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Biomedical subjects

A N West

Publications and source records attributed to A N West.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Rats with lesions of the hippocampus are impaired on the delayed nonmatching-to-sample task.

Rats with ibotenic acid lesions of the hippocampus (H-IBO) were trained on the trial-unique delayed nonmatching-to-sample task (DNMS) using a short delay of 4 s. The H-IBO group learned the nonmatching rule as quickly as control animals. However, performance was impaired on the DNMS task when the delay between the sample and choice phase was increased to 1 or 2 min. The use of 4-s delay (probe) trials indicated that the H-IBO animals retained the nonmatching-to-sample rule throughout testing. In a second experiment, using the same groups of rats, extended training at the 1-min delay did not ameliorate the deficit produced by H-IBO lesions. The finding of impaired recognition memory in rats after hippocampal lesions is consistent with findings from humans and monkeys. Several methodological issues are considered that have complicated the interpretation of earlier studies of recognition memory in rats following hippocampal lesions. The capacity for recognition memory in humans, monkeys, and rodents is discussed as a straightforward example of hippocampus-dependent (declarative) memory.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of methylphenidate in older, depressed, medically ill patients.

OBJECTIVE: The authors examined the efficacy of methylphenidate in the treatment of depression in a group of older, medically ill patients. METHOD: Sixteen patients underwent an 8-day double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled crossover trial; 13 completed the trial. RESULTS: Statistically and clinically significant treatment responses were found. CONCLUSIONS: These results support the use of methylphenidate in older, medically ill patients in whom rapid resolution of depressive symptoms is crucial.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1992

Resolution of depressive symptoms in medical inpatients after discharge.

OBJECTIVE: Most studies to date demonstrate a high prevalence of depressive symptoms and depressive disorders in general medical inpatients. In order to determine whether these symptoms represent a self limited epiphenomenon of medical illness or evidence of psychiatric comorbidity, assessment of the natural history of such symptoms in this population is necessary. In this study we focused on resolution versus persistence of depressive symptoms in hospitalized medical patients following medical, but not psychiatric, treatment. METHOD: Every second admission to the acute care medical ward of a VA teaching hospital was assessed for inclusion in the study. Fifty-seven were screened, fifty participated initially, forty-two remained in the study for the one-week post-discharge follow-up, and thirty-three remained at the one-month follow-up. Depressive symptomatology was measured with the Beck Depression Inventory at each time point. Subjects whose scores at follow-ups were above threshold were considered to have persistent symptoms and those whose scores fell below threshold were considered to have resolved. No patients were treated with antidepressants prior to or during the study. RESULTS: With a conventionally accepted threshold score (14) on the BDI as representing clinically significant depression, roughly half of those patients identified as depressed at the time of admission were nondepressed at both follow-ups. The BDI predicted persistence of depression with a sensitivity of .64 and specificity of .74 at one week and .71 and .73 at one month. Raising the threshold score to 20 raised the sensitivity to 1.00 and the specificity to .95 at one week and 1.00 and .93 at one month. CONCLUSIONS: Depressive symptoms seen in acutely-ill medical patients can be expected to resolve without potentially-hazardous antidepressant treatment in a significant number of patients. Persistence of depressive symptoms may be better predicted by raising the threshold on commonly used self-report scales.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Multiple timing and the allocation of attention.

Two experiments were designed to examine the effects of multiple timing tasks on prospective time judgment performance. In experiment 1, subjects were required to monitor the durations of one, two, three, or four concurrent target stimuli which began and ended at different times, and then reproduce one of those durations subsequently chosen at random. Time judgment accuracy deteriorated as the number of target stimuli increased. In experiment 2, subjects used the production method to generate specified durations for one, two, three, or four partially overlapping stimuli. Timing was less accurate in conditions involving more target stimuli. In the multiple-target conditions, time judgments were less accurate for the later- rather than earlier-onset targets. The results support an attentional model of timing, and suggest that timing is an effortful process which draws from limited attentional resources.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Relationship between utilization of mental health and medical services in a VA hospital.

Previous research has demonstrated a reduction in utilization of medical services following the initiation of psychiatric services for certain patients. The phenomenon has been called the offset effect. The authors investigated the offset effect in a Veterans Administration medical center setting. They found that the offset effect emerged only for patients who had high rates of use of medical services who received mental health services for 1 year or less. They discuss factors related to higher rates of medical care utilization as well as important differences between the present and previous research that require further study.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1988

Primary process content in paranoid schizophrenic speech.

Free speech samples given by paranoid schizophrenics, nonschizophrenic paranoids, and nonpsychotic psychiatric patients were submitted to computerized content analysis. Speech samples were searched for words belonging to the Regressive Imagery Dictionary (Martindale, 1975), which yields a well-validated measure of primary process content. Three word-concreteness dictionaries were also employed. Compared to the other groups, paranoid schizophrenics produced speech higher in primary process content as well as in transitive verb concreteness. Results are consistent with psychoanalytic theory.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Current need versus treatment history as predictors of use of outpatient psychiatric care.

The authors conducted a study of treatment utilization and outcome on a sample of 116 psychiatric outpatients at a Veterans Administration (VA) hospital. Utilization and outcome measures were obtained at a follow-up interview 18 months after a baseline assessment. Comparisons between patients with high and low rates of utilization revealed negligible relationships between use of services and severity of illness, clinical change, or demographics. However, previous use of VA outpatient and inpatient psychiatric services and VA psychiatric disability rating predicted utilization of psychiatric care during the study. The authors conclude that use of VA outpatient psychiatric care may reflect patients' help-seeking history more than their current clinical need.

Female↗
PubMed1987

Integration of VA and CMHC care: utilization and long-term outcome. Community Mental Health Center.

An innovative treatment program was established through which VA outpatient mental health care was decentralized via integration with the CMHC system in northern Vermont. A long-term follow-up study evaluated the success of Veterans' Integrated Community Care (VICC) in meeting its goal of enhanced access to care and better treatment outcomes. Three groups were compared: veterans who were transferred from VA hospital care to VICC care, veterans who were treated at the VA hospital only, and veterans who were newly reached through the VICC program. Follow-ups were conducted 18 months after intake and at least two years thereafter. Results indicate that all groups were improved symptomatically at the first follow-up, but only VICC patients maintained this improvement subsequently. By the last follow-up, VICC patients had reduced their utilization of VA psychiatric care, whereas veterans who had received only hospital-based care had not. VICC treatment represents a viable alternative to centralized VA mental health care.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Developmental functions in a chronic psychiatric population: diagnosis.

The research in psychopathology has revealed little interest in distinguishing between types of chronic mental patients. Chronics have usually been treated as a homogeneous group, and other possible subtypes have remained undefined because of the "melting-pot" effects of extensive hospitalization. Recently, there has been a renewed interest in the chronic patient, as well as in a differentiation of the largest group of such patients, the chronic schizophrenic. Ss were 129 inpatients at a state mental hospital in Maine. The present report begins the specification of a diagnostic system for chronic patients with the use of tasks that reflect developmental functions. Factor analysis of a set of developmental tasks, ranging from early reflex tests to later cognitive operations, resulted in a test battery which clearly defines specific developmental functions. Of most importance, the clusters of patients derived from these factors exhibited differential profiles indicating strengths and weaknesses on the developmental functions. The assumption of a developmental task sequence was not supported by the results, but the diagnosis of the chronic patient in terms of developmental functions appears promising.

Chronic Disease↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Women physicians and their mentors.

This study surveyed 189 women physicians in order to compare the experiences of those who had male mentors with those who had female mentors. Respondents with high-ranking male mentors reported more career sponsorship. However, those with lower ranking female mentors reported more personal advice. In addition, those with female mentors reported fewer problems retaining their autonomy in the relationship. The mentor's administrative or academic rank, rather than gender, was the chief determinant of sponsoring effectiveness. These results suggest that women physicians face a dilemma in their choice of mentors, and underscore the importance of promoting women physicians to positions of authority in medical schools and training hospitals.

Career Mobility↗