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Biomedical subjects

C Culver

Publications and source records attributed to C Culver.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

Relation between premorbid personality and patterns of emotion expression in mid- to late-stage dementia.

Twenty-seven nursing home patients with mid- to late-stage dementia participated in a study of the relation between preillness personality, as indexed by attachment and emotion regulation style, and current emotional behavior. Preillness measures were completed by family members and current assessments of emotion were supplied by nursing home aides and family members; in addition, emotion was coded during a family visit using an objective coding system for facial emotion expressions. Attachment style was found to be related to the expression of positive affect, with securely attached individuals displaying more positive affect than avoidantly attached individuals. In addition, high ratings on premorbid hostility were associated with higher rates of negative affect and lower rates of positive affect. These findings indicate that premorbid aspects of personality show continuity over time, even in mid- to late-stage dementia.

Affective Symptoms↗

Emotional expression during mid- to late-stage dementia.

This study examined the quality of emotional responsivity in mid- to late-stage dementia patients. Eighty-two nursing home patients with a DSM-III-R diagnosis of primary degenerative dementia of the Alzheimer type served as subjects. Patients were staged using the Global Deterioration Scale. The level and type of patient affectivity were assessed by family reports, aide reports, and direct observation and coding of patient facial expressions during a family visit. All three measures indicated that patients with Alzheimer's disease expressed a range of affective signals. Some showed an intact and functional emotion system even during the last stage of the disease; one third of end-stage dementia patients expressed sadness at the departure of their relatives as coded by an objective facial affect coding system.

Affective Symptoms↗

The development of emotion expression during the first two years of life.

This study examines the course of emotion expression development over the first 2 years of life in a sample of full-term and preterm children. 58 mother/infant pairs were videotaped at infant ages of 2 1/2, 5, 7 1/2, and 22 months, recording face-to-face interaction involving play and separation/reunion sessions. The tapes were coded on a second-to-second basis using Izard's facial affect coding system. Data analysis focused on (1) differences in expressive behavior at 22 months as a function of risk status, gender, attachment status, and patterns of earlier maternal contingency behavior; (2) stability of specific emotional expressive patterns across assessment periods; and (3) the relation of expressive behavior and security of attachment at 2 years to qualities of earlier affective interchange. Mother's contingency behavior (both general level and specific contingency patterns) appeared to have a material effect on the course of emotional development, as did birth status and gender. Prematurity was associated with differential socioemotional development well into the second year, much in contrast to the "catch-up effect" observed in linguistic and cognitive functioning. Discrete emotions analysis of attachment groups yielded differentiation along a broad negative/positive dimension, but it also showed that insecurely attached children can be characterized as showing inhibited anger expression. The results of this study are discussed within the framework of organizational models of infant affective development; attachment theory and discrete emotions approaches were found to yield different yet equally informative data on the course of socioemotional development.

Adult↗

Emotion communication skills in young, middle-aged, and older women.

We assessed the effectiveness of an emotion induction procedure for the study of emotional communication in adults; we also gathered preliminary age-comparative data on the expressive and receptive capacities of a sample of adult women. Young, middle-aged, and older women (encoders) related emotional experiences following mood induction and then assessed the intensity of their affective experiences. Videotapes of these sessions (facial expressions only) were shown to young, middle-aged, and older female judges (decoders), who rated the encoders for emotional intensity as well as for type of affect being communicated. Validity and reliability issues with respect to the procedure's usefulness are discussed. Decoding accuracy was found to vary with age congruence between encoder and decoder, suggesting a decoding advantage accruing through social contact with like-aged peers. Older decoders did most poorly, but a differential warm-up effect was evident, suggesting that the performance of older subjects might be enhanced with practice. There were also trends suggesting that the affective expressions of older subjects may be harder to decode owing to age-related structural changes in the face. Results are discussed in the context of theoretical models of affective development.

Adult↗

Emotion socialization and expressive development in preterm and full-term infants.

