Considerable evidence exists to support an association between psychological states and immune function. However, the mechanisms by which such states are instantiated in the brain and influence the immune system are poorly understood. The present study investigated relations among physiological measures of affective style, psychological well being, and immune function. Negative and positive affect were elicited by using an autobiographical writing task. Electroencephalography and affect-modulated eye-blink startle were used to measure trait and state negative affect. Participants were vaccinated for influenza, and antibody titers after the vaccine were assayed to provide an in vivo measure of immune function. Higher levels of right-prefrontal electroencephalographic activation and greater magnitude of the startle reflex reliably predicted poorer immune response. These data support the hypothesis that individuals characterized by a more negative affective style mount a weaker immune response and therefore may be at greater risk for illness than those with a more positive affective style.
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BACKGROUND: Autism is a syndrome of unknown cause, marked by abnormal development of social behavior. Attempts to link pathological features of the amygdala, which plays a key role in emotional processing, to autism have shown little consensus.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate amygdala volume in individuals with autism spectrum disorders and its relationship to laboratory measures of social behavior to examine whether variations in amygdala structure relate to symptom severity.
DESIGN: We conducted 2 cross-sectional studies of amygdala volume, measured blind to diagnosis on high-resolution, anatomical magnetic resonance images. Participants were 54 males aged 8 to 25 years, including 23 with autism and 5 with Asperger syndrome or pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified, recruited and evaluated at an academic center for developmental disabilities and 26 age- and sex-matched community volunteers. The Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised was used to confirm diagnoses and to validate relationships with laboratory measures of social function.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Amygdala volume, judgment of facial expressions, and eye tracking.
RESULTS: In study 1, individuals with autism who had small amygdalae were slowest to distinguish emotional from neutral expressions (P=.02) and showed least fixation of eye regions (P=.04). These same individuals were most socially impaired in early childhood, as reported on the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (P<.04). Study 2 showed smaller amygdalae in individuals with autism than in control subjects (P=.03) and group differences in the relation between amygdala volume and age. Study 2 also replicated findings of more gaze avoidance and childhood impairment in participants with autism with the smallest amygdalae. Across the combined sample, severity of social deficits interacted with age to predict different patterns of amygdala development in autism (P=.047).
CONCLUSIONS: These findings best support a model of amygdala hyperactivity that could explain most volumetric findings in autism. Further psychophysiological and histopathological studies are indicated to confirm these findings.
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Ayurveda is an age-old medical system that was formulated over 5,000 years ago. Documented in the Vedas, the ancient Hindu sacred texts of India, it is a complete wellness regimen with ultimate spiritual goals. Ayurveda provides a detailed analysis of India's four healing systems--Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Tibetan traditional medicine. This fascinating book also takes a look at India's ancient beauty secrets: essays on hair, facial, hand and foot care are accompanied by more obscure practices such as healing with metals, minerals, crystals and gemstones, the art of body painting and chakra al.
Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most commonly known genetic disorder associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Overlapping features in these populations include gaze aversion, communication deficits, and social withdrawal. Although the association between FXS and ASD has been well documented at the behavioral level, the underlying neural mechanisms associated with the social/emotional deficits in these groups remain unclear. We collected functional brain images and eye-gaze fixations from 9 individuals with FXS and 14 individuals with idiopathic ASD, as well as 15 typically developing (TD) individuals, while they performed a facial-emotion discrimination task. The FXS group showed a similar yet less aberrant pattern of gaze fixations compared with the ASD group. The FXS group also showed fusiform gyrus (FG) hypoactivation compared with the TD control group. Activation in FG was strongly and positively associated with average eye fixation and negatively associated with ASD characteristics in the FXS group. The FXS group displayed significantly greater activation than both the TD control and ASD groups in the left hippocampus (HIPP), left superior temporal gyrus (STG), right insula (INS), and left postcentral gyrus (PCG). These group differences in brain activation are important as they suggest unique underlying face-processing neural circuitry in FXS versus idiopathic ASD, largely supporting the hypothesis that ASD characteristics in FXS and idiopathic ASD reflect partially divergent impairments at the neural level, at least in FXS individuals without a co-morbid diagnosis of ASD.
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Brain Respiration (BR)-training is a unique form of breathing exercise that develops potential ability by facilitating brain function. It is recognized as an effective method of improving the scholastic aptitude and emotional stability of children. The present study was designed to investigate the characteristics of the EEG during this training. Spectral analysis was used to examine the relative power in the EEG of 12 children while they practiced BR-training, and these were compared to those of 12 matched controls. BR-trainees showed a lower θ rhythm than the controls before the training session began and lower β[sub 2] power before, during and after the session. In contrast, the BR subjects showed greater relative α[sub 1] power than the controls in the left frontal region during BR-training, which persisted throughout the BR-training schedule. There is evidence that decreased θ and β waves may be correlated with emotional maturation, whilst increased α waves are associated with educational achievement. These findings enhance our understanding of the neurophysiological basis of the effects of BR-training upon emotion and maturation.
