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Biomedical subjects

C S Mirabile

Publications and source records attributed to C S Mirabile.

17 recordsLinked to original sources

Separation of affective disorder into seasonal and nonseasonal types using motion sickness susceptibility as a marker.

A sample of 133 candidates for antidepressant or mood-stabilizing medication treatment, with acute onset or a new phase of illness between the autumnal and vernal equinoxes, was gathered over a 3-year period from a private outpatient practice. All patients were diagnosed using DSM-III-R criteria, rated on a standard motion sickness (MS) questionnaire, and asked whether they had experienced cardinal symptoms of seasonal affective disorder (SAD). There was a positive relationship between greater MS and SAD in the entire patient sample. When a subsample of 23 patients was given a 2-week trial of phototherapy and rated for improvement, MS-susceptible patients responded better than MS-resistant patients.

Diagnosis, Differential↗

A clinically useful polling technique for assessing susceptibility to motion sickness.

Susceptibility to motion sickness is a powerful index of individual differences and can be assessed in large populations without a test of performance. Although all questionnaire techniques introduce some error, we have demonstrated that a simple set of questions can lead to a five-point rating system with adequate validity and reliability. Our observations may be useful to any investigator interested in individual differences and have been extremely effective in sorting out behavioral trends in large samples of patients.

Female↗

Adaptation of the visual vertical during prolonged body tilt varies with susceptibility to motion sickness.

Judgments of the visual vertical, made without a visual reference frame-work, from a tilted-body position, result in systematic constant errors (Aubert effects). Pitblado and Mirabile (1977) showed that these errors vary with motion-sickness susceptibility, persons of intermediate susceptibility showing the greatest error. Recent exploratory work suggested patterns of progressive intra-session change in Aubert effects which might further differentiate groups of differing susceptibility. The raw data for Pitblado and Mirabile's 1977 study were reanalyzed for possible progressive change. This new analysis showed significant progressive reductions in Aubert effects for groups originally high and low, but a nearly significant increase in the intermediate group. New implications concerning group differences in vestibular function are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

Motion sickness susceptibility patterns of psychotic illness.

Motion sickness susceptibility can be used as a neurophysiologic index to establish a polar spectrum of personality difference. Previous observations on a psychiatric patient population have shown that persons in transition between these extremes enter the hospital at a younger age, have a longer stay, and are more likely to receive a diagnosis of schizophrenia. The relationship of this midspectrum, early-onset disorder to other psychotic illnesses has been unclear. Examination of a large sample shows that a midspectrum psychiatric illness, which is most common in young men and is usually diagnosed as schizophrenia, is balanced at the extremes of susceptibility by an older-onset illness, which is most common in women and is often diagnosed as affective in nature. A gradual transition appears to exist between the two types of illness.

Adult↗

Motion sickness: an index of sensory conflict relating to behavior.

Diverse measures of behavior are examined in a student and large patient sample for the purpose of supporting the concept that conflict in sensory mechanisms may contribute to diminished or impaired function. Evidence supports the contention that two patterns of orientation may exist at the extremes of motion sickness susceptibility and that individuals showing transitional patterns of organization may be vulnerable to different kinds of central nervous system disorganization. The authors believe that a consideration of sensory function as it relates to patterns of behavior may contribute to an expansion in the medical model of mental illness.

Adolescent↗

Motion sickness susceptibility and solution choice in a pragmatic paradox.

This paper reports on an experiment which employed a classic paradox, known as the 'prisoner's dilemma', to explore possible differences in problem solving preference across a spectrum of motion sickness susceptibility. A mathematical form of the problem was used in which the subject was asked to imagine playing a game without communicating with his hypothetical partner. There were three possible solutions to the problem, a win-win, a lose-lose, and a win-lose solution. The results support the contention that a cognitive bias exists across a spectrum of motion sickness susceptibility, highly motion sick individuals having a greater tendency to pick the solution which allows both participants to win. This bias runs counter to that which might be expected on the basis of personality traits (non-motion sick individuals are more socially involved), and suggests that the cognitive tendency may reflect basic problem-solving strategies rooted in orientation process. The potential implications of these findings are discussed.

Dominance, Cerebral↗

Motion sickness--key to neurobiologic variation.

Individual variation in motion sickness susceptibility correlates with a wide variety of perceptual, cognitive, and personality variables suggesting that it may be a unique index of individual difference in fundamental mechanisms of the orientation process. Data from a large ongoing clinical study involving over 1,500 psychiatric inpatients indicate a clear-cut association between a number of the MMPI scales (including Social Isolation, Ego Strength and Schizophrenia) and motion sickness susceptibility. Marked difference across the motion sickness susceptibility spectrum in the condition on discharge of lithium and antidepressant treated patients was also found, when compared to other drug therapies, suggesting specific drug responses by the motion sick group.

Ego↗

Susceptibility to motion sickness and ego closeness, ego distance as measured by the autokinetic response tendency.

This paper reports results from one phase in an ongoing study of the relationship between vestibular function and various aspects of personality, cognitive style and symptom formation in mental illness. In the experiment reported here a measure of autokinesis was shown to relate to motion sickness experience as judged by actual stimulation in a rotating chair. Low and intermediate sensitive subjects showed less autokinesis than the most motion sick individuals (two-way analysis of variance F = 5.735, P = 0.006). Males in this sample showed a significantly greater autokinetic tendency than females (two-way analysis of variance F = 6.995, P = 0.011).

Adult↗

Relationship between visual orientation and susceptibility to motion sickness.

24 male subjects were divided into 3 groups, on the basis of their susceptibility to motion sickness. All subjects were then required to set a luminous line in an apparently vertical position while viewing the line from a body position which was deviated 70 degrees laterally from the upright. No visible frame of reference was available. A significant relationship between motion sickness susceptibility and errors in judging the vertical was discovered, the "intermediate" susceptibility group making the greatest errors. The role of the vestibular system in visual orientation and motion sickness is discussed. The result also indicates the potential value of using perceptual performance as a tool in the study of motion sickness and its correlates.

Humans↗

Susceptibility to motion sickness and field dependence-independence as measured with the rod and frame test.

This paper reports an experiment investigating the relationship between field dependence-independence and susceptibility to motion sickness in a normal volunteer and in a psychiatric patient population. Both variables have previously been related to psychiatric diagnosis and possible differential interaction between the cerebral hemispheres. Anticipated differences in field dependence according to degrees of motion sickness were not found; however, significant male-female and patient-control differences were observed and these occurred primarily in the non-motion sick and intermediate motion sick groups, suggesting that fundamental differences in field attitude do exist across in apparent spectrum of motion sickness.

Adult↗