Larry D. Jamner

Tracking restoration in natural and urban field settings

We compared psychophysiological stress recovery and directed attention restoration in natural and urban field settings using repeated measures of ambulatory blood pressure, emotion, and attention collected from 112 randomly assigned young adults. To vary restoration needs, we had half of the subjects begin the environmental treatment directly after driving to the field site. The other half completed attentionally demanding tasks just before the treatment. After the drive or the tasks, sitting in a room with tree views promoted more rapid decline in diastolic blood pressure than sitting in a viewless room. Subsequently walking in a nature reserve initially fostered blood pressure change that indicated greater stress reduction than afforded by walking in the urban surroundings. Performance on an attentional test improved slightly from the pretest to the midpoint of the walk in the nature reserve, while it declined in the urban setting. This opened a performance gap that persisted after the walk. Positive affect increased and anger decreased in the nature reserve by the end of the walk; the opposite pattern emerged in the urban environment. The task manipulation affected emotional self-reports. We discuss implications of the results for theories about restorative environments and environmental health promotion measures.

The pain perception profile: A psychophysical approach to the assessment of pain report *

Methods currently used to assess clinical pain report provide, at best, only qualitative information about the pain experience. This paper describes alternative quantitative methods for the multidimensional assessment of pain. The Tursky Pain Perception Profile is described in detail. The four parts of this profile provide (1) measures of sensory threshold and pain connotative judgments, (2) a measure of an individuals ability to make magnitude estimates of controlled nociceptive stimuli, (3) quantified pain descriptors, and (4) a pain diary format useful for ongoing evaluation. The rationale, the reliability and validity, as well as advantages and disadvantages of each of the four parts of the profile are described. The psychophysical evaluation techniques described in the Pain Perception Profile can provide behavioral clinicians with more reliable and objective information about the pain experience.

The relationship between repressive and defensive coping styles and monocyte, eosinophile, and serum glucose levels: Support for the opioid peptide hypothesis of repression.

&NA; The opioid peptide hypothesis of repression (1) predicts that repressive coping is associated with increased functional endorphin levels in the brain, which can result in decreased immunocompetence and hyperglycemia. In a random sample of 312 patients seen at a Yale Medical School outpatient clinic, significant main effects of coping style were found for monocyte and eosinophile counts, serum glucose levels, and self‐reports of medication allergies. Specifically, repressive and defensive high‐anxious patients demonstrated significantly decreased monocyte counts. In addition, repressive coping was associated with elevated eosinophile counts, serum glucose levels, and self‐reported reactions to medications. This behavioral, immunologic, and endocrine profile is consistent with the opioid peptide hypothesis, which provides an integrative framework for relating the attenuated emotional experience of pain and distress characteristic of repressive coping with reduced resistance to infectious and neoplastic disease.

Smoking and moods in adolescents with depressive and aggressive dispositions: evidence from surveys and electronic diaries.

Surveys and electronic diaries were used to examine depressive and extemalizing dispositions as they relate to smoking and moods in 170 early adolescents. Negative moods were prevalent, with anger and anxiety reported on 26%-60% and sadness on 16%-40% of occasions. The risk of smoking, urges to smoke, and alcohol intake were elevated in teens with aggressive and depressive dispositions, as were diary reports of feeling hassled, angry, and sad. Girls high in depression and aggression also reported more anxiety, stress, and fatigue and less happiness and well-being than did their peers. For boys, depression seemed to dampen the elevated smoking risks associated with externalizing behaviors. Discussion focuses on gender differences in personality-smoking linkages, adolescent negative affectivity, the unique contributions of survey and diary methods, and the promise of targeted preventive interventions such as affect regulation training.

Pain inhibition, nicotine, and gender

The ability of nicotine to decrease sensitivity to pain in humans has been a subject of dispute. Decreased sensitivity has been demonstrated in studies involving men, whereas the effect has been less obvious or absent in studies involving predominantly, or entirely, women. To determine whether there are gender differences in nicotines hypoalgesic actions, ratings of electrocutaneous stimulation were obtained from 30 male and 44 female smokers and nonsmokers under placebo and nicotine conditions. Nicotine increased the pain threshold and tolerance ratings of men but had no effect on the pain ratings of women. Among men, there was no effect of smoking history, suggesting that the changes in pain perception reflect a direct pain-inhibitory effect of nicotine rather than a relief from acute nicotine withdrawal. Nicotine had no effect on mood or task ratings, indicating that the antinociceptive effects observed were not due to nicotines putative mood effects.

Traffic-related air pollution and blood pressure in elderly subjects with coronary artery disease.