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In recent years, environmental psychologists have shown interest in the notion of connection to nature, and considered it to have an important role in helping mitigate the environmental crisis. Together they have developed a number of concepts and measures related to this notion. However, the convergence or divergence of these concepts and measures has rarely been examined. The present research thus aims to empirically examine their similarities and differences. Using one undergraduate Hong Kong Chinese sample (N = 322) and one diverse American sample (N = 185), it demonstrates that these measures can be considered as markers of a common construct: They were strongly inter-correlated, converged to a single factor, shared highly similar correlations with various criterion variables, and did not show much unique predictive power when their common factor was controlled for. Nevertheless, there is also evidence of divergence: Some measures had stronger correlations with the criterion variables than did others, and had unique, though small, incremental predictive power. These findings bear important implications for the theoretical understanding of connection to nature. On the one hand, recognizing the commonalities among the various concepts and measures allows one to integrate existing research findings. On the other hand, identifying the distinctiveness of some concepts and measures reveals that certain ways of conceptualizing connection to nature (e.g., a multidimensional framework) are promising. Directions for future research are suggested accordingly.
In recent years, environmental psychologists have shown interest in the notion of connection to nature, and considered it to have an important role in helping mitigate the environmental crisis. Together they have developed a number of concepts and measures related to this notion. However, the convergence or divergence of these concepts and measures has rarely been examined. The present research thus aims to empirically examine their similarities and differences. Using one undergraduate Hong Kong Chinese sample (N = 322) and one diverse American sample (N = 185), it demonstrates that these measures can be considered as markers of a common construct: They were strongly inter-correlated, converged to a single factor, shared highly similar correlations with various criterion variables, and did not show much unique predictive power when their common factor was controlled for. Nevertheless, there is also evidence of divergence: Some measures had stronger correlations with the criterion variables than did others, and had unique, though small, incremental predictive power. These findings bear important implications for the theoretical understanding of connection to nature. On the one hand, recognizing the commonalities among the various concepts and measures allows one to integrate existing research findings. On the other hand, identifying the distinctiveness of some concepts and measures reveals that certain ways of conceptualizing connection to nature (e.g., a multidimensional framework) are promising. Directions for future research are suggested accordingly.
We present a novel data smoothing and analysis framework for cortical thickness data defined on the brain cortical manifold. Gaussian kernel smoothing, which weights neighboring observations according to their 3D Euclidean distance, has been widely used in 3D brain images to increase the signal-to-noise ratio. When the observations lie on a convoluted brain surface, however, it is more natural to assign the weights based on the geodesic distance along the surface. We therefore develop a framework for geodesic distance-based kernel smoothing and statistical analysis on the cortical manifolds. As an illustration, we apply our methods in detecting the regions of abnormal cortical thickness in 16 high functioning autistic children via random field based multiple comparison correction that utilizes the new smoothing technique.
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ABSTRACTTheory of mind describes the ability to engage in perspective-taking, infer mental states, and predict intentions, behavior, and actions in others. Theory of mind performance is associated with foundational cognitive and socioemotional skills, including verbal ability (receptive and expressive vocabulary), executive function (inhibitory control and working memory), and emotion knowledge. In a sample of 354 children from low-income households, theory of mind and foundational skills were directly assessed before and after kindergarten. Results indicate emotion knowledge, inhibitory control, and expressive language predicted improvement in theory of mind. Expressive language also served as a moderator such that children with low expressive language failed to improve in theory of mind regardless of initial theory of mind performance.
Empathy has been regarded by environmental thinkers as a key in conservation efforts. Nevertheless, systematic research on empathy toward nature, particularly from the personality perspective, has been lacking in psychology. The present research thus provides this needed investigation by testing four propositions regarding a new construct—dispositional empathy with nature (DEN), which refers to the dispositional tendency to understand and share the emotional experience of the natural world. In five studies with 817 participants in total (including university students and working adults from two societies), DEN robustly and uniquely predicted conservation behavior (Proposition 1). Females, respondents who felt close to nature, and participants who considered nature to be sentient exhibited stronger DEN (Propositions 2–4). DEN was distinct from empathy with humans and a number of known determinants of conservation behavior (including personality traits, values, emotional involvement with nature, environmental concern, and social desirability bias). Taken together, these findings highlight the possibility of developing a theory of empathy with nature by referring to the existing understanding about empathy with humans. The construct of DEN has much theoretical utility, as it sheds new light on several under-explored issues in conservation psychology (including the gender gap in environmentalism, the role of connection to nature, and the role of anthropomorphism), and bears practical implications for the promotion of environmentalism. In addition, the newly developed scale for DEN is potentially useful for assessing the efficacy of environmental education programs.
