Body, Mind & Spirit Articles and Latest News

[Development of the stroke rehabilitation apparatus based on EMG-biofeedback]

Sheng Wu Yi Xue Gong Cheng Xue Za Zhi. 2009 Apr;26(2):417-20

Authors: Liu Q, Tian X, Li F, Ge G, Tang H, Xu J, Wen H

This Stroke Rehabilitation Apparatus uses the electromyography triggered neuromuscular electrical stimulation as the means of the major therapeutics, and the fastigial nucleus stimulation as the means of the assistant therapeutics. This paper introduces the overall structure of the apparatus, the principle of its component, the EMG processing based on local nonlinear projective filtering algorithm and the alternating treatment modes. The therapeutic apparatus has the features of non-invasiveness, safety, convenience and strong alternating capability.

PMID: 19499815 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Movements or targets: what makes an action in action-effect learning?

Q J Exp Psychol (Colchester). 2009 Dec;62(12):2433-49

Authors: Hoffmann J, Lenhard A, Sebald A, Pfister R

According to ideomotor theory, actions become linked to the sensory feedback they contingently produce, so that anticipating the feedback automatically evokes the action it typically results from. Numerous recent studies have provided evidence in favour of such action-effect learning but left an important issue unresolved. It remains unspecified to what extent action-effect learning is based on associating effect-representations to representations of the performed movements or to representations of the targets at which the behaviour aimed at. Two experiments were designed to clarify this issue. In an acquisition phase, participants learned the contingency between key presses and effect tones. In a following test phase, key-effect and movement-effect relations were orthogonally assessed by changing the hand-key mapping for one half of the participants. Experiment 1 showed precedence for target-effect over movement-effect learning in a forced-choice RT task. In Experiment 2, target-effect learning was also shown to influence the outcome of response selection in a free-choice task. Altogether, the data indicate that both movement-effect and target-effect associations contribute to the formation of action-effect linkages-provided that movements and targets are likewise contingently related to the effects.

PMID: 19526438 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Psycho-science: where do we go from here?

Eur J Cancer. 2009 Sep;45 Suppl 1:455-6

Authors: Walker LG

PMID: 19775669 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Choking phobia: full remission following behavior therapy.

Rev Bras Psiquiatr. 2009 Sep;31(3):257-60

Authors: Scemes S, Wielenska RC, Savoia MG, Bernik M

OBJECTIVE: A phobic behavior pattern is learned by classical and operant conditioning mechanisms. The present article reviews the main determinants of choking phobia etiology and describes the behavior therapy of an adult patient. METHOD: Psychoeducation, functional analysis, and graded exposure to aversive stimuli were used to treat the patient, after extensive psychiatric and psychological assessment. Ingesta and anxiety levels were measured along treatment and at follow-up. RESULTS: A multiple assessment baseline design was used to demonstrate the complete remission of symptoms after seven sessions, each of them exposing the patient to a different group of foods. CONCLUSION: Psychoeducation and exposure were critical components of a successful choking phobia treatment.

PMID: 19787155 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Briefing and debriefing in the cardiac operating room. Analysis of impact on theatre team attitude and patient safety.

Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg. 2010 Jan;10(1):43-7

Authors: Papaspyros SC, Javangula KC, Adluri RK, O’Regan DJ

Error in health services delivery has long been recognised as a significant cause of inpatient morbidity and mortality. Root-cause analyses have cited communication failure as one of the contributing factors in adverse events. The formalised fighter pilot mission brief and debrief formed the basis of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) crew resource management (CRM) concept produced in 1979. This is a qualitative analysis of our experience with the briefing-debriefing process applied to cardiac theatres. We instituted a policy of formal operating room (OR) briefing and debriefing in all cardiac theatre sessions. The first 118 cases were reviewed. A trouble-free operation was noted in only 28 (23.7%) cases. We experienced multiple problems in 38 (32.2%) cases. A gap was identified in the second order problem solving in relation to instrument repair and maintenance. Theatre team members were interviewed and their comments were subjected to qualitative analysis. The collaborative feeling is that communication has improved. The health industry may benefit from embracing the briefing-debriefing technique as an adjunct to continuous improvement through reflective learning, deliberate practice and immediate feedback. This may be the initial step toward a substantive and sustainable organizational transformation.

