Body, Mind & Spirit Articles and Latest News

Mandarin melody recognition by pediatric cochlear implant recipients.

J Music Ther. 2008;45(4):390-404

Authors: Hsiao F

This study investigated the ability of children with implants who speak Mandarin Chinese, a tonal language, to recognize familiar melodies. It further examined the relative contributions of pitch, rhythm, and lyrics to melody recognition. Two groups of participants (ages 7-15; n = 20 for each group), those with cochlear implants and those with typical hearing, listened to 2 sets (traditional Mandarin children’s songs and children’s songs from Western cultures translated into Mandarin) of three melodies. These melodies were presented in 3 conditions: (a) melodic contour only (pitches in equal durations); (b) melodic contour with rhythmic patterns; and (c) melodic contour with rhythmic patterns and lyrics. The results indicated that pediatric cochlear implant recipients performed with greater accuracy in melody recognition when lyrics were available. Their scores were significantly lower when melodies containing only pitch features. Providing the rhythmic patterns aided participants’ identification of the target melodies, but less so than the lyrics. Applications of findings to aural rehabilitation are discussed.

PMID: 19256724 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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A survey of music therapists’ work with speech-language pathologists and experiences with augmentative and alternative communication.

J Music Ther. 2008;45(4):405-26

Authors: McCarthy J, Geist K, Zojwala R, Schock MZ

Although music therapists may work with a variety of professionals in interdisciplinary teams, there is a lack of information about the specific nature of their work with speech-language pathologists (SLPs). Using an Internet-based tool, Board Certified Music Therapists (n = 1834, 1675 deliverable) were surveyed regarding their work with speech-language pathologists and experiences with augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Specifically, participants were asked about: (a) demographics; (b) populations worked with professionally; (c) past and present work with speech-language pathologists; (d) goals addressed; (e) benefits and challenges encountered; and (f) work with AAC. Responses (N = 847) indicated the majority of participants (73.6%) had worked with SLPs at some point in various roles and in various settings. Fewer participants reported currently working with SLPs (42.8%), although 50.1% reported currently working with someone requiring some form of AAC. Participants reported a mean level of expertise with AAC of 3.9 on a scale of 1-7. Sharing knowledge was noted as a top benefit of working with SLPs, while scheduling was reported as the most frequent challenge. Other benefits and challenges as well as future research directions are discussed.

PMID: 19256725 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Music therapy students’ recognition of popular song repertoire for geriatric clients.

J Music Ther. 2008;45(4):443-56

Authors: Vanweelden K, Juchniewicz J, Cevasco AM

Previous research has found that music therapists, who work with geriatric clients in singing activities, indicated they know and use 3 times more popular or popular style music (songs from musicals) than folk songs. The purposes of the current study were to determine music therapy majors’ recognition of popular songs and songs from musicals by asking whether they: (a) had heard the songs before, (b) could “name the tune” of each song, and (c) list the decade each song was composed. Results showed that students had previously heard many of the songs; however, this was not an indication of whether they could name the song title or the decade in which it was composed. Additionally, percentage data indicated that My Favorite Things and You Are My Sunshine were the most heard/recognized songs, Over the Rainbow was the most correctly named song title, and Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue was the song most correctly identified by decade. Further results and discussion are included.

PMID: 19256727 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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The use of the Internet for counseling the suicidal individual: possibilities and drawbacks.

Omega (Westport). 2008-2009;58(3):233-50

Authors: Lester D

The role of the Internet in facilitating and preventing suicide is reviewed. Two online suicide prevention programs are described: SAHAR in Israel and Befrienders worldwide. Examples are provided of crisis intervention by e-mail. Finally, some caveats are presented based on experiences with crisis intervention by telephone.

PMID: 19320294 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Perceptions of sex offenders about treatment: satisfaction and engagement in group therapy.

