Biomedical subjects

B M Lukach

Publications and source records attributed to B M Lukach.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1996

Odor aversion of multiple chemical sensitivities: recommendation for a name change and description of successful behavioral medicine treatment.

Patients with odor-triggered symptoms, meeting the case definition of multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS), continue to be seen in our institution and other health science centers [Amundsen, Mayo Clinic Dept. Intern. Med. Newslett. 9(1) (1986)]. The term MCS, unfortunately, feeds the thesis that symptoms are allergic-immune system in origin, a theory that has not withstood scientific scrutiny [American College of Physicians, Ann. Intern. Med. 111, 168-178 (1989); Terr, Ann. Intern. Med. 119, 163-164 (1993)]. It has been proposed that some of these cases may be examples of classical (Pavlovian) conditioning: many MCS patients meet diagnostic criteria for psychiatric illnesses, especially mood, anxiety, and somatoform disorders. Attention is turning to the complex relationship between olfactory stimulation, memory, and mood (psyche) in an attempt to understand why some individuals develop odor aversion symptoms and how to best manage these, frequently, severely disabled patients. Two subjects with typical odor-triggered symptoms have been treated, using behavioral medicine techniques, with marked improvement in both cases. The term "odor aversion" is proposed rather than MCS to describe patients with these symptoms.

Behavior Therapy↗

PubMed1994

Cognitive processing of idiographic emotional information in panic disorder.

Panic disorder patients, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients, and normal control subjects performed a computerized Stroop color-naming task in which they named the colors of panic-threat words (e.g. Collapse), general-threat words (e.g. Infectious), positive words related to panic (e.g. Relaxed), and neutral words (e.g. Sleepy). Idiographic stimulus selection ensured their personal emotional relevance for each subject. In accordance with prediction, panic patients, but not OCD patients, exhibited greater interference for panic-threat words than for positive words related to panic and for neutral words. Panic patients did not respond differentially to panic-threat and general-threat words. Complexities concerning attentional bias research in the anxiety disorders are discussed.

Cognition↗

PubMed1992

Cognitive processing of emotional information in panic disorder.

Panic-disordered (PD) patients, obsessive-compulsive (OCD) patients, and normal control subjects were exposed to either a high (i.e. exercise) or low arousal manipulation prior to performing a computerized version of the modified Stroop color-naming paradigm. Subjects named the colors of neutral nonlexical stimuli, positive words, and threat words associated with fear, bodily sensations, and catastrophes. After the Stroop task, subjects rated the personal emotional significance of the words. Inconsistent with the emotionality hypothesis of Stroop interference, PD patients rated positive words as more emotional than catastrophe words, but took longer to color-name the latter than the former. Yet consistent with the emotionality hypothesis, PD patients took as long to color-name positive words as to color-name fear and bodily sensation words. Contrary to expectation, OCD patients resembled PD patients in terms of interference, and arousal did not enhance interference for threat words in PD patients.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

Are panic attacks traumatic stressors?

Like typical stressors that produce posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), panic attacks are sudden, unpredictable, and often perceived as life-threatening. Structured interviews with 30 subjects with panic disorder revealed that five (17%) and two (7%) met lifetime and current DSM-III-R PTSD criteria, respectively, following their most terrifying panic attack. PTSD produced by panic is less severe than PTSD produced by either rape or combat.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1991

Behavioral treatment of zoophilic exhibitionism.

We describe here a case of zoophilic exhibitionism involving a mildly mentally retarded man who masturbated in front of large dogs of either sex. Unlike most exhibitionists, he did not expose himself to women, and unlike most zoophiles, he never desired direct sexual contact with animals. His paraphilia, however, was responsive to a behavioral program comprising masturbatory satiation, covert sensitization, and stimulus control procedures.

Adult↗