Empathy has been regarded by environmental thinkers as a key in conservation efforts. Nevertheless, systematic research on empathy toward nature, particularly from the personality perspective, has been lacking in psychology. The present research thus provides this needed investigation by testing four propositions regarding a new construct—dispositional empathy with nature (DEN), which refers to the dispositional tendency to understand and share the emotional experience of the natural world. In five studies with 817 participants in total (including university students and working adults from two societies), DEN robustly and uniquely predicted conservation behavior (Proposition 1). Females, respondents who felt close to nature, and participants who considered nature to be sentient exhibited stronger DEN (Propositions 2–4). DEN was distinct from empathy with humans and a number of known determinants of conservation behavior (including personality traits, values, emotional involvement with nature, environmental concern, and social desirability bias). Taken together, these findings highlight the possibility of developing a theory of empathy with nature by referring to the existing understanding about empathy with humans. The construct of DEN has much theoretical utility, as it sheds new light on several under-explored issues in conservation psychology (including the gender gap in environmentalism, the role of connection to nature, and the role of anthropomorphism), and bears practical implications for the promotion of environmentalism. In addition, the newly developed scale for DEN is potentially useful for assessing the efficacy of environmental education programs.
BACKGROUND:Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) has been widely used to treat patients with depressive disorder to prevent relapse. The objective of this study was to examine the effectiveness of newly developed MBCT program as an adjuvant to pharmacotherapy in the treatment of patients with panic disorder or generalized anxiety disorder.
METHODS:
Forty-six patients with panic disorder or generalized anxiety disorder were assigned to either MBCT or an anxiety disorder education (ADE) program for a period of 8 weeks. The Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) were used to assess the patients at 0 week and after the two programs had been running for 2, 4, and 8 weeks.
RESULTS:
The MBCT group demonstrated significantly more improvement than the ADE group according to all anxiety (HAM-A, p<0.01; BAI, p<0.01; anxiety subscale of SCL-90-R, p=0.01) and depression (HAM-D, p<0.01; BDI, p<0.01; depression subscale of SCL-90-R, p<0.01) scale scores. The obsessive-compulsive and phobic subscales of the SCL-90-R also showed significantly more improvement in the MBCT group. However, no significant improvement was observed in the MBCT group versus the ADE group in terms of the somatization, interpersonal sensitivity, paranoid ideation, or psychoticism subscale scores of the SCL-90-R.
CONCLUSIONS:
MBCT may be effective at relieving anxiety and depressive symptoms in patients with panic disorder or generalized anxiety disorder. However, well-designed, randomized controlled trials are needed.
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) has been studied to treat patients with depressive or anxiety disorders. The aim of this study was to examine whether MBCT is effective as an adjunct to pharmacotherapy in the treatment of patients with panic disorder. Twenty-three patients with panic disorder were included in a MBCT program for a period of 8 weeks. The Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Anxiety Sensitivity Index-Revised (ASI-R), Albany Panic and Phobia Questionnaire (APPQ), and Panic Disorder Severity Scale (PDSS) were used to assess the patients during the MBCT program. Both HAM-A and PDSS scores were significantly decreased at the 2nd, 4th and 8th weeks compared to baseline in the patients with panic disorder (HAM-A, p<0.01; PDSS, p<0.01). Also, BAI, APPQ and ASI-R were improved significantly after MBCT program (BAI, p<0.01; APPQ, p<0.01; ASI-R, p<0.01). In addition, all subscale scores of ASI-R decreased significantly. MBCT could be effective as an adjunct to pharmacotherapy in patients with panic disorder. However, randomized controlled trials are needed.