Sex Abuse. 2009 Mar;21(1):35-56

Authors: Levenson JS, Macgowan MJ, Morin JW, Cotter LP

Surveying the views of sex offender clients can help ensure that treatment is relevant and responsive to client needs. The purpose of this exploratory study is to elicit sex offender clients’ perceptions of their experiences in treatment in order to better understand the components of treatment perceived to be helpful in preventing reoffense. Samples (N = 338) of male sex offenders in outpatient group therapy are found to be generally satisfied with treatment services and have positive perceptions of treatment effectiveness. Offenders in treatment value the role of group therapy, and they find accountability, victim empathy, relapse prevention, and “good lives” concepts to be most helpful in managing their behavior. Their engagement in group therapy is assessed using the Group Engagement Measure, and a positive correlation is found between engagement and treatment satisfaction. Eliciting client opinions about the helpfulness of program content and process, and adjusting treatment protocols accordingly, is consistant with the principles of risk, need, and responsivity, a model recommended for therapeutic interventions with criminal offenders.

PMID: 18948429 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Social anxiety in adolescents: the effect of video feedback on anxiety and the self-evaluation of performance.

Clin Psychol Psychother. 2009 Jan;16(1):46-54

Authors: Parr CJ, Cartwright-Hatton S

BACKGROUND: A negative self-generated image is thought to play a role in the development and maintenance of social anxiety. Video feedback (VF) is an effective therapeutic technique for correcting this distorted image with adults during stressful social tasks. This study investigated the effectiveness of VF with adolescents. METHOD: Thirty-six highly socially anxious adolescents (13 to 17-year-olds) were randomly assigned to one of two groups: VF or no VF. Both groups gave two brief speeches to a video camera. Self-rated measures of anticipatory anxiety, predicted performance and actual performance during the speeches were completed at several time points. The speeches were also rated by two independent observers. RESULTS: Adolescents who received VF, in comparison with control participants, developed more positive appraisals of their performance during the first speech. Predictions of their performance on the second speech also improved, and a reduction in state anxiety was observed. Furthermore, a more positive appraisal of performance was generalized to the second speech. The independent observers could not distinguish between the participants who received VF and those who did not. CONCLUSIONS: When used with socially anxious adolescents, VF may be a beneficial therapeutic technique in correcting a distorted self-perception of performance, reducing anxiety prior to entering a stressful social task and enhancing predictions of performance for future tasks.

PMID: 19123484 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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The effects of two different auditory stimuli on functional arm movement in persons with Parkinson’s disease: a dual-task paradigm.

Clin Rehabil. 2009 Mar;23(3):229-37

Authors: Ma HI, Hwang WJ, Lin KC

OBJECTIVE: To examine, in a dual-task paradigm, the effect of auditory stimuli on people with Parkinson’s disease. DESIGN: A counterbalanced repeated-measures design. SETTING: A motor control laboratory in a university setting. SUBJECTS: Twenty individuals with Parkinson’s disease. EXPERIMENTAL CONDITIONS: Each participant did two experiments (marching music experiment and weather forecast experiment). In each experiment, the participant performed an upper extremity functional task as the primary task and listened to an auditory stimulus (marching music or weather forecast) as the concurrent task. Each experiment had three conditions: listening to the auditory stimulus, ignoring the auditory stimulus and no auditory stimulus. MAIN MEASURES: Kinematic variables of arm movement, including movement time, peak velocity, deceleration time and number of movement units. RESULTS: We found that performances of the participants were similar across the three conditions for the marching music experiment, but were significantly different for the weather forecast experiment. The comparison of condition effects between the two experiments indicated that the effect of weather forecast was (marginally) significantly greater than that of marching music. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the type of auditory stimulus is important to the degree of interference with upper extremity performance in people with Parkinson’s disease. Auditory stimuli that require semantic processing (e.g. weather forecast) may distract attention from the primary task, and thus cause a decline in performance.

PMID: 19129263 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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The Personality Structure Questionnaire (PSQ): a cross-validation with a large clinical sample.

