Body, Mind & Spirit Articles and Latest News

The Common Neural Bases Between Sexual Desire and Love: A Multilevel Kernel Density fMRI Analysis.

J Sex Med. 2012 Feb 21;

Authors: Cacioppo S, Bianchi-Demicheli F, Frum C, Pfaus JG, Lewis JW

Abstract
Introduction.  One of the most difficult dilemmas in relationship science and couple therapy concerns the interaction between sexual desire and love. As two mental states of intense longing for union with others, sexual desire and love are, in fact, often difficult to disentangle from one another. Aim.  The present review aims to help understand the differences and similarities between these two mental states using a comprehensive statistical meta-analyses of all functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies on sexual desire and love. Methods.  Systematic retrospective review of pertinent neuroimaging literature. Main Outcome Measures.  Review of published literature on fMRI studies illustrating brain regions associated with love and sexual desire to date. Results.  Sexual desire and love not only show differences but also recruit a striking common set of brain areas that mediate somatosensory integration, reward expectation, and social cognition. More precisely, a significant posterior-to-anterior insular pattern appears to track sexual desire and love progressively. Conclusions.  This specific pattern of activation suggests that love builds upon a neural circuit for emotions and pleasure, adding regions associated with reward expectancy, habit formation, and feature detection. In particular, the shared activation within the insula, with a posterior-to-anterior pattern, from desire to love, suggests that love grows out of and is a more abstract representation of the pleasant sensorimotor experiences that characterize desire. From these results, one may consider desire and love on a spectrum that evolves from integrative representations of affective visceral sensations to an ultimate representation of feelings incorporating mechanisms of reward expectancy and habit learning. Cacioppo S, Bianchi-Demicheli F, Frum C, Pfaus JG, and Lewis JW. The common neural bases between sexual desire and love: A multilevel kernel density fMRI analysis. J Sex Med **;**:**-**.

PMID: 22353205 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

[Read more →]

Public knowledge, attitude and practice of complementary and alternative medicine in riyadh region, saudi arabia.

Oman Med J. 2012 Jan;27(1):20-6

Authors: Elolemy AT, Albedah AM

Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is well established worldwide. The present work is aimed at studying the knowledge, attitude and practice of CAM by the people of Riyadh region, Saudi Arabia.
METHODS: A cross-sectional descriptive household survey study of the people living in Riyadh city, as well as the surrounding governorates. A multistage random sample was taken from 1(st) January to the end of March 2010, with a total number of 518 participants. Data were collected using a pre-designed questionnaire through direct interview. The data was collected based on socio-demography, as well as knowledge, attitude and practice of CAM.
RESULTS: Participants were nearly sex-matched, consisting of approximately 70% Saudi and 30% non-Saudis. About 89% of the participants had some knowledge of CAM. Mass media e.g. (T.V., newspapers and radio) and family, relatives and friends represented the main sources of CAM knowledge, (46.5% and 46.3% respectively). Nearly 85% of participants or one of their family members has used some form of CAM before, and the most common users of CAM practices were females, housewives, and illiterate subjects (or those who could just read and write), as well as participants aged 60 years and above. Medical herbs (58.89%), prayer (54%), honey and bee products (54%), hijama (35.71%) and cauterization or medical massage therapy (22%) were the commonly used CAM practices. Most participants agreed that there are needs for; CAM practices (93.8%), regulations for CAM (94.9%), health education (96.6%), specialized centers (94.8%) and CAM clinics (92.7%). While only 8.3% of participants usually discussed CAM with their physicians.
CONCLUSION: There is a high prevalence and increased public interest in CAM use in the Riyadh region. There is a positive attitude towards CAM, yet most participants are reluctant to share and discuss CAM information with their physicians.

PMID: 22359720 [PubMed - in process]

[Read more →]

A recent study found that a 60-minute “dose” of Swedish massage therapy delivered once a week for pain due to osteoarthritis of the knee was both optimal and practical, establishing a standard for use in future research. This trial, funded by NCCAM and published in the journal PLoS One, builds on an earlier pilot study of massage for knee osteoarthritis pain, which had promising results but provided no data to determine whether the dose was optimal. (The researchers defined an optimal, practical dose as producing the greatest ratio of desired effect compared to costs in time, labor, and convenience.) Osteoarthritis, a degenerative disease of the joints, is the most common type of arthritis, affecting approximately 27 million Americans.

[Read more →]

Music interventions for children with autism: narrative review of the literature.