Objective This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a brief mindfulness-based training program in reducing stress and promoting well-being among critical care nurses. Design A quasi-experimental, single-group, pre-post study design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the program. Setting This study was conducted in a tertiary referral centre in Malaysia. Subjects A non–probability voluntary sample of 41 critical care nurses participated in the program. Thirty seven (90%) completed the program, with at least 80% attendance. Intervention The intervention is an adapted and brief version of Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (b-MBCT) using the local promotional name of ‘Mindful-Gym’. b-MBCT is a group-based program, carried out for five weeks at two hours per week with practice sessions in between. It was delivered as part of the hospital’s continuing nursing education program. Main outcome measures Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS) were used to measure the stressrelated outcomes. As for the well-being outcomes, the Mindfulness Attention and Awareness Scale and Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS) were used.Results fter completing the program, the participants reported significant improvement in the level of perceived stress (PSS: p < .001; r = 0.50), stress (DASS-S: p = .002; d = 0.56), anxiety (DASS-A: p < .001; r =0.38), depression (DASS-D: p < .001; r = 0.37), mindfulness (MAAS: p < .001; d = 1.002), and happiness (SHS: p = .028; d = 0.57), with a moderate to large effect size.
Conclusion Results support the effectiveness of b-MBCT in reducing stress and promoting well-being among critical care nurses.
Background. Exercise is a promising approach in ameliorating the fatigue associated with cancer and its treatment. Design. A randomized design with control, experimental groups being assessed preand postintervention.Methods. Thirty-five patients were randomly selected, with 18 assigned to an exercise group and 17 to a control group. The exercise intervention lasted for 30 minutes every day for six weeks. It consisted of physical exercise combined with relaxation breathing exercise. Fatigue was measured by the revised version of the Piper Fatigue Scale.
Results. The exercise group had a greater decrease in fatigue than the control group.
Conclusion. These findings indicate that a relaxation breathing exercise would improve fatigue in allogenic haemopoietic stem cell transplantation patients.
Introduction: Burn patients experience high levels of pain and anxiety during dressing changes. Relaxation breathing is a simple behavioral intervention to manage pain and anxiety. However, the information about the effects of relaxation breathing on pain and anxiety levels for burn patients during dressing changes is limited.Methods: This study followed a quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest comparison group design without random assignment to groups. A total of 64 burn patients from Daejeon, South Korea were recruited by a convenience sequential sampling approach. With institutional approval and written consent, the experimental group practiced relaxation breathing during dressing change procedures. Data were collected from June to September 2011 using a VAS for pain and a VAS-A for anxiety.
Results: The homogeneity test was used to detect any significant group differences in the demographic data and pretest measures. The pain scores significantly differed between the 2 groups after intervention (RB group vs. control group, P = .01) and over time (pretest vs. posttest, P = .001). The anxiety scores significantly differed between the 2 groups (P = .01) and over time (P = .02).
Conclusion: Relaxation breathing is a simple and inexpensive technique nurses can use to help burn patients manage pain and anxiety during dressing changes. # 2013 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.
OBJECTIVE: To assess the effects of yogic exercise on nonspecific neck pain in university students.METHODS: This study is a pretest-posttest design with a non-equivalent control group. Thirty-eight university students were selected by convenience sampling, with 18 assigned to an exercise group and 20 assigned to a control group. The yoga group participated in one-hour sessions of yogic exercise two days a week for eight weeks. The exercise comprised eight stages: relaxation, flexion of neck, extension of neck, right lateral flexion of neck, left lateral flexion of neck, right rotation of neck, left rotation of neck, and relaxation. Neck pain intensity was measured using a 100 mm visual analogue scale.
RESULTS: The yoga group showed significantly decreased neck pain scores compared with those of the control group.
CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that yogic exercises could reduce neck pain in university students.
[Purpose] This study was performed to investigate the effects of yogic exercises on life stress and blood glucose levels in nursing students. [Subjects and Methods] The study was a randomized controlled trial. Twenty-seven undergraduate nursing students were randomly selected, with 12 assigned to an exercise group and 15 assigned to a control group. The yogic exercises intervention was undertaken for 60 minutes one day a week for 12 weeks. It consisted of physical exercise (surya namaskara) combined with relaxation and meditation (shavasana and yoga nidra). Life stress was measured by the Life Stress Scale for College Students, and postprandial blood glucose levels were measured with a digital glucometer. [Results] The exercise group measurements were significantly decreased in both life stress and postprandial blood glucose levels compared with the control group. [Conclusion] These findings indicate that yogic exercises would reduce life stress and lower postprandial blood glucose levels in nursing students.
[Purpose] This study was performed to investigate the effects of yogic exercises on life stress and blood glucose levels in nursing students. [Subjects and Methods] The study was a randomized controlled trial. Twenty-seven undergraduate nursing students were randomly selected, with 12 assigned to an exercise group and 15 assigned to a control group. The yogic exercises intervention was undertaken for 60 minutes one day a week for 12 weeks. It consisted of physical exercise (surya namaskara) combined with relaxation and meditation (shavasana and yoga nidra). Life stress was measured by the Life Stress Scale for College Students, and postprandial blood glucose levels were measured with a digital glucometer. [Results] The exercise group measurements were significantly decreased in both life stress and postprandial blood glucose levels compared with the control group. [Conclusion] These findings indicate that yogic exercises would reduce life stress and lower postprandial blood glucose levels in nursing students.
