of personality disorder. Our findings might provide treatment hints for personality disorders at the root of culture, for patients in China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and other neighboring countries in Asia, who have been emerged from the Chinese culture.

Electrocardiographic and Electrooculographic Responses to External Emotions and Their Transitions in Bipolar I and II Disorders

Bipolar disorder has two main types, bipolar I (BD I) and II (BD II), which present different affective states and personality characteristics, they might present different modes of emotional regulation. We hypothesized that the electrocardiogram and electrooculogram to external emotions are different in BD I and BD II. We asked 69 BD I and 54 BD II patients, and 139 healthy volunteers to undergo these tests in response to disgust, erotica, fear, happiness, neutral, and sadness, and their transitions. Their affective states were also measured. The heart rate in BD I was significantly higher under background fear after target neutral. The eyeball movement was quicker in BD I under target happiness after background disgust; in BD I under target sadness after background disgust; and in BD I under background disgust after target neutral. Some electrocardiographic and electrooculographic changes were correlated with affective states in patients. BD I and BD II had different physiological responses to external emotions and their transitions, indicating different pathophysiologies and suggesting different emotional-therapies for BD I and BD II.

Nightmare experience in bipolar I and II disorders.

Some patients with bipolar disorder have traumatic experience, sleep disturbance, and emotional variations, which are related to nightmare reports in clinics. We hypothesized that the nightmare experience might present some uniqueness in different types of bipolar disorder. We invited 200 healthy volunteers and 141 bipolar disorder I (BD I) and 78 bipolar disorder II (BD II) patients who had at least one nightmare lifelong to undergo tests of the Nightmare Experience Questionnaire (NEQ) and the questionnaires measuring mania, hypomania, and depression. Compared with healthy controls, both BD I and BD II patients displayed their abnormal affective states and scored significantly higher on NEQ Meaning Interpretation; BD I patients, in addition, scored higher on NEQ Horrible Stimulation. Hypomania was correlated with Horrible Simulation in BD II patients, and depression was correlated with Physical Effect and Horrible Stimulation in healthy controls. We found some NEQ scales were elevated in bipolar disorder, but these abnormalities failed to differentiate BD I from BD II. However, these results help explain the cognitive and emotional disturbances of bipolar disorder in general.

Hypnotic susceptibility and affective states in bipolar I and II disorders

BackgroundHighly hypnotizable individuals have impaired executive function, elevated motor impulsivity and increased emotional sensitivity, which are sometimes found in bipolar disorder patients. It is then reasonable to assume that certain aspects of hypnotic susceptibility differ with the types of bipolar disorder.MethodsThe Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale: Form C (SHSS:C) test, the Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ), the Hypomanic Checklist-32 (HCL-32) and the Plutchick-van Praag Depression Inventory (PVP) were applied to 62 patients with bipolar I disorder, 33 bipolar II disorder, and 120 healthy volunteers.ResultsThe passing rate of the SHSS:C ‘Moving hands apart’ item was higher in bipolar I patients than in controls, whereas for ‘Mosquito hallucination’ the rate was lower. Bipolar I and II patients scored significantly higher on MDQ, HCL-32 and PVP scales than controls. The passing rates of ‘Mosquito hallucination’ in controls, ‘Arm rigidity’ in bipolar I, and ‘Age regression’ in bipolar II predicted the respective MDQ scores.ConclusionIn contrast to cognitive suggestions, bipolar I patients followed motor suggestions more often under hypnosis. Furthermore, both bipolar disorder patients and healthy volunteers demonstrated associations between mania levels and certain hypnotic susceptibility features. Our study aids in better understanding the altered conscious states in bipolar disorders, and encourages the use of related psychotherapy for these patients.

Waking‐hour cerebral activations in nightmare disorder: a resting‐state fMRI study

The purpose of the current study was to explore the cerebral areas involved in nightmare disorder.