Background: Associations between blood pressure (BP) and ambient air pollution have been inconsistent. No studies have used ambulatory BP monitoring and outdoor home air-pollutant measurements with time-activity-location data. We address these gaps in a study of 64 elderly subjects with coronary artery disease, living in retirement communities in the Los Angeles basin. Methods: Subjects were followed up for 10 days with hourly waking ambulatory BP monitoring (n = 6539 total measurements), hourly electronic diaries for perceived exertion and location, and real-time activity monitors (actigraphs). We measured hourly outdoor home pollutant gases, particle number, PM2.5, organic carbon, and black carbon. Data were analyzed with mixed models controlling for temperature, posture, actigraph activity, hour, community, and season. Results: We found positive associations of systolic and diastolic BP with air pollutants. The strongest associations were with organic carbon (especially its estimated fossil-fuel- combustion fraction), multiday average exposures, and time periods when subjects were at home. An interquartile increase in 5-day average organic carbon (5.2 &mgr;g/m3) was associated with 8.2 mm Hg higher mean systolic BP (95% confidence interval = 3.0–13.4) and 5.8 mm Hg higher mean diastolic BP (3.0–8.6). Associations of BP with 1–8 hour average air pollution were stronger with reports of moderate to strenuous physical exertion but not with higher actigraph motion. Associations were also stronger among 12 obese subjects. Conclusions: Exposure to primary organic components of fossil fuel combustion near the home were strongly associated with increased ambulatory BP in a population at potential risk of heart attack. Low fitness or obesity may increase the effects of pollutants.

The ADHD Spectrum and Everyday Life: Experience Sampling of Adolescent Moods, Activities, Smoking, and Drinking

Using an experience sampling methodology, the everyday lives of 153 adolescents with low, middle, or high levels of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) characteristics as assessed by either parent or teen were examined. Twice each hour, across two 4-day recording intervals, participants in a longitudinal study of stress and health risks logged their behaviors, moods, and social contexts. Those with high, in contrast to low, ADHD symptom levels recorded more negative and fewer positive moods, lower alertness, more entertaining activities relative to achievement-oriented pursuits, more time with friends and less time with family, and more tobacco and alcohol use. Fewer associations emerged with parent-defined than with teen-defined subgroups, although the differences in alertness, peer and family contexts, entertainment versus achievement activities, and substance use were consistent across sources. Even at subclinical levels, ADHD characteristics were associated with behavioral patterns and contexts that may promote peer deviancy training, unhealthy lifestyle behaviors, and vulnerability to nicotine dependence.

Self-Deception Predicts Self-Report and Endurance of Pain

&NA; This study sought to test predictions made from disregulation and systems theories regarding self‐deception and pain responsivity. Sixty‐four subjects completed the L‐scale of the Eysenck Personality Inventory and, based on their scores, were categorized as either High, Medium, or Low Deceptors. Both sensory threshold and three levels of affective pain judgments were determined using electrocutaneous nociceptive stimulation applied to the forearm. Results indicated that there were no differences among groups in their sensation thresholds. However, large differences in affective pain judgments emerged between High and Low Deceptors. High Deceptors differed significantly from Low Deceptors at the Tolerance (9.4 vs. 5.2 mA, p less than 0.001), Pain threshold (7.9 vs. 3.8 mA, p less than 0.001), and Discomfort (4.4 vs. 2.2 mA, p less than 0.01) judgment levels. These findings are consistent with a systems model of pain perception and are discussed in terms of the role of pain in mediating the relationship between cognitive coping patterns and recovery from illness and surgery. A possible opiate‐peptide hypothesis of repressive coping & disregulation of pain is proposed.

Smoking to Self-Medicate Attentional and Emotional Dysfunctions

Individuals with attentional and emotional dysfunctions are most at risk for smoking initiation and subsequent nicotine addiction. This article presents converging findings from human behavioral research, brain imaging, and basic neuroscience on smoking as self-medication for attentional and emotional dysfunctions. Nicotine and other tobacco constituents have significant effects on neural circuitry underlying the regulation of attention and affect. Age, sex, early environment, and exposure to other drugs have been identified as important factors that moderate both the effects of nicotine on brain circuitry and behavior and the risk for smoking initiation. Findings also suggest that the effects of smoking differ depending on whether smoking is used to regulate attention or affect. Individual differences in the reinforcement processes underlying tobacco use have implications for the development of tailored smoking cessation programs and prevention strategies that include early treatment of attentional and emotional dysfunctions.

Anxiety, Affect, and Activity in Teenagers: Monitoring Daily Life With Electronic Diaries

OBJECTIVE The everyday experiences of a community sample of adolescents differing in anxiety level were compared by means of electronic diaries. METHOD One hundred fifty-five ninth-grade adolescents completed electronic diaries every 30 minutes for two 4-day intervals, reporting their moods, activities, social settings, dietary intake, smoking, and alcohol use. Teenagers were stratified into low-, middle-, or high-anxiety groups on the basis of diary ratings and, separately, questionnaire scores. RESULTS High-anxiety teenagers, compared with low-anxiety teenagers, expressed higher levels not only of anxiety and stress but also of anger, sadness, and fatigue, along with lower levels of happiness and well-being. They reported fewer conversations and less recreational activity relative to achievement-oriented pursuits, stronger eating and smoking urges, and more tobacco use. There were few gender differences. Despite a tendency to spend less time with peers, high-anxiety teenagers were more likely to show reduced anxiety when in the company of friends. Sharper differentiations among anxiety subgroups emerged when stratification was based on diary reports rather than on questionnaire scores. CONCLUSION Even when anxiety problems fall below diagnostic thresholds, the daily lives of anxious adolescents differ meaningfully from those of their peers in affective, behavioral, and contextual domains.