Clin Psychol Psychother. 2009 Jan;16(1):77-81

Authors: Bedford A, Davies F, Tibbles J

In a large sample of adult National Health Service (NHS) patients (initially n = 1296) referred for psychological therapy, the Personality Structure Questionnaire (PSQ) items were found to constitute a unidimensional scale according to maximum likelihood and principal component analyses, and by Cronbach’s alpha criteria. The PSQ scores showed a significant small negative association with age, where higher scores indicate pathology; but no sex difference was found. Scores remain stable during time spent on the waiting list, but were reduced significantly following therapy of an equivalent length of time (median = 15 weeks). The intercorrelations between the three clusters of items (sub-concepts, as proposed by the test authors) comprising the full PSQ varied, but were all sizeable and highly statistically significant. Additional information to that of the test authors is provided on convergent and discriminant validity through its correlations with psychological tests and clinicians’ ratings. Suggestions are made for the possible further improvement and refinement of the questionnaire.

PMID: 19161208 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Changes in cortical activation during retrieval of clock time representations in patients with mild cognitive impairment and early Alzheimer’s disease.

Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord. 2009;27(2):117-32

Authors: Leyhe T, Erb M, Milian M, Eschweiler GW, Ethofer T, Grodd W, Saur R

OBJECTIVE: We investigated healthy controls (HCs), and patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and early Alzheimer’s disease (AD) to identify neuronal correlates of clock time representation and changes resulting from neurodegenerative processes using functional magnetic resonance imaging. METHODS: Two clock-specific tasks demanding conceptual knowledge of clock hands, i.e. a minute hand and an hour hand task, were compared with a semantic control task. RESULTS: We observed that the minute hand task provoked a stronger activation of areas in the parietal lobes known to be involved in spatial mental imagery, while the semantic task primarily activated regions of the superior temporal lobes associated with verbal conceptual knowledge. The performance of the MCI group did not differ from that of the HC group, but additional activation was found in several brain regions. Decreased activation was detected during the minute hand task in the right middle temporal gyrus. Patients with early AD showed deteriorated performance in both clock tasks along with reduced activation in the occipital lobes and the left fusiform gyrus. Additional activation was detected in the precuneus. CONCLUSIONS: The fusiform gyrus might be crucial for the visual-semantic retrieval of clock time representation. In patients with early AD, access to this visual-semantic knowledge appears to be reduced.

PMID: 19182479 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Complementary and alternative medicine use for vasomotor symptoms among women who have discontinued hormone therapy.

J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. 2009 Jan-Feb;38(1):50-9

Authors: Kupferer EM, Dormire SL, Becker H

OBJECTIVES: To explore the use and perceived usefulness of complementary and alternative medicine therapies and nonhormonal conventional medicine alternatives to treat vasomotor symptoms occurring after withdrawal from hormone therapy. DESIGN: Retrospective, single cross sectional descriptive study. SETTING: Study volunteers were recruited via a direct mailed questionnaire sent to a sample of women throughout the United States. Additional respondents were recruited through flyers and postcards advertising the study placed with permission at several health care provider offices and other locations. PARTICIPANTS: A sample of 563 menopausal women who had discontinued the use of hormone therapy completed a questionnaire describing their experiences with the use of complementary and alternative medicine. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Responses to an investigator developed survey. RESULTS: Nearly half of the women surveyed used complementary and alternative medicine. The most common choices of complementary and alternative medicine were (a) multivitamins and calcium, (b) black cohosh, (c) soy supplements and food, (d) antidepressants, (e) meditation and relaxation, (f) evening primrose oil, (g) antihypertensives, and (h) homeopathy. Of the alternative therapies that were used by at least 5% of the sample, antidepressants were perceived as the most useful. CONCLUSIONS: With the increased adoption of complementary and alternative medicine, it is important for health care providers to be familiar with the various methods so they are comfortable discussing the benefits and risks with their patients to assist them in making informed decisions.

PMID: 19208048 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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