Biomedical subjects

Alyson J Bond

Publications and source records attributed to Alyson J Bond.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

An investigation into the sub-acute effects of ecstasy on aggressive interpretative bias and aggressive mood - are there gender differences?

The lowering of serotonin for a period following MDMA use could account for the increases in both self-rated and objective measures of aggression previously found in ecstasy users several days after taking the drug. There is some evidence of gender differences in the acute, sub-acute and long-term effects of MDMA use, and given that gender differences have been found in aggression, it is possible that men may experience more aggression mid-week than women. The aim of this study was to attempt to replicate findings showing increased bias towards aggressive material in ecstasy users several days after using the drug. In addition, to investigate possible gender differences in mid-week aggression. A total of 46 participants were tested: 19 ecstasy users and 27 controls were compared on the night of drug use and 4 days later. On day 4, a task designed to tap cognitive bias toward material with aggressive content was administered. Participants were required to process sentences that could be interpreted as either aggressive or neutral and subsequently remember them in a recognition test. This data set was then combined with the data from Curran et al.'s (2004) study that employed exactly the same procedure. Thus, the data from 107 participants was analysed to investigate gender differences. Ecstasy users recognized more aggressive sentences than controls and tended to react slower to neutral sentences than controls. Ecstasy users also rated themselves as being more aggressive and depressed than controls on day 4. No gender differences were found on any measure of aggression in the combined data set. Both male and female ecstasy users show a bias toward interpretation of ambiguous material in an aggressive manner when compared to controls 4 days after ecstasy use.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Antidepressant treatments and human aggression.

Aggressive behaviour is associated with negative mood and poor impulse control. Serotonin has been specifically associated with impulse regulation and deficiencies in serotonin have been linked to impulsive aggression. However, aggression occurs in a social context and noradrenaline has been implicated in social motivation. Both serotonergic and noradrenergic antidepressants may therefore be effective in reducing aggression. The evidence for the effects of antidepressants on aggression comes from a wide range of sources but there are few controlled trials or experimental studies. Current findings point to decreases in negative mood and anger attacks and positive changes in personality traits after antidepressant treatment. Clinical studies in personality disorder patients have shown some efficacy for serotonergic antidepressants in reducing irritability and impulsive aggression. Experimental work in healthy volunteers has shown both serotonergic and noradrenergic antidepressants to increase assertiveness and affiliative behaviour. Both may therefore decrease aggression through different routes.

Aggression↗

PubMed2005

Sex differences in cortisol response to reboxetine.

This study examined the cortisol response to reboxetine in a sample of healthy men and women. Forty healthy volunteers were randomly allocated to one of two treatment groups: placebo or 4 mg reboxetine under double-blind conditions. Saliva cortisol was measured pre, 1 and 1.5 h post-treatment. Mood and side-effects were also measured. A single oral dose of 4 mg reboxetine did not affect positive or negative mood but did produce some side-effects. It was also sufficient to increase cortisol release 1.5 h post-treatment compared to placebo. In addition, reboxetine lead to a significantly increased cortisol release in male compared to female volunteers. The results suggest that healthy male volunteers are more responsive to challenge with a noradrenergic compound than females.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Relationship between baseline cortisol, social functioning and depression: a mediation analysis.

Both elevated cortisol secretion and low social support have been commonly found in depressed patients, but their respective roles in depression remain unclear. In fact, it may not be a lack of social support but a failure to obtain it that is important. The present study used mediation analysis to study the interrelationships among cortisol, social functioning and depression. Sixty healthy volunteers were recruited from the community. Depression and social functioning were measured by the Beck Depression Inventory and the Social Adaptation Self-evaluation Scale, respectively. Salivary samples were collected to measure the cortisol. Using mediation analysis, it was found that elevated cortisol secretion was a vulnerability factor for low social functioning, leading to higher depression scores. Hypercortisolaemia may be a predisposing factor and may interact with a low level of social functioning leading to depression.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

The impact of depression on social skills.

Social skills deficits are common among depressed patients, but little attention has been paid to this aspect of depression. In this review, the potential roles of different depressive factors contributing to poor social skills are examined. Specifically, the first part of the analysis is focused on how different depressive factors influence the three components of social behavior: perceptual, cognitive, and performance. In the second part, evidence is provided to support the proposition that social skills deficits are manifestations of state depressive factors. This is based on results from studies involving mood induction procedures, counter manipulation procedures, and treatment with antidepressant drugs. These deficits are therefore likely to remit with effective treatment.

Affect↗

PubMed2003

Angry cognitive bias, trait aggression and impulsivity in substance users.