Abstract: There is a lack of unified statistical modeling framework for cerebral shape asymmetry analysis in literature. Most previous approaches start with flip-ping the 3D magnetic resonance images (MRI). The anatomical correspondence across the hemispheres is then established by registering the original image to the flipped image. A difference of an anatomical index between these two images is used as a measure of cerebral asymmetry. We present a radically different asymmetry analysis that utilizes a novel weighted spherical harmonic representation of cortical surfaces. The weighted spherical harmonic representation is a surface smoothing technique given explicitly as a weighted linear combination of spherical harmon-ics. This new representation is used to parameterize cortical surfaces, establish the hemispheric correspondence, and normalize cortical surfaces in a unified mathemat-ical framework. The methodology has been applied in characterizing the cortical asymmetry of a group of autistic subjects.
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Internet addiction after launching smartphone is becoming serious. Therefore this paper has attempted to sketch out the diverse addiction treatment and then check the feasibility of exercise rehabilitation. The reason to addict the internet or smartphone is personalized individual characters related personal psychological and emotional factors and social environmental factors around them. We have shown that 2 discernible approaches due to 2 different addiction causes: that is behavioral treatment and complementary treatment. In the behavioral treatment, cognitive behavioral approach (CBT) is representative methods for changing additive thoughts and behaviors. Motivational interviewing (MI) is also the brief approach for persons not ready to change their behavior. Mindfulness behavioral cognitive treatment (MBCT) also the adapted treatment based on CBT. There are different types following the emphatic point, mindfulness-based relapse prevention (MBRP) or mindfulness oriented recovery enhancement (MORE). It is apparent that therapeutic recreation, music therapy using drumming activity, and art therapy are useful complementary treatment. Exercise rehabilitation contained the systematic procedures and comprehensive activities compared to previous addiction treatments by contents and techniques. Exercise rehabilitation can treat both physical symptoms at first and mental problems in the next step. So more evidence-based exercise rehabilitation researches need to do, but it is highly probable that exercise rehab can apply for smartphone addiction.
Objective: Unilateral nostril breathing (UNB) is a yogic pranayama technique that has been shown to improve verbal and spatial cognition in neurologically intact individuals. Early study of UNB in healthy individuals has shown benefits for attention and memory. This preliminary study explored whether UNB influenced various measures of attention, language, spatial abilities, depression, and anxiety in post-stroke individuals, both with and without aphasia. Design: A within-subjects repeated-measures design was used to determine whether UNB improved cognitive, linguistic, and affect variables in post-stroke individuals. Within-subjects comparisons determined UNB’s effects over time, and between-subjects comparison was used to determine whether changes in these variables differed between post-stroke individuals with and without aphasia. Setting: Athens and Atlanta, Georgia. Participants: Eleven post-stroke individuals participated in a 10-week UNB program. Five individuals had stroke-induced left hemisphere damage with no diagnosis of aphasia (left hemisphere damage control group; LHD), and six individuals experienced left hemisphere damage with a diagnosis of aphasia (individuals with aphasia group; IWA). Measures: Individuals were assessed on measures of attention, language, spatial abilities, depression, and anxiety before, during, and after UNB treatment.Results: UNB significantly decreased levels of anxiety for individuals in both groups. Performance on language measures increased for the individuals with aphasia.
Conclusions: Significant findings for language and affect measures indicate that further investigation regarding duration of UNB treatment and use of UNB treatment alongside traditional speech-language therapy in poststroke individuals is warranted.
Although researchers have examined the efficacy of acceptance- and mindfulness-based interventions in the treatment of eating disorders, few studies have explored the association between trait mindfulness and eating pathology. Therefore, the purpose of the current investigation was to examine the unique associations between multiple facets of mindfulness (acting with awareness, nonreactivity, nonjudgment, describing, and observing) and eating pathology. Undergraduate women (N = 276) completed the Eating Attitudes Test-26, the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, and the 21-item version of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales. A hierarchical regression analysis revealed that four mindfulness facets (awareness, nonreactivity, nonjudgment, and describing) were uniquely associated with eating pathology above and beyond anxiety and depression symptoms. Results are discussed with regard to the potential role of various facets of trait mindfulness in eating pathology as well as the possible utility of mindfulness-based treatments for eating disorders.
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