Sandra E. Gramling

Effects of a Single Session of Large-Group Meditation and Progressive Muscle Relaxation Training on Stress Reduction, Reactivity, and Recovery

Three hundred eighty-seven undergraduate students in a large-group setting were exposed to 20 min of either meditation, progressive muscle relaxation (PMR), or a control condition, followed by 1 min of stress induction and another 10 min of each intervention. Participants in the meditation and PMR groups decreased more in cognitive, somatic, and general state anxiety than controls. The PMR group had the greatest decline in somatic anxiety, lending some support to the cognitive/somatic specificity hypothesis. After exposure to a visual stressor, those in the relaxation conditions had higher levels of anxiety and recovered more quickly than controls. Findings demonstrated the effectiveness of brief group training in meditation or PMR in reducing state anxiety after exposure to a transitory stressor.

Catastrophizing and pain-coping in young adults: associations with depressive symptoms and headache pain.

UNLABELLED Cognitive and behavioral pain-coping strategies, particularly catastrophizing, are important determinants of the pain experience. Most studies of pain-coping are performed in samples of treatment-seeking patients with longstanding pain complaints. Individual differences in pain-coping styles may also significantly affect day-to-day pain and quality of life in nonclinical samples, though this has rarely been investigated. In particular, headache pain is common in the general population, and little is known about how pain-related coping affects pain and quality of life among headache sufferers from a nonclinical setting. In this study, 202 generally healthy subjects were divided into 2 groups, those who reported problem headaches and pain-free control subjects. Reports of pain-related catastrophizing and the use of active pain-coping strategies did not differ between the groups, but differential associations between pain-coping strategies and emotional functioning were observed. Specifically, within the headache group only, those reporting higher levels of pain catastrophizing and lower levels of active pain-coping showed the highest level of depressive symptoms. Further, higher catastrophizing was associated with greater headache pain and pain-related interference. These findings suggest that catastrophizing has little influence on emotional functioning in those without ongoing pain complaints and highlight the importance of coping in modulating the consequences of pain on day-to-day functioning, even in samples from nonclinical settings. Moreover, these findings indirectly suggest that interventions that increase adaptive coping and decrease catastrophizing may help to buffer some of the deleterious functional consequences of headache pain. PERSPECTIVE This study adds to a growing literature that conceptualizes catastrophizing as a diathesis, or risk factor, for deleterious pain-related consequences. These data suggest that catastrophizing may require the presence of a pain condition before its detrimental effects are exerted.

Differences in anger expression between individuals with and without headache after controlling for depression and Anxiety

Objective.—To evaluate whether anger and anger expression are different between persons with and without headache after controlling for depression and anxiety.

Use of a habit reversal treatment for temporomandibular pain in a minimal therapist contact format

Previous research has suggested that a habit reversal treatment might be used effectively in a home-based minimal therapist contact (MTC) protocol to facilitate flexibility and increase treatment completion rates. Recent reviews of MTC interventions have found it to be generally efficacious, cost-effective, and generalizable. While MTC has been used for certain health-related disorders (e.g., headache), almost no research has evaluated the effectiveness of a MTC protocol with a population suffering from temporomandibular disorder (TMD). The current study utilized an oral habit reversal treatment in a MTC format in an attempt to reduce attrition and increase treatment flexibility. Twenty females suffering from TMD were randomly assigned to either a treatment (n = 10) or a wait-list control (n = 10) condition. Six individuals in each group used telephone contact while 4 used e-mail for weekly communication with the therapist. Results demonstrated that a habit reversal treatment in a MTC format led to statistically and clinically significant improvements in mean weekly pain ratings, number of pain-free days per week, and highest weekly pain ratings. Also, a significant reduction in maladaptive oral habits occurred from pre- to post-treatment and significant reductions in life stress and pain interference were observed. Results were maintained at follow-up. The implications for the use of MTC for treatment of facial pain are discussed, as are the implications of these findings for the role of oral habits in the etiology of TMD.

Influence of a Scheduled-Waiting Task on EMG Reactivity and Oral Habits Among Facial Pain Patients and No-Pain Controls

Recent research has strongly implicated the role of psychological stress in the development of temporomandibular disorders (TMD). It is widely reported that oral habits (e.g., teeth grinding) probably provide a behavioral link between stress and the development of TMD symptomatology. Extrapolation of research in the field of adjunctive behavior to the TMD disorders suggests that oral behaviors may develop conjointly with fixed-time (FT) stimulus presentation. The current experiment extended previous research examining this possibility by assessing the influence of experimental stress on masseter EMG and oral habits among persons who met broadband criteria for TMD and no-pain controls. Oral habit activity was assessed via self-report questionnaire whereas masseter muscle activity was measured continuously via electromyography across four phases (Adaptation, Free-Play, Scheduled-Play, Recovery). The Scheduled-Play phase was designed as a stress-reactivity task that included an FT schedule. Results indicated that, consistent with the stress-reactivity model, the Scheduled-Play phase resulted in a significant increase in masseter EMG levels relative to Free-Play and Adaptation, and that this effect was significantly larger for the TMD group relative to controls. The results suggest an adjunctive behavior effect although the effect was not specific to those with facial pain. Oral habit data showed a significant phase effect with oral habits that was significantly higher during the Scheduled-Play phase relative to Adaptation. The findings are the impetus for further study regarding the mechanisms whereby oral habits are developed and maintained despite their painful consequences.

Schedule-induced masseter EMG in facial pain subjects vs. no-pain controls.