PMID: 19801374 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Philosophy, freedom and the public good: a review and analysis of ‘Public health ethics’ Holland, S. (2007): Polity Press, Cambridge. ISBN-13: 978-07456-3302-2, pp. 222.

J Eval Clin Pract. 2009 Oct;15(5):838-58

Authors: Miles A, Loughlin M

PMID: 19811599 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Delusional infestation.

Clin Microbiol Rev. 2009 Oct;22(4):690-732

Authors: Freudenmann RW, Lepping P

This papers aims at familiarizing psychiatric and nonpsychiatric readers with delusional infestation (DI), also known as delusional parasitosis. It is characterized by the fixed belief of being infested with pathogens against all medical evidence. DI is no single disorder but can occur as a delusional disorder of the somatic type (primary DI) or secondary to numerous other conditions. A set of minimal diagnostic criteria and a classification are provided. Patients with DI pose a truly interdisciplinary problem to the medical system. They avoid psychiatrists and consult dermatologists, microbiologists, or general practitioners but often lose faith in professional medicine. Epidemiology and history suggest that the imaginary pathogens change constantly, while the delusional theme “infestation” is stable and ubiquitous. Patients with self-diagnosed “Morgellons disease” can be seen as a variation of this delusional theme. For clinicians, clinical pathways for efficient diagnostics and etiology-specific treatment are provided. Specialized outpatient clinics in dermatology with a liaison psychiatrist are theoretically best placed to provide care. The most intricate problem is to engage patients in psychiatric therapy. In primary DI, antipsychotics are the treatment of choice, according to limited but sufficient evidence. Pimozide is no longer the treatment of choice for reasons of drug safety. Future research should focus on pathophysiology and the neural basis of DI, as well as on conclusive clinical trials, which are widely lacking. Innovative approaches will be needed, since otherwise patients are unlikely to adhere to any study protocol.

PMID: 19822895 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Testing the effectiveness of family therapeutic assessment: a case study using a time-series design.

J Pers Assess. 2009 Nov;91(6):518-36

Authors: Smith JD, Wolf NJ, Handler L, Nash MR

We describe a family Therapeutic Assessment (TA) case study employing 2 assessors, 2 assessment rooms, and a video link. In the study, we employed a daily measures time-series design with a pretreatment baseline and follow-up period to examine the family TA treatment model. In addition to being an illustrative addition to a number of clinical reports suggesting the efficacy of family TA, this study is the first to apply a case-based time-series design to test whether family TA leads to clinical improvement and also illustrates when that improvement occurs. Results support the trajectory of change proposed by Finn (2007), the TA model’s creator, who posits that benefits continue beyond the formal treatment itself.

PMID: 19838902 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Complex regional pain syndrome in the adolescent athlete.

Curr Sports Med Rep. 2009 Nov-Dec;8(6):285-7

Authors: Rand SE

PMID: 19904065 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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User participation when using milieu therapy in a psychiatric hospital in Norway: a mission impossible?

Nurs Inq. 2009 Dec;16(4):287-96

Authors: Oeye C, Bjelland AK, Skorpen A, Anderssen N

In the past decade, the Norwegian government has emphasized user participation as an important goal in the care of mentally ill patients, through governmental strategic plans. At the same time, the governmental documents request normalization of psychiatric patients, including the re-socialization of psychiatric patients back into society outside the psychiatric hospital. Milieu therapy is a therapeutic tool to ensure user participation and re-socialization. Based on an ethnographic study in a long-term psychiatric ward in a psychiatric hospital, we identified how staff tried to implement user participation in their milieu-oriented therapy work. We have identified three major tensions and challenges in implementing user participation in milieu-therapeutic work. First, it is difficult to implement individual-based user participation and at the same time take collective house rules and codes of conduct into consideration. Second, user participation proved a difficulty when patients’ viewpoints challenged staff judgements on proper conduct and goals for which patients might aim. Third, user participation becomes a challenge when trying to establish relationships based on equality when using milieu therapy in a biomedical hierarchical hospital structure. These tensions and challenges are seen in light of paradoxical political frames and demands on one side, and milieu therapy as a complex tradition anchored in different ideologies on the other.

PMID: 19906279 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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