RATIONALE: According to cognitive theory, people who are aggressive expect angry responses to ambiguous situations. Increased aggression has been reported a few days or weeks following use of MDMA (ecstasy). This may relate to low 5-HT release, and so a 5-HT challenge may increase cognitive bias towards anger differentially in MDMA users and non-users. OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether: (1) measures of anger and aggression will correlate with processing time of angry material and with generation of aggressive responses and (2) tryptophan challenge in people abstinent from MDMA and controls will affect angry cognitive bias. METHODS: Thirty-two current MDMA users abstinent for 3 weeks, 32 ex-users abstinent for longer than 1 year and 32 non-MDMA substance users were recruited. Trait measures were administered before and state measures before and 5 h after an amino acid drink, depleted or augmented with tryptophan. After the drink, subjects undertook a computer task, which involved reading ambiguous short stories. Reading times to a key sentence describing an angry or non-angry reaction were recorded and subjects wrote a continuing sentence for half the stories. RESULTS: Subjects were faster to process angry than non-angry reactions, indicating the presence of angry cognitive bias. Trait anger and aggression were correlated with processing time of angry relative to non-angry reactions, particularly in the current users. Impulsivity was correlated with non-specific speed of response. Subjects wrote more aggressive sentences after an angry reaction. Tryptophan depletion tended to increase aggressive content. Trait aggression was correlated with aggressive content following non-angry reactions. CONCLUSIONS: Evidence of angry cognitive bias was shown in this group of substance users, which was not specific to MDMA use. People high on trait aggression were more likely to expect an angry reaction to an ambiguous situation and to generate more written aggression when this did not occur.

Aggression↗

PubMed2003

Consequences of displaying abnormal social behaviour: avoidance and reduction of social reinforcement.

BACKGROUND: Abnormal social behaviour, which is a common feature of psychiatric disorders, is associated with rejection. A passive lack of participation or involvement has been studied as characteristic of depression but active forms of nonparticipation have received little experimental attention. This study examined the interpersonal consequences of four distinct types of social behaviour by using the role enactment method. Two of the roles portrayed abnormal social behaviour, active nonparticipant 'manic' and passive nonparticipant 'sad', and two portrayed normal social behaviour, active participant 'warm' and passive participant 'shy'. METHODS: Sixty-three normal subjects were randomly allocated to a brief dyadic social interaction with a confederate acting one of four roles. Subsequently, they rated their level of rejection of the confederate and took part in the mixed-motive game with him/her. RESULTS: The subjects were more likely to reject confederates in the abnormal social behaviour roles. This was shown on both their nonverbal behaviour and their verbal report. On the mixed-motive game, subjects gave fewer points and less cooperative and ingratiating messages to the confederates who had displayed abnormal social behaviour. LIMITATIONS: This result might only reveal the effects of first impressions of a confederate who behaves in a particular way, but not be generalised to long term acquaintanceship. CONCLUSIONS: These results extend previous findings that passive nonparticipant behaviour leads to rejection to active nonparticipant behaviour and show that the consequences of displaying such behaviour not only result in rejection but also in the reduction of social reinforcement. This might slow a patient's recovery process.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Reboxetine promotes social bonding in healthy volunteers.

Reboxetine is a novel antidepressant with a selective action on noradrenaline. In addition to its efficacy in depression, it has been found to improve social adaptation. The objective of this study was to assess the specific social behavioural effects of reboxetine which might be associated with social adaptation. Ten pairs of healthy volunteers took part in a randomized double-blind, crossover study of 2 weeks treatment with reboxetine (4 mg b.d.) and placebo with a 2-week washout period. In each pair, one person (subject) took the tablets and the other (flatmate) received no treatment. On the last day of each treatment period, the subjects socially interacted with a stranger (a confederate behaving as a responsive person) in a stranger-dyadic social interaction paradigm. After the interaction, subjects played the Mixed-Motive game, which measures cooperative behaviour and communication, with the confederate. Subjects read a short story before and after the social interaction. The flatmates evaluated the social behaviour of the subjects before and at the end of the two treatment periods. On reboxetine, the subjects were rated to be significantly more agreeable and cooperative (passive participant) and less submissive by their flatmates. They showed significantly less eye contact with the confederate in the social interaction paradigm and gave significantly fewer helplessness messages during the game. They spoke faster on the reading task after the social interaction. This study provides evidence that reboxetine increases cooperative social behaviour and increases social drive, which might be important for social adaptation.

Adrenergic Uptake Inhibitors↗

PubMed2002

Buspirone decreases physiological reactivity to unconditioned and conditioned aversive stimuli.

