Biomedical subjects

A D Futterman

Publications and source records attributed to A D Futterman.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1993

Nausea induced by mental images of chemotherapy.

BACKGROUND: Although anecdotal reports indicate that patients with cancer undergoing chemotherapy can become nauseated outside the chemotherapy clinic when they think or talk about treatment, this phenomenon has not been investigated systematically. METHODS: A series of experimental analyses with individual patients was conducted to explore the possibility that mental images of chemotherapy can elicit nausea in patients who, during the course of their treatment, experienced nausea in anticipation of chemotherapy infusions. Occurrence and intensity of nausea were examined in each patient in response to three imagery scenes: pastoral, a nonchemotherapy medical procedure, and chemotherapy. RESULTS: Eight of 10 patients with clinically documented histories of anticipatory nausea to clinic stimuli experienced nausea when they imagined chemotherapy. They did not become nauseated when they imagined non-chemotherapy medical procedures. For the four patients without prior anticipatory nausea, imaginal reexposure to chemotherapy did not elicit nausea. CONCLUSIONS: Results provide evidence that mental images of chemotherapy elicit nausea in patients with histories of anticipatory nausea and suggest that cognitive factors may play a more important role in the occurrence of chemotherapy side effects than previously recognized.

Adult↗

PubMed1993

Formation of food aversions in cancer patients receiving repeated infusions of chemotherapy.

Patients receiving emetogenic chemotherapy for cancer have been found to develop aversions to normal dietary items consumed in close temporal relation to treatment administrations. These aversions are presumed to develop via conditioning processes as demonstrated in experimental studies of food aversion learning. The present study used a prospective, longitudinal design to evaluate the possible role of conditioning in the formation of aversions to normal dietary items in women receiving adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer. Patients were monitored for the development of aversions to foods and beverages consumed in the 24 hr periods before and after each of eight consecutive chemotherapy infusions beginning with the initial infusion. Data on the prevalence, course, and prediction of aversions to normal dietary items are reported. These results pointed to similarities and differences between aversions formed to normal dietary items during chemotherapy treatment and aversions formed to taste stimuli during experimental conditioning studies. In addition to their theoretical significance, results also suggest possible strategies for preventing the clinical problem of aversions to normal dietary items in chemotherapy patients.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

Immunological variability associated with experimentally-induced positive and negative affective states.

Functional and phenotypic immunological parameters were examined immediately before, after, and 30 minutes after experimentally-induced short-term positive (happiness) and negative (anxiety, depression) affective states and a neutral state, in five healthy subjects. Results indicated that all affective states induced more immune fluctuations (regardless of the direction) than the neutral state. Furthermore, among the affective states, anxiety induced the most immunological variability and depression the least.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

The Psychosocial Levels System. A new rating scale to identify and assess emotional difficulties during bone marrow transplantation.

The "Psychosocial Levels System" assesses patients on three gradations of intensity: Level 1 (mild/minimal); Level 2 (moderate); and Level 3 (severe), taking into account past psychiatric history, quality of family and social support, prior coping history, coping with disease and treatment, quality of affect, proneness to anticipatory problems, and mental status. Based on initial psychiatric interviews, 42 BMT patients were rated by the authors. Results showed strong and significant concordance amongst raters. Retrospective global "level" ratings assigned by each patient's liaison therapist were highly concordant with the record-review generated ratings by the authors, emphasizing the significant convergent validity of the system.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1990

Psychodynamic themes of bone marrow transplantation. When I becomes thou.

In-depth psychodynamic factors about bone marrow transplantation are described. These factors are related to the BMT recipient, donor, recipient's family, and hospital staff. The emphasis is on the meaning of the experience emotionally and symbolically for the participants in BMT.

Bone Marrow Transplantation↗

PubMed1986

A review of biofeedback for mental disorders.

Although biofeedback was developed by psychologists, it has been most widely used in the treatment of psychophysiological and medical disorders and less frequently used to control symptoms of psychopathology and mental disorders. The authors review studies in which biofeedback was used in the treatment of patients with schizophrenia, depression, anxiety disorders, insomnia, alcohol and drug dependence, and tardive dyskinesia. The studies indicate that biofeedback can help selected patients modify specific responses or response patterns associated with a mental disorder. It appears to be most suitable for patients and disorders in which physiological processes can be identified as relevant. However, the findings offer little support for biofeedback as the treatment of choice for any mental disorder.

Alcoholism↗

PubMed1983

The construct and predictive validity of adaptive behavior.

The construct and predictive validity of adaptive behavior of mentally retarded persons was investigated using a multitrait multimethod analysis. The validity issues of concern were (a) how generalizable the adaptive behavior dimension is over a variety of measurement methods, (b) how adaptive behavior relates to mental age (MA), and (c) how well adaptive behavior assessment references placement in programs and situations. Adaptive behavior and MA were assessed by program participation, psychometric ratings, and overall staff ratings. Adaptive behavior had high convergent validity and low discriminant validity and predicted MA program placement better than did MA. We concluded that adaptive behavior scores could replace MA.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Immunological and physiological changes associated with induced positive and negative mood.

Functional and phenotypic immunological parameters were examined before, at the end of, and 20 minutes after the induction of positive and negative mood states, varied for arousal level, and a neutral state. The subjects were 14 male actors who experienced each condition on a different day. Compared with a neutral condition, all mood states affected several immune parameters (e.g., natural killer cell percentage and activity and percentage of suppressor/cytotoxic T cells), regardless of the valence or arousal level of the mood induced. The only immune variable differentially sensitive to positive and negative mood states was the proliferative response to the mitogen phytohemagglutinin; the response increased after positive moods and decreased after negative moods. Analysis of covariance for repeated measures indicated that heart rate, alone or in combination with physical activity and cortisol levels, had an impact on mood effects for most of the immune parameters investigated.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Psychological and immunological reactions of family members to patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation.

The authors' goal was to evaluate the impacts of patients' bone marrow transplant (BMT) on their spouse/partner's (subjects) psychological and immunological status at four key points in the course of their transplant. Subjects' (N = 24) psychological and immunological status was prospectively evaluated at four key points in the patient's BMT which included: at patients' admission to hospital and 0-, 20-, and 34-day intervals after BMT infusion. Psychological variables examined included: a) general psychological distress and negative affect; b) tendency to respond in a socially desirable manner; c) state negative affect; and d) coping style, specifically if escape-avoidance coping was used. Immune variables examined included: percentages of total T cells and of CD4+, CD8+ cells, B cells, and natural killer (NK) cells, and NK cytotoxicity. Greatest abnormality in immune variables was detected before the initiation of BMT (i.e., between admission and day 0) with normalization between days 21 and 34 thereafter. During the waiting period before BMT, the subjects had the highest scores on negative affects, escape-avoidance coping, and psychological symptoms. These progressively declined after the BMT procedure. Significant correlations were found among trait anxiety, escape-avoidance coping, and total percentage of T cells and of CD4+ cells. Escape-avoidance coping was reliably correlated with percentage of B cells. The greatest psychological and immunological impacts on spouse/partners of BMT patients were found in the period directly after hospital admission and before BMT infusion. Alterations in immune values occurred in anticipation of BMT in the spouse/partners. Psychological symptoms followed this same pattern, being most elevated before BMT and decreasing in the successive evaluations post-BMT for the spouse/partners. The most significant and consistent psychological variable in predicting immune changes was escape-avoidance coping, with less escape-avoidance coping predicting better immune functioning.

Adaptation, Psychological↗