Empirical reports suggest that oral habits (e.g., teeth clenching) may be behavioral mediators linking stress to muscle hyperreactivity and the development of facial pain. Another report suggests that excessive behavioral adjuncts develop in conjunction with fixed-time stimulus presentation. The present study assessed the extent to which the oral habits exhibited by facial pain patients are schedule-induced. Subjects with Temporomandibular Disorder (TMD) symptomatology (n = 15) and pain-free controls (n = 15) participated in a 4-phase experiment (adaptation, baseline, task, recovery) designed to elicit schedule-induced behaviors. Self-report of oral habits and negative affect were recorded after each phase. Objective measures of oral habits were obtained via behavioral observation and masseter EMG recordings. Results revealed that negative arousal significantly increased during the fixed-time (FT) task and was also associated with increased oral habits among the TMD subjects. Moreover, 40% of the TMD subjects and none of the controls exhibited a pattern of EMG elevations in the early part of the inter-stimulus interval that met a strict criteria for scheduled-induced behavior per se. Taken together, these results suggest that the TMD subjects were engaging in schedule-induced oral habits. The adjunctive behavior literature seems to provide a plausible explanation as to how oral habits develop and are maintained in TMD patients, despite their painful consequences.

EMG Reactivity and Oral Habits Among Facial Pain Patients in a Scheduled-Waiting Competitive Task

For individuals with temporomandibular disorder (TMD) it has been theorized that stressful events trigger oral habits (e.g., teeth grinding), thereby increasing masticatory muscle tension and subsequent pain. Recent research involving adjunctive behaviors found an increase in masseter surface EMG (sEMG) and oral habits when students with TMD symptomatology were placed on a fixed-time reinforcement schedule. The current study used a treatment-seeking community sample with TMD symptomatology in a competitive task designed to be a more naturalistic Fixed Time task. The experiment consisted of Adaptation, Free-Play, Scheduled-Play, and Recovery phases. During the Scheduled-Play phase participants played, and waited to play, an electronic poker game. Results indicated that masseter muscle tension in the Scheduled-Play phase was significantly higher (p<.001) than in any other phase. Moreover, during the Scheduled-Play phase masseter sEMG was higher (p#60;.001) when participants waited to play. Self-reported oral habits and overall affect were significantly higher (ps<.05) in the Free-Play and Scheduled-Play phases relative to Adaptation and Recovery. The observation that masseter sEMG was elevated during the Scheduled-Play phase relative to all other phases, and within the Scheduled-Play phase sEMG was highest while waiting, suggests that adjunctive oral habits may lead to TMD symptomatology.

EMG Reactivity and Oral Habits Among Young Adult Headache Sufferers and Painfree Controls in a Scheduled-Waiting Task

Previous research has shown that patients with facial pain exhibit a pattern of physiological and behavioral reactivity to scheduled-waiting tasks that may help account for the development of facial pain. The present study extended this line of research by examining the psychophysiological reactivity of headache sufferers in a similar task. A total of 34 frequent headache sufferers screened by International Headache Society (IHS) criteria and 13 painfree controls completed a psychophysiological assessment consisting of 4 phases (adaptation, free-play, scheduled-play, and recovery) that included a scheduled-waiting condition (scheduled-play) designed to produce adjunctive behavior. Masseter and frontalis EMG were measured continuously during each phase and self-reported oral habits and pain ratings were collected following each phase. A significant interaction and group effect was found on frontalis EMG, with the headache group exhibiting elevated EMG levels across the phases, whereas the control group exhibited increasing EMG levels that peaked during the scheduled-play phase. Only a significant phase effect was found on masseter EMG, with the highest EMG levels recorded during the scheduled-play phase for both groups. In addition, a significant phase effect was found on self-reported oral habits data. Overall, these results provide general support for the adjunctive behavior effect, but the predicted difference in magnitude between the groups was not found.

The role of religious affiliation in Christian and unaffiliated bereaved emerging adults’ use of religious coping

ABSTRACT Though research on bereavement has grown, few studies have focused on emerging adults. To add to the literature, the authors administered the RCOPE to a sample of bereaved college students (analyzed sample N = 748) and explored the relationship between self-reported religious affiliation and religious coping strategies used and endorsed as “most helpful.” Results highlight the rich topography of bereavement previously unexamined in understudied populations (i.e., emerging adults, religiously unaffiliated). Specifically, the Christians/affiliated used “negative” religious coping strategies most often, yet identified “positive” strategies as “most helpful,” whereas the unaffiliated instead used “positive” strategies most often and identified “negative” strategies as “most helpful.”

9. The relationship between psychosocial and immune variables in American women with breast cancer

patient with history of bipolar illness: who was stable until a stressor triggered a relapse of manic episode with psychosis. This very common scenario inspires me to think about the plausibility of a role for stress-induced immune dysfunction, autoimmune pathology, as well as their implication for bipolar aective disorder. Discussion: The communication between the CNS and the immune system is bidirectional. Many investigators are now focusing on how the activation of inflammatory-cytokine networks might shape mood, cognition and behavior. The high prevalence of organspecific autoimmunity in patient with bipolar disorder was found: e.g. presence of GAD-Ab, anti-heat shock protein (HSP). Not only humeral immunity is increased in bipolar patient, cell-mediated immune response is activated as well. The another fascinating evidence that supporting the correlation of bipolar disorder and autoimmunity, origins from the recent finding of the links between immune system and sleep regulation. Conclusion: There is emerging data show increased autoimmunity in bipolar disorder. The further investigation in PNI field might shed light on finding diagnostic markers, or discover adjunct or novel immunomodulatory therapy for bipolar disorder patients.