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Biomedical subjects

F N Johnson

Publications and source records attributed to F N Johnson.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1986

Different treatment modalities for recurrent bipolar affective disorders: an integrative approach.

Pharmacological, behavioural and psychotherapeutic procedures for the acute and prophylactic treatment of mania and depression are considered in outline. It is argued that the manic state is the primary disorder, with depression being a secondary homeostatic response to mania: the prophylaxis of depression thus depends upon the successful long-term control of mania. Suggestions are made regarding ways in which nonpharmacological techniques may be developed to achieve the prophylactic effectiveness against recurrent bipolar affective disorders which is, at the present time, to be found only among pharmacological treatment procedures.

Behavior Therapy↗
PubMed1983

Psychoactive drugs and stimulus analysis: I. The theoretical background and a model of affective disorders.

After a brief discussion of levels of explanation in psychopharmacology, evidence is reviewed which suggests that the lithium ion may produce behavioural effects by an action on information processing mechanisms. The clinical implications of such a view are noted. It is suggested that chlorpromazine may also affect stimulus analysis. A model of affective disorders, based upon the idea of stimulus analysis dysfunction, is then elaborated and suggestions are put forward concerning the relationships between different types of psychoactive drugs.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Psychoactive drugs and stimulus analysis: II. The experimental distinction of stimulus processing and motor effects of drugs.

An experimental procedure is described which enables a distinction to be made between the effects of drugs on motor activity and stimulus analysis. The test is based upon the experimental modification of exploratory behaviour of rats. The psychological processes occurring in the test situation are discussed, and an experimental paradigm outlined which would enable drug effects to be evaluated on a number of psychological dimensions. The logic of the paradigm is illustrated with examples.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Psychoactive drugs and stimulus analysis: III. Adjustment of behavioural measures for drug-induced memory effects and state dependence: the case of chlorpromazine.

Chlorpromazine is shown to have a suppressant effect upon stimulus analysis when given intraperitoneally as a 1 mg/kg dose to rats. The drug has no effects upon motor activity at this dose, but does impair short-term memory. These findings are based upon an examination of chlorpromazine in a newly-designed psychoactive drug classification test which allows adjustments to be made for drug-induced memory effects and for the influence of state dependence. The rationale for these adjustments to behavioural measures is presented in detail.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Psychoactive drugs and stimulus analysis: IV. The experimental discrimination of acute and prophylactic antidepressants.

Lithium, a drug used in the prophylactic control of recurrent depression, and tranylcypromine, a monoamine oxidase inhibiting agent used acutely to treat ongoing depressive episodes, are examined in a behavioural test designed to give information about drug effects upon stimulus analysis and motor activity, with appropriate adjustments being made for state dependence and memory effects. Neither drug has marked effects on motor activity according to the results of the test, but whereas lithium suppresses stimulus analysis, tranylcypromine appears to stimulate that function. The results are discussed in the context of a model of affective disorders based on stimulus analysis dysfunction.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Psychoactive drugs and stimulus analysis: V. The experimental discrimination of tranquilizing and sedative drugs.

Chlordiazepoxide, a tranquilizing (anxiolytic) agent, is compared with phenobarbitone, a sedative with some anxiolytic properties, in a behavioural drug classification test. It is shown that in the case of chlordiazepoxide there is a marked inhibition of stimulus analysis but little effect upon motor activity; phenobarbitone produces some suppression of stimulus processing but has an even more marked suppressant effect on motor activity. However, phenobarbitone is also found to affect memory formation and when corrections are applied to the data to take account of this factor, the classification profile of phenobarbitone is greatly modified. The findings are discussed in the light of a model of affective disorders and psychoactive drug action based on dysfunctioning of stimulus analysis mechanisms.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Psychoactive drugs and stimulus analysis: VI. Evaluation of one-trial modification of exploration as a basis for psychoactive drug classification.

Findings obtained using a one-trial modification of exploration procedure are reviewed and the suitability of the test as a device for screening and classifying psychoactive drugs is considered. It is concluded that the test has value from a theoretical point of view, in relation to a model of affective disorders based upon the concept of stimulus analysis, but that there are several practical difficulties which limit the test's usefulness as an adjunct to a basic screening programme for new drugs.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

[Anxiolytics and depression (author's transl)].

After establishing the definition of an anxiolytic, the use of these drugs in the treatment of psychopathological states is examined. Whilst it is clear that the balance of evidence is against their use in depression unaccompanied by a significant level of anxiety, it is nevertheless the case that these drugs have an established place in the management of mixed anxiety-depression. This leads to a number of logical possibilities concerning the mode of action of anxiolytics and the relationships between depression and anxiety: these possibilities are examined. Complementary uses of anxiolytics adjunctive to pharmacological and non-pharmacological techniques for treating depression are also considered.

Anti-Anxiety Agents↗
PubMed1981

The use of fish in studying the behavioural effects of lithium.

Lithium effects have been observed on various aspects of the behaviour of fish, and in particular upon social aggregation, aggression, visual and lateral line sensory perception, memory, and alcohol tolerance. The results of these studies are reviewed and the findings related to a model of lithium action based upon attenuation of sensory information processing.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

The influence of alkali metal chlorides on environmentally-linked behavioural stereotypies in the rat.

In a series of three experiments using rats, the chlorides of lithium, rubidium and caesium were compared with sodium chloride in respect of their effects on behavioural stereotypy. Two apparatuses were used, a modified hold-board and an open field. Caesium was found to increase the occurrence of environmentally-linked behaviour in both types of apparatus. Lithium had effects in the opposite direction. Rubidium had effects like caesium in the modified hold-board test, but like lithium in the open field. The findings are discussed in terms of possible effects on central information processing mechanisms.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1980

The effects of lithium chloride on spontaneous alternation behaviour in the goldfish (Carassius auratus).

Spontaneous alternation behaviour of goldfish was observed in a two-unit T maze. Whilst significant degrees of alternation occurred under both lithium and sodium treatment, alternation under lithium was significantly lower than under sodium. In a second experiment it was shown that lithium increased the amount of random or erratic behaviour demonstrated by fish. The effects of lithium on spontaneous alternation were fully explained by a lithium-induced increase in randomness of activity, without recourse to any assumption that lithium affected memory traces.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Psychiatric diagnosis on acute admission related to prevailing weather conditions.

Psychiatric diagnosis on acute admission in large psychiatric hospital was examined in relation to the weather conditions prevailing at the time of admission. This was done by a retrospective search of patients' records over a 13-month period. A clear relationship was found between wind direction and admissions in a number of diagnostic categories, and similar, though less dramatic, relationships were noted between admission categories and rainfall, prevailing temperature, and sunshine duration.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1980

The Icr:Ha(ICR) mouse: a current account of breeding, mutations, diseases and mortality.

This stock of albino mice is minimally inbred (0.5% per generation), and has been rigidly selected for fecundity. It is widely employed in oncological and pharmaceutical research. Spontaneous tumours arose in 55% of animals, multiple in 28%, averaging 1.66 per mouse. Females developed tumours at an earlier age than males. Predominant tumour types were pulmonary (23.1%), lymphoreticular (20%), and mammary (14%--23% of females). Miscellaneous tumour types (42.9%) ranged in frequency from 0.2 to 2.0%, the latter being hepatomas. Distribution of mammary tumours indicated that milk-borne mammary tumour virus was absent. Non-neoplastic disease was present in 58.6%, 24.1% being pulmonary and predominant in the young, while renal (31.2%) and cardiovascular (10.2%) disease was common in the elderly. Males outlived females.

Aging↗