RATIONALE: Serotonergic pathways are thought to be important in mediating the effects of aversive events. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of buspirone, a 5-HT(1A) partial agonist, on habituation and extinction in an aversive classical conditioning model. METHODS: Forty healthy male volunteers were randomly assigned to a single dose of buspirone (10 mg) or placebo. They filled in questionnaires of anxiety and depression at baseline and visual analogue scales of tension and anxiety before and at 60, 120 and 150 min after drug administration. Their skin conductance responses to auditory stimuli were measured on the conditioning model 2 h after drug intake. RESULTS: There were no differences between groups on depression or anxiety. Buspirone decreased the amplitude of the skin conductance response and the number of spontaneous fluctuations in both the habituation and extinction phases but had no effect on skin conductance level. Buspirone also attenuated the unconditioned response to the white noise and the response to the first tone. Visual analogue ratings of tension and anxiety decreased after buspirone. CONCLUSIONS: Buspirone decreased physiological reactivity in an aversive classical conditioning model. It had anxiolytic effects on both conditioned and unconditioned anxiety. This might be due to its multiple actions on 5-HT receptors.

Administration, Oral↗

PubMed2002

Serotonergic intervention affects both social dominance and affiliative behaviour.

RATIONALE: Deficiencies in serotonin function have been associated with irritability and aggression but enhancing serotonin has also been shown to promote social status and affiliative behaviour in non-human primates and more recently in humans. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effects of citalopram, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), on social behaviour with a flatmate and a stranger. METHODS: Ten pairs of healthy volunteers took part in a randomized double-blind crossover study of 2 weeks treatment with citalopram (20 mg/day) and placebo with a 2-week washout period. In each pair, one person (subject) took the tablets and the other (flatmate) received no treatment. On the last day of each treatment period, the subjects socially interacted with a confederate behaving as a responsive person in a stranger-dyadic social interaction paradigm. After the interaction, subjects played the Mixed-motive game, which measures cooperative behaviour and communication, with the confederate. The flatmates evaluated the social behaviour of the subjects before and at the end of the treatment periods. RESULTS: On citalopram, the subjects were rated as significantly less submissive by their flatmates and they showed a dominant pattern of eye contact in the stranger-dyadic social interaction paradigm. They also reduced the number of points they awarded themselves and sent more cooperative messages during the game. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that administration of an SSRI can modify social status in different interactions and increase affiliative behaviour. They implicate a role for serotonin in modulating social aspects of behaviour.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Treatment of generalised anxiety disorder with a short course of psychological therapy, combined with buspirone or placebo.

BACKGROUND: Very few studies have examined the combination of drug and psychological treatment in generalised anxiety disorder (GAD). Theoretically, buspirone should be a useful drug to combine with a learning-based therapy. METHODS: Sixty patients with GAD were randomly assigned to treatment with buspirone or placebo, combined with anxiety management training or non-directive therapy for a period of 8 weeks. RESULTS: Forty-four patients with a mean Hamilton Anxiety Scale score of 28 completed treatment. There were no significant differences between treatment groups. All groups showed significant improvement after 8 weeks compared to baseline. There were no baseline differences between those who completed the trial and those who did not but patients given buspirone were more likely to drop out. CONCLUSIONS: A short course of psychological therapy, whether or not accompanied by active medication, was an effective treatment for patients diagnosed as having quite severe symptoms of GAD. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS AND LIMITATIONS: Dropouts led to a sample size which may have been too small to detect group differences. Cognitive therapy may have been more effective.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2001

Difference in serotonergic and noradrenergic regulation of human social behaviours.

RATIONALE: Treatment with antidepressants has been shown to affect social functioning, but drugs with actions on different neurotransmitters may have a different profile of effects. OBJECTIVE: To study the effects of acute manipulation of two neurotransmitters, serotonin and noradrenaline, on social behaviour in healthy volunteers. METHODS: Sixty volunteers were randomly assigned to a single dose of a selective noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor, reboxetine (4 mg), a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, citalopram (10 mg), or placebo. They socially interacted with a confederate behaving in a non-sociable manner in a stranger-dyadic social interaction paradigm 1.5 h postdrug. Social behaviour during the interaction was video recorded by a hidden camera and subsequently analysed. After the interaction, volunteers played the mixed-motive game with the confederate. This game has been shown to measure cooperative behaviour and communication. Volunteers read a short story and rated their mood predrug and before and after the interaction. RESULTS: Subjects on reboxetine showed reduced hand fiddling during the interaction and gave significantly more cooperative communications during the mixed-motive game. More volunteers on reboxetine were classified as cooperative players. On the reading task, the speech of subjects on citalopram showed less reduction of energy variation after the social interaction. CONCLUSION: Reboxetine had clear effects on social behaviour. Noradrenaline was related to increased social engagement and cooperation and a reduction in self-focus. Citalopram had less effect on cooperative behaviour but serotonin may be associated with protection of the self from the negative consequences of social interaction.

Adolescent↗