The expressive behaviors of full-term and preterm infants and their mothers were examined during face-to-face interaction when the infants were approximately 2 1/2, 5, and 7 1/2 months old. Videotapes of the sessions were coded on a second-to-second basis using Izard's discrete emotion coding system. Overall, infants showed a linear increase in positive effect, especially interest and joy, and a corresponding decrease in negative affect, especially pain and knit brow, with age; decrease in negative affect was accounted for largely by the preterm infants. In terms of maternal responses, there was an increase in contingent responding to infant interest expressions and a decrease in contingent responding to infant pain expressions over time, especially in the case of the preterm infant. The data set as a whole was examined further to establish the directionality of influence between mothers and infants in change patterns over time. There was evidence of learning effects in infants as a function of maternal modeling and contingency patterns. Anomalies in maternal responses to preterm infant affect expressions were observed. Mothers of these infants displayed significantly less matching or imitation of their infant's facial expressions, showed random rather than contingent responsiveness to sadness, and a significant ignoring response to infant anger. These differences were attributed to differences in gazing patterns and negative emotion expression in preterm infants. The results are discussed within a framework of emotion socialization that recognizes bidirectionality of influence in the emotional patterns of mothers and infants.

Adult↗

The dose-response ratio in electroconvulsive therapy a preliminary study.

To investigate pretreatment patient variables that might correlate with dose-response characteristics of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and treatment outcomes, 14 patients were assessed on a daily basis, before and during treatment, using self-report affective scales, three simple paper-and-pencil tests of cognitive function,and finger-tapping speed. From these data, dose-response ratios and treatment outcome measures were derived. The dose-response ratio of ECT was found to correlate with age--the younger the patient, the more favorable the ratio. This finding is discussed in terms of the known relationships between brain monoamine oxidase levels and age, and the established relationship between seizure duration and treatment efficacy. The dose-response ratio over the first two electroconvulsive treatments as well as lesser degrees of initial congnitive and greater degrees of initial affective impairment correlated strongly with greater overall affective improvement. Some clinical and research implications of these findings are discussed.

Adult↗

Cerebral commissurotomy for control of intractable seizures.

Cerebral commissurotomy or the "split-brain" procedure may be a valuable adjunct to anticonvulsants for the control of seizures in people whose epilepsy cannot be relieved by anticonvulsants alone, and who are not candidate for the standard methods of surgery. Corpus callosotomy, a revised form of the usual division of many commissures, is a safer operation and appears to be equally effective. The complex clinical aspects of cure and treatment are emphasized.

Adolescent↗

Disconnection of the cerebral hemispheres. An alternative to hemispherectomy for the control of intractable seizures.

A boy with intractable siezures that had progressed to about 30 a day underwent complete disconnection of the cerebral hemispheres in January 1972. Using microsurgical technique, we followed the path described by Bogen and Vogel requiring division of the corpus callosum from rostrum to splenium, the anterior commisure, one fornix, and hippocampal commissure. Postoperative recovery was complicated by aseptic meningitis, which was treated with dexamethasone and, later by hydrocephalus, which was reduced by ventriculoperitoneal shunt. The patient improved rapidly and remains well. We believe that disconnection is a preferred alternative to hemispherectomy for control of intractable seizures arising from early damage to one cerebral hemisphere.

Adolescent↗

Degradation of peptide drugs by immobilized digestive proteases.

An in vitro assay using immobilized digestive enzymes and LC/MS has been developed to measure the susceptibility of orally administered peptide drugs to hydrolysis by the digestive system. Six different bioactive peptides and peptide drugs were digested using an established in vitro system incorporating four sets of immobilized digestive enzymes, which simulated gastric digestion in the stomach, digestion by pancreatic enzymes in the intestinal lumen, and digestion by mucosal peptidases at the intestinal brush border. Hydrolysis products were rapidly identified using LC/MS and coincided with those expected based on the substrate specificities of the immobilized enzymes. The LC/MS system consisted of a reversed phase HPLC connected to a mass spectrometer through a continuous-flow fast atom bombardment ionization system. Data acquired on the susceptibility of peptide drugs to hydrolysis by digestive enzymes could be used during the formulation of orally administered drugs to protect them from degradation prior to absorption in the gut. Also, this assay could be used to quickly identify those compounds in a structurally related series of new drugs that are most resistant to digestive proteases.

Amino Acid Sequence↗