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Biomedical subjects

Graham F Wagstaff

Publications and source records attributed to Graham F Wagstaff.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2004

A behavioural economic analysis of alcohol, amphetamine, cocaine and ecstasy purchases by polysubstance misusers.

Behavioural economic models of substance choice describe the relationship between changes in unit price and consumption. As the majority of UK non-dependent substance misusers are polysubstance misusers, we investigated the influence of price upon hypothetical purchases of alcohol, amphetamine, cocaine and ecstasy. Forty-three current polysubstance misusers (25 males, 18 females; mean age 21.3 +/- 2.8) were recruited into the study. As the price of alcohol rose, demand was inelastic. Amphetamine was a substitute for alcohol, cocaine was a compliment drug and ecstasy was independent. Demand for amphetamine was elastic as its price rose, but only alcohol was identified as a substitute drug and other drug purchases were independent of amphetamine price. As the price of cocaine increased, demand was elastic. Alcohol and ecstasy were substitute drugs but amphetamine purchase was independent, indicating asymmetrical substitution of alcohol and cocaine. Finally, demand for ecstasy was also elastic, but only cocaine substituted as ecstasy price rose. These results extend previous findings in substance dependent populations using behavioural economic models and support the opinion that purchasing substances is a complex process, involving both socio-economic and psychopharmacological factors. Whilst subjects expressed a preference for ecstasy, these behavioural findings indicated that alcohol was their drug of choice when economic considerations were brought into play. Self-reported drug preference, although facilitating between subjects experimental design, may therefore not accurately represent real world polysubstance misuse.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Facilitating memory with hypnosis, focused meditation, and eye closure.

Three experiments examined some features of hypnotic induction that might be useful in the development of brief memory-facilitation procedures. The first involved a hypnosis procedure designed to facilitate face identification; the second employed a brief, focused-meditation (FM) procedure, with and without eye closure, designed to facilitate memory for an emotional event. The third experiment was a check for simple motivation and expectancy effects. Limited facilitation effects were found for hypnosis, but these were accompanied by increased confidence in incorrect responses. However, eye closure and FM were effective in facilitating free recall of an event without an increase in errors. FM reduced phonemic fluency, suggesting that the effectiveness of FM was not due to simple changes in expectancy or motivation.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Self-reported psychopathology in polydrug users.

There is a large body of work investigating concurrent associations between polysubstance use and psychopathology, but much of this work has either pre-dated or failed to account for the complex and culturally specific patterns of contemporary drug use. In particular, attendees of dance music events report a greater drug history than their peers and engage in a unique lifestyle. To further investigate the consequences of this type of drug use, 100 subjects who regularly attended dance music events were administered a battery of self-report psychiatric symptom scales. This battery contained the Anxiety Sensitivity Index, the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale (CES-D), the Dissociative Experiences Scale, the Padua Inventory Revised and additional questions about substance use. Our study population included abstainers and drug users with a wide history of use. We demonstrated strong associations between use of many different drugs, suggesting that polydrug use is the norm in this type of population. We found weak, but statistically significant, correlations between use of alcohol (p < 0.05), amphetamine (p < 0.01) and ecstasy (p < 0.01) with self-reported score on the BAI. There were also positive associations between dissociative symptomatology and the use of amphetamine (p < 0.05) and cocaine (p < 0.05). Furthermore, weekly unit intake of alcohol positively correlated with score on the CES-D (p < 0.05). As polydrug use was the norm in this sample, we performed regression analysis to investigate the contribution of multiple drug use on self-report. This showed that weekly use of alcohol, and frequency of use of amyl nitrate and cigarettes were significant predictors of BAI score. However, the majority of subjects reported being unworried by these symptoms, which may represent a lack of self-awareness, or acceptance of them as the subacute effects of substance use. It remains to be determined at what point adverse effects of drug use begin to interfere with day-to-day life.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

A preliminary investigation into the relationship between anabolic-androgenic steroid use and the symptoms of reverse anorexia in both current and ex-users.

RATIONALE: To establish whether the symptoms of reverse anorexia continue with the cessation of anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) use in male body builders. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether current and ex-AAS-using body builders score higher on the modified (for reverse anorexia) eating disorders inventory (EDI) than both non-AAS-using body builders and regular aerobic exercisers. METHODS: A random sample of regular aerobic exercisers, current, ex-, and non-AAS-using body builders were recruited from four local gyms and a syringe exchange in the Merseyside area. A total of 137 male subjects with an average age of 29 years (range 17-49 years) were recruited. Fifty subjects were classed as aerobic exercisers, 39 subjects were classed as non-AAS-using body builders, 29 subjects were current AAS users and 19 subjects were ex-AAS users. All subjects undertook an anonymous questionnaire consisting of the modified EDI, the severity of dependence scale (SDS) for both exercising and AAS use, and questions about body weight, dieting, and substance use. RESULTS: AAS-using bodybuilders were striving towards an exaggerated mesomorphic physique. Both current and ex-AAS users had higher scores on all sections of the EDI than both groups of non-AAS users. There was a significant positive correlation between the SDS scores for AAS and scores on the EDI for current AAS users. CONCLUSIONS: AAS use, but not body building per se, was associated with increased symptoms of reverse anorexia, and this symptomatology was higher in those who had higher scores on the SDS for AAS. It remains to be determined whether symptoms of reverse anorexia are either a cause or an effect of AAS use.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Can laboratory findings on eyewitness testimony be generalized to the real world? An archival analysis of the influence of violence, weapon presence, and age on eyewitness accuracy.

The authors conducted 2 studies to assess the effects of levels of violence, the presence of a weapon, and the age of the witness on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony in real-life crime situations. Descriptions of offenders were taken from eyewitnesses' statements obtained by the police and were compared with the actual details of the same offenders obtained on arrest. The results showed that eyewitnesses tended to recall the offenders' hairstyle and hair color most accurately. None of the effects for the level of violence, the presence of a weapon, or age approached statistical significance, with the exception that, in the 1st study, accuracy in describing hair color was better when associated with high levels of violence and in cases of rape. It is argued that caution must be exercised in generalizing from laboratory studies of eyewitness testimony to actual crime situations.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

The content of ecstasy tablets: implications for the study of their long-term effects.

AIMS: To examine the variation in the content of ecstasy tablets seized in the north-west of England during 2001 and to compare it to the UK average from 1991 to 2001. MEASUREMENTS: All tablets submitted to the Forensic Science Service in the north-west of England during 2001 were analysed by high performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD). The mean MDMA content of these tablets are reported and compared to results from all Forensic Science Service laboratories in the United Kingdom from 1991 to 2001. Multiple samples (n= 80) from a single large seizure of White Dove tablets were analysed to determine the variation due to manufacturing. FINDINGS: All tablets submitted from the north-west of England to the Forensic Science Service in 2001 were found to contain 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and some also contained 3,4-methylenedioxyethamphetamine (MDEA). The MDMA content of these tablets ranged from 20 to 109 mg and the mean was in the 60-69 mg range. Mitsubishi tablets were the most common type and they were found across the whole range. The low variation of MDMA content in the White Dove tablets suggests that these tablets were well manufactured. The data from the north-west of England in 2001 are in agreement with tablet analyses over the past 10 years which show that the average MDMA content is falling. CONCLUSIONS: The amount of MDMA in ecstasy tablets is axiomatic to the discussion of their long-term effects. In order for the observed differences in ecstasy users to be the result of MDMA-induced neurotoxicity it is necessary for them to have ingested one or more neurotoxic doses. These data indicate that the amount of MDMA in ecstasy tablets is dropping and that dose-effect relationships need to take this into account.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid↗