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Claas-Hinrich Lammers

Publications and source records attributed to Claas-Hinrich Lammers.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2007

[Narcissism--variable of personality and personality disorder].

OBJECTIVE: This review provides information about the current state of knowledge concerning narcissism. METHODS: Viewing narcissism as a psychological construct, a dimension of personality and as a psychiatric disease, presenting of models about development and treatment of narcissistic tendencies or of narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). Statements about phenomenology, diagnosis, and classification, comorbidity, epidemiology, pharmacological treatment and current psychotherapy, and prognosis of NPD are presented. RESULTS/DISCUSSION: There are three main aspects of narcissism: 1. narcissism as a psychological construct in the sense of personality variable, 2. as a personality accentuation as a factor of vulnerability for other psychological disorders and 3. narcissism as a personality disorder in the sense of a psychiatric disease (NPD). There are no clear boundaries between these forms of narcissism. The NPD is recognized as a personality disorder by DSM-IV but not by ICD-10. There is a clear lack of scientific studies on the neurobiology, psychology and psychotherapeutic as well as psychopharmacological treatment.

Humans↗
PubMed2006

A neural network reflecting individual differences in cognitive processing of emotions during perceptual decision making.

Even simple perceptual decisions are influenced by the emotional content of a stimulus. Recent neuroimaging studies provide evidence about the neural mechanisms of perceptual decision making on emotional stimuli. However, the effect of individual differences in cognitive processing of emotions on perceptual decision making remains poorly understood. Here, we investigated how changes in the fMRI signal during perceptual decision making on facial stimuli covaried with individual differences in the ability to identify and communicate one's emotional state. Although this personality trait covaried with changes in activity in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) during gender decisions on facial expressions, there was no correlation during emotion decisions. Further, we investigated whether individual differences in the ability to cognitively process emotions depend on differences in the functional integration of emotional and cognitive brain regions. We therefore compared task-dependent changes in effective connectivity of dACC in individuals with good and with poor ability to cognitively process emotions using a psychophysiological interaction analysis. We found greater coupling of dACC with prefrontal regions in individuals with good ability to identify and communicate their emotional state. Conversely, individuals with poor ability in this domain showed greater coupling of dACC with the amygdala. Our data indicate that individual differences in the ability to identify and communicate one's emotional state are reflected by altered effective connectivity of the dACC with prefrontal and limbic regions. Thus, we provide neurophysiological evidence for a theoretical model that posits that a discommunication between limbic areas and the neocortex impairs cognitive processing of emotions.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

[Schizotypal personality disorder--diagnosis and treatment].

Schizotypal personality disorder is relatively common disorder, and is considered to be a mild form of schizophrenia. It is characterized by such "psychotic" symptoms as ideas of reference, odd or magical thinking, perceptual illusions and an inappropriate or flattened affect. In their contact with others, patients show odd expression and behavior. Since, numerous schizotypal symptoms can be treated successfully with atypical antipsychotic medication, the patient should be referred to a psychiatrist or neurologist. The mainstay of psychotherapy consists in crisis management, development of self-awareness of the problem, breaking down social isolation and general unspecific support in coping with daily problems.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Developmental expression of the zinc finger transcription factor DRRF (dopamine receptor regulating factor).

Dopamine receptor regulating factor (DRRF) is a novel transcription factor with unique anatomical distribution and functional properties, suggesting its importance in regulating dopaminergic neurotransmission. To gain insight into the in vivo function of this factor during embryogenesis, we studied its distribution at embryonic days E8-E16 in the mouse using in situ hybridization. DRRF mRNA is expressed uniquely during development at all time points tested with high levels observed at E12, E14 and E16 in various tissues. DRRF expression is also found in particular brain regions, such as the neopallial cortex, olfactory lobe and corpus striatum. This pattern of DRRF distribution during embryogenesis overlaps with that found in the adult brain, and with the expression profile of dopamine receptors both in the adult and during development.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Stress and the brain.

Stress is a risk factor for a variety of illnesses, involving the same hormones that ensure survival during a period of stress. Although there is a considerable ambiguity in the definition of stress, a useful operational definition is: "anything that induces increased secretion of glucocorticoids". The brain is a major target for glucocorticoids. Whereas the precise mechanism of glucocorticoid-induced brain damage is not yet understood, treatment strategies aimed at regulating abnormal levels of glucocorticoids, are worth examining.

Aging↗