J Autism Dev Disord. 2011 Nov;41(11):1507-14

Authors: Simpson K, Keen D

Abstract
It is widely reported that music can be beneficial to individuals with autism. This review was undertaken to determine the evidence base for the use of music as an intervention for children with autism. After searching relevant databases, 128 articles were identified of which 20 articles met the study’s inclusion criteria. Composed songs and improvisational music therapy were the predominant music techniques used. There was somewhat limited evidence to support the use of music interventions under certain conditions to facilitate social, communicative and behavioural skills in young children with autism. The implications of these findings in terms of use of music interventions, issues related to generalization and maintenance, and future research are discussed.

PMID: 21203898 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

[Read more →]

Avatar assistant: improving social skills in students with an ASD through a computer-based intervention.

J Autism Dev Disord. 2011 Nov;41(11):1543-55

Authors: Hopkins IM, Gower MW, Perez TA, Smith DS, Amthor FR, Wimsatt FC, Biasini FJ

Abstract
This study assessed the efficacy of FaceSay, a computer-based social skills training program for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). This randomized controlled study (N = 49) indicates that providing children with low-functioning autism (LFA) and high functioning autism (HFA) opportunities to practice attending to eye gaze, discriminating facial expressions and recognizing faces and emotions in FaceSay’s structured environment with interactive, realistic avatar assistants improved their social skills abilities. The children with LFA demonstrated improvements in two areas of the intervention: emotion recognition and social interactions. The children with HFA demonstrated improvements in all three areas: facial recognition, emotion recognition, and social interactions. These findings, particularly the measured improvements to social interactions in a natural environment, are encouraging.

PMID: 21287255 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

[Read more →]

Atypical brain responses to reward cues in autism as revealed by event-related potentials.

J Autism Dev Disord. 2011 Nov;41(11):1523-33

Authors: Kohls G, Peltzer J, Schulte-Rüther M, Kamp-Becker I, Remschmidt H, Herpertz-Dahlmann B, Konrad K

Abstract
Social motivation deficit theories suggest that children with autism do not properly anticipate and appreciate the pleasure of social stimuli. In this study, we investigated event-related brain potentials evoked by cues that triggered social versus monetary reward anticipation in children with autism. Children with autism showed attenuated P3 activity in response to cues associated with a timely reaction to obtain a reward, irrespective of reward type. We attribute this atypical P3 activity in response to reward cues as reflective of diminished motivated attention to reward signals, a possible contributor to reduced social motivation in autism. Thus, our findings suggest a general reward processing deficit rather than a specific social reward dysfunction in autism.

PMID: 21290174 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

[Read more →]

Effects of a nurse-led cognitive-behavior therapy on fatigue and quality of life of patients with breast cancer undergoing radiotherapy: an exploratory study.

Cancer Nurs. 2011 Nov-Dec;34(6):E22-30

Authors: Lee H, Lim Y, Yoo MS, Kim Y

Abstract
BACKGROUND: Radiotherapy can have multiple adverse effects, including patient complaints of persistent fatigue and low quality of life. Cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) has alleviated fatigue and improved QOL of cancer patients; however, little is known about the effects of nurse-led CBT on breast cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy.
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of a nurse-led CBT program on fatigue and QOL of patients with breast cancer undergoing radiotherapy.
METHODS: This study was performed using a quasi-experimental pretest/posttest design, with a nonequivalent control group. The participants were patients with breast cancer (N = 71: experimental group = 35, control group = 36) undergoing radiotherapy at P University Hospital in Korea. The experimental group received a 6-week intervention program that included cognitive restructuring, education about the disease and medical treatment, relaxation therapy, and rehabilitation exercise.
RESULTS: After the 6-week intervention, the level of fatigue increased in patients in both groups. However, the increase in the experimental group was lower than that in the control group. Quality of life of the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group.
CONCLUSIONS: The nurse-led CBT seemed to control fatigue level and improve QOL. Therefore, the use of nurse-led CBT for patients with breast cancer undergoing radiotherapy must be promoted.
IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Active involvement of experienced nurses in the counseling program should be considered. In addition, further research must be conducted into the implementation of the nurse-led cognitive-behavioral intervention to a broader spectrum of patients.

PMID: 21372697 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

[Read more →]

Alcohol impairs brain reactivity to explicit loss feedback.

Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2011 Nov;218(2):419-28

Authors: Nelson LD, Patrick CJ, Collins P, Lang AR, Bernat EM

Abstract
RATIONALE: Alcohol impairs the brain’s detection of performance errors as evidenced by attenuated error-related negativity (ERN), an event-related potential (ERP) thought to reflect a brain system that monitors one’s behavior. However, it remains unclear whether alcohol impairs performance-monitoring capacity across a broader range of contexts, including those entailing external feedback.
OBJECTIVE: This study sought to determine whether alcohol-related monitoring deficits are specific to internal recognition of errors (reflected by the ERN) or occur also in external cuing contexts. We evaluated the impact of alcohol consumption on the feedback-related negativity (FRN), an ERP thought to engage a similar process as the ERN but elicited by negative performance feedback in the environment.
METHODS: In an undergraduate sample randomly assigned to drink alcohol (n = 37; average peak BAC = 0.087 g/100 ml, estimated from breath alcohol sampling) or placebo beverages (n = 42), ERP responses to gain and loss feedback were measured during a two-choice gambling task. Time-frequency analysis was used to parse the overlapping theta-FRN and delta-P3 and clarified the effects of alcohol on the measures.
RESULTS: Alcohol intoxication attenuated both the theta-FRN and delta-P3 brain responses to feedback. The theta-FRN attenuation was stronger following loss than gain feedback.
CONCLUSIONS: Attenuation of both theta-FRN and delta-P3 components indicates that alcohol pervasively attenuates the brain’s response to feedback in this task. That theta-FRN attenuation was stronger following loss trials is consistent with prior ERN findings and suggests that alcohol broadly impairs the brain’s recognition of negative performance outcomes across differing contexts.

PMID: 21559803 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

[Read more →]

Treating childhood obesity in primary care.

Clin Pediatr (Phila). 2011 Nov;50(11):1010-7

Authors: Wald ER, Moyer SC, Eickhoff J, Ewing LJ

Abstract
The objective of this prospective, cohort study was to assess an intervention for obese children (9-12 years of age) and their families delivered in primary care. A family-based, behavioral weight management program consisted of 11 sessions. The treatment consisted of a calorie goal, self-monitoring of daily food intake, physical activity and sedentary behavior, and other behavior change skills. A total of 78 children and families entered treatment; 23 children served as quasi-controls. The mean weight loss at 15 weeks among 55 children (71%) who completed the program was 2.4 lbs (SD = 5.24, range of -16.7 to +8.4 lbs) compared with a mean weight gain of 3.45 lbs (SD = 4.31, range of -5.0 to +12.0 lbs) among 23 control children. The mean change in body mass index z score from baseline to month 24 was -0.17 ± 0.32 (P < .001). Primary care is an appropriate place to identify and treat children with obesity.

PMID: 21646253 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

[Read more →]

The maintenance effect of cognitive-behavioural treatment groups for the Chinese parents of children with intellectual disabilities in Melbourne, Australia: a 6-month follow-up study.

J Intellect Disabil Res. 2011 Nov;55(11):1043-53

Authors: Wong DF, Poon A, Kwok YC

Abstract
BACKGROUND: Caring for a child with intellectual disability can be stressful. No data on the longer-term effects of cognitive-behavioural treatment (CBT) on parents from a Chinese-speaking background who have children with intellectual disabilities are available in the literature. This study attempted to fill this research gap by examining the maintenance effect of CBT among the Chinese parents of such children in Melbourne, Australia.
METHOD: Thirty-nine participants took part in our CBT groups and attended follow-up meetings. A questionnaire comprising four instruments, the Parenting Stress Index (PS) - Parent Domain, General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12), Abbreviated Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire (Q-LES-Q-18) and Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS), was administered to the participants at the pre- and post-test stage and at the 6-month follow-up.
RESULTS: One-way repeated-measures analyses of variance revealed significant time and group effects in the PS (F(2,27) = 16.93, P < 0.001), Q-LES-Q-18 (F(2,27) = 15.98, P < 0.001), GHQ-12 (F(2,27) = 81.93, P < 0.001) and DAS (F(2,27) = 15.50, P < 0.001) scores at the three measurement times. The participants continued to maintain significant improvements in mental health and quality of life and declines in the severity of parenting stress and dysfunctional attitudes at the 6-month follow-up. Effect size analyses revealed mostly large differences in the foregoing measurements (Cohen’s d = 0.76-2.18) between the pre-test and 6-month follow-up. Employing a cut-off score of 3/4 in the GHQ-12 to identify at-risk and not-at-risk cases, approximately 90.5% of the participants could be classified as not-at-risk at the follow-up. Lastly, regression analyses showed that changes in DAS scores significantly predicted changes in the GHQ-12 and Q-LES-Q-18 scores at the follow-up.
CONCLUSIONS: This study provides preliminary evidence of the 6-month maintenance effect of CBT groups for the Melbourne-resident Chinese parents of children with intellectual disabilities.

PMID: 21668803 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

[Read more →]