PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

H B Moss

Publications and source records attributed to H B Moss.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Heightened motor activity level in male offspring of substance abusing fathers.

Heightened activity level has been implicated in the liability for substance abuse, but no prior research has directly examined motor activity in a sample of prepubertal boys at high-risk for substance abuse. The magnitude of behavioral activity of 10-12 year-old sons of substance abusing fathers (SA +) (n = 42) and controls (SA -) (n = 60) was assessed using a microprocessor-based activity monitor during tasks that demanded significant concentration, effort, and constraint on motor activity, and when no such demands were present. Psychiatric status, measures of temperament traits, and measures of internalizing and externalizing behaviors were also obtained on the boys. Although the groups did not differ during the lower demand task, SA + boys showed significantly greater motor activity than SA - boys during the tasks that required concerted effort, attention, and behavioral suppression. Multiple regression analysis indicated that under the low-demand condition, the presence of an anxiety disorder in the boy was the only significant predictor of activity level. However, under the conditions that demanded effort, concerted attention and behavioral suppression, SA + group membership, and having low rhythmicity (as a temperament trait) predicted heightened activity. Statistically controlling for rhythmicity, the SA + boys were estimated to have about 24% higher activity than control boys. The results suggest that heightened motor activity may be associated with susceptibility to substance abuse.

Attention↗
PubMed1992

The psychiatric diagnosis of alcoholism: critique and proposed reformulation.

A taxonomy of alcohol problem involvement is proposed which encompasses categorical and dimensional approaches to classification. It is argued that contemporary nosology such as that described in DSM or ICD cannot, in principle, yield discrete categories containing homogeneous membership. Nor does current classification and diagnosis yield sufficient specific information necessary for effective treatment. These limitations are not resolvable by additional empirical research; rather, as discussed herein, a new conceptual framework and focus are required. The proposed new taxonomy comprises the first step in developing a comprehensive and clinically useful method for characterizing the alcohol consuming population.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Cannabis psychosis following bhang ingestion.

The purpose of this preliminary investigation is to systematically characterize the signs and symptoms of cannabis psychosis in individuals who presented for psychiatric treatment in Pakistan after ingestion of bhang; a beverage containing cannabis. In order to control for the behavioral effects of cannabis alone, symptoms produced by bhang ingestion among non-patients consuming the same beverage were compared with those symptoms found among psychotic patients. Patients differed from controls in that a higher proportion of patients were found to be chronic users of bhang, and had a past history of psychotic episodes. Presenting symptoms of bhang-induced psychosis found in patients included grandiosity, excitement, hostility, uncooperativeness, disorientation, hallucinatory behavior and unusual thought content. Neuroleptic treatment successfully attenuated psychotic symptoms within five days of the initiation of the episode. The presenting symptoms of bhang-induced psychosis are consistent with a brief mania-like disorder with paranoid psychotic features, and cognitive dysfunction. Several etiologic hypotheses are proposed.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1991

Substance abuse and schizophrenia: impediments to optimal care.

With lifetime prevalence estimates of substance abuse among schizophrenics as high as 47.01%, there is an increasing awareness of the importance of this dual diagnosis and the global deficiencies in our knowledge about this comorbid condition. Patients with substance abuse disorders and schizophrenia are problematic from a clinical, economic, and health care systems perspective. The lack of systematic research into phenomenology, etiology, and treatment approaches (both psychotherapeutic and psychopharmacologic) has hindered the development of an adequate strategy to care for the needs of these patients. Thus, these patients place a significant burden on the mental health delivery system through chronic disability, social dysfunction, frequent rehospitalizations, and poor overall treatment compliance. The authors critically review the contemporary literature relevant to concurrent substance abuse and schizophrenia, highlight major deficiencies in our knowledge, and call for research to reduce the individual, economic, and social costs of this condition.

Combined Modality Therapy↗
PubMed1990

Serotonergic responsivity and behavioral dimensions in antisocial personality disorder with substance abuse.

In order to assess the possibility of altered serotonergic responsivity in antisocial personality disorder with substance abuse (ASP), 15 men with ASP and 12 controls were challenged with the serotonin agonist, m-chlorophenylpiperazine (m-CPP), and prolactin and cortisol responses were evaluated. Psychometric measures of hostility and aggression, impulsivity, cognitive tempo, and various aspects of sociopathy were also obtained. ASP subjects had a significantly reduced prolactin response to m-CPP compared with controls, and a significantly greater cortisol response. The prolactin responses showed a significant inverse correlation with measures of assaultive aggression, hypophoria (negative affects), and increased needs. There was no significant correlation found between cortisol responses and any of the psychometric measures. Impulsivity as characterized either by behavioral self-report or measurement of cognitive tempo did not correlate with either prolactin or cortisol responses. A discriminant function analysis depicted ASP subjects as displaying resentment towards others and having poor test-taking efficiency, heightened irritability, and diminished prolactin response to m-CPP. Using these four criteria, nearly 93% of subjects were successfully classified. These results suggest that altered serotonergic function is associated with assaultiveness and dysphoria but not impulsivity in individuals with ASP.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Plasma GABA-like activity in response to ethanol challenge in men at high risk for alcoholism.

Sons of alcoholic fathers (high risk, HR) and matched control men from families without alcoholism (low risk, LR) were administered, in a randomized double-blind fashion, either a placebo beverage or an isovolemic beverage containing ethanol (0.8 g/kg). Serial blood sampling for determination of plasma gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-like activity, mood, and intoxication ratings were performed. The HR subjects were found to have significantly less plasma GABA-like activity than LR during the placebo condition. The alcoholic beverage condition washed out the differences in plasma GABA between groups. Significant interactions between risk group status and beverage conditions were found with respect to plasma GABA-like activity. Alcohol produced an increase in mean GABA-like activities among HR subjects, whereas a slight decline was noted among LR subjects. Plasma GABA-like activity also had a significant inverse correlation with self-reports of perceived tension in the placebo condition, and tension, confusion, and intoxication in response to the alcoholic drink. Since previous investigators have reported reduced plasma GABA levels in alcoholic individuals, reduced plasma GABA-like activity may be a biological marker for vulnerability to alcoholism or for heightened tension as a behavioral factor that predisposes to alcoholism.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis functioning and cerebrospinal fluid corticotropin releasing hormone and corticotropin levels in alcoholics after recent and long-term abstinence.

We assessed the plasma corticotropin (adrenocorticotropic hormone) and cortisol responses to ovine corticotropin releasing hormone (oCRH) and the cerebrospinal fluid levels of CRH and corticotropin in alcoholics at various durations of abstinence and compared these variables with age-equivalent controls. Alcoholics who were tested at 1 week of abstinence (n = 11) demonstrated a significantly attenuated corticotropin response to oCRH compared with their response at 3 weeks of abstinence. Nine of these alcoholic patients demonstrated a significantly blunted corticotropin response at both 1 and 3 weeks of abstinence compared with controls (n = 15). A markedly exaggerated corticotropin response to oCRH, associated with tachycardia, was exhibited by 2 alcoholics at both 1 and 3 weeks of abstinence. Alcoholics who were abstinent greater than 3 weeks did not differ in their response to oCRH compared with controls. Controls demonstrated a significant inverse correlation between baseline cortisol levels and the cortisol response to oCRH. This correlation was not evident in any of the alcoholic groups, including those patients who were abstinent greater than 6 months. There was a positive correlation between cerebrospinal fluid concentrations of CRH and corticotropin in all patient groups. These findings indicated that alcoholics have significantly altