Body, Mind & Spirit Articles and Latest News

An evaluation of the enhanced cognitive-behavioural model of bulimia nervosa.

Behav Res Ther. 2011 Sep;49(9):529-35

Authors: Lampard AM, Byrne SM, McLean N, Fursland A

Abstract
The original cognitive-behavioural model of bulimia nervosa (BN) has been enhanced to include four additional maintaining mechanisms: low self esteem, clinical perfectionism, interpersonal problems, and mood intolerance. These models have been used to guide cognitive-behavioural treatment for BN, but the enhanced model has yet to be directly evaluated as a whole in a clinical sample. This study aimed to compare and evaluate the original and the enhanced cognitive-behavioural models of BN using structural equation modelling. The Eating Disorder Examination and self-report questionnaires were completed by 162 patients seeking treatment for BN (N = 129) or atypical BN (N = 33). Fit indices suggested that both the original and enhanced models provided a good fit to the data, but the enhanced model accounted for more variance in dietary restraint and binge eating. In the enhanced model, low self esteem was associated with greater overevaluation of weight and shape, which, in turn, was associated with increased dietary restraint. Interpersonal problems were also directly associated with dietary restraint, and binge eating was associated with increased purging. While the current study provides support for some aspects of the enhanced cognitive-behavioural model of BN, some key relationships in the model were not supported, including the important conceptual relationship between dietary restraint and binge eating.

PMID: 21724176 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Part 9. Thought records.

Can Fam Physician. 2011 Aug;57(8):913-4

Authors: Dubord G

PMID: 21841114 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Commentary on Lin MF, Hsieh YJ, Fetzer S & Hsu MC (2011) A randomised controlled trial of the effect of music therapy and verbal relaxation on chemotherapy-induced anxiety. Journal of Clinical Nursing 20, 988-999.

J Clin Nurs. 2011 Oct;20(19-20):2980

Authors: Berger VW

PMID: 21902742 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Impairment of gradual muscle adjustment during wrist circumduction in Parkinson’s disease.

PLoS One. 2011;6(9):e24572

Authors: Toxopeus CM, de Jong BM, Valsan G, Conway BA, van der Hoeven JH, Leenders KL, Maurits NM

Abstract
Purposeful movements are attained by gradually adjusted activity of opposite muscles, or synergists. This requires a motor system that adequately modulates initiation and inhibition of movement and selectively activates the appropriate muscles. In patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) initiation and inhibition of movements are impaired which may manifest itself in e.g. difficulty to start and stop walking. At single-joint level, impaired movement initiation is further accompanied by insufficient inhibition of antagonist muscle activity. As the motor symptoms in PD primarily result from cerebral dysfunction, quantitative investigation of gradually adjusted muscle activity during execution of purposeful movement is a first step to gain more insight in the link between impaired modulation of initiation and inhibition at the levels of (i) cerebrally coded task performance and (ii) final execution by the musculoskeletal system. To that end, the present study investigated changes in gradual adjustment of muscle synergists using a manipulandum that enabled standardized smooth movement by continuous wrist circumduction. Differences between PD patients (N = 15, off-medication) and healthy subjects (N = 16) concerning the relation between muscle activity and movement performance in these groups were assessed using kinematic and electromyographic (EMG) recordings. The variability in the extent to which a particular muscle was active during wrist circumduction–defined as muscle activity differentiation–was quantified by EMG. We demonstrated that more differentiated muscle activity indeed correlated positively with improved movement performance, i.e. higher movement speed and increased smoothness of movement. Additionally, patients employed a less differentiated muscle activity pattern than healthy subjects. These specific changes during wrist circumduction imply that patients have a decreased ability to gradually adjust muscles causing a decline in movement performance. We propose that less differentiated muscle use in PD patients reflects impaired control of modulated initiation and inhibition due to decreased ability to selectively and jointly activate muscles.

PMID: 21912704 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Medical simulation for professional development–science and practice.

BJOG. 2011 Nov;118 Suppl 3:1-4

Authors: Fox R, Walker JJ, Draycott TJ

Abstract
From the earliest days of medical practice, when surgeons used cadavers to explore the possibilities of surgical intervention, simulation has been employed to advance the practice of health care. In the last 10 years, technological advances have allowed for a wider availability and greater realism of simulation, and this has encouraged a great expansion in its use. Simulation aims to create a virtuous cycle of professional development to improve patient outcomes. Although it seems eminently logical to believe that simulation will result in better outcomes, there is a need to test these new training interventions rigorously to be sure of their worth and to understand any limitations. The purpose of this BJOG supplement is to examine in depth several paradigms of medical simulation within maternity care and gynaecology, in different settings, looking at what can be achieved and how. In this opening review, we look at the potential use of medical simulation in broad terms and describe the types of evidence that can be employed to support its use.

PMID: 22039885 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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[The psychological dynamics of depression in the elderly].

Soins Gerontol. 2011 Sep-Oct;(91):17-22

Authors: Charazac PM

Abstract
Depression in the elderly can be difficult to detect. Examining the normal depressive and pathological affect can help to determine the meaning of the depression. Likewise, the effects of psychological dynamics on the clinical profile and treatments clarify our approaches and our practices.

PMID: 22066380 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Commentary. Dr. Aaron T. Beck’s enduring impact on mental health.

Harv Ment Health Lett. 2011 Oct;28(4):8

Authors: Miller MC

PMID: 22135824 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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[Influence of “prehistory” of sequential movements of the right and the left hand on reproduction: coding of positions, movements and sequence structure].

Zh Vyssh Nerv Deiat Im I P Pavlova. 2011 Sep-Oct;61(5):565-72

Authors: Bobrova EV, Liakhovetskiĭ VA, Borshchevskaia ER

Abstract
The dependence of errors during reproduction of a sequence of hand movements without visual feedback on the previous right- and left-hand performance (”prehistory”) and on positions in space of sequence elements (random or ordered by the explicit rule) was analyzed. It was shown that the preceding information about the ordered positions of the sequence elements was used during right-hand movements, whereas left-hand movements were performed with involvement of the information about the random sequence. The data testify to a central mechanism of the analysis of spatial structure of sequence elements. This mechanism activates movement coding specific for the left hemisphere (vector coding) in case of an ordered sequence structure and positional coding specific for the right hemisphere in case of a random sequence structure.

PMID: 22145332 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Emotional status: diagnosis and treatment for severe psychiatric disorders.

Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2011 Dec 28;

Authors: Falkai P, Möller HJ

PMID: 22203148 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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Remote interventions may facilitate weight loss.

JAMA. 2011 Dec 28;306(24):2660

Authors: Mitka M

PMID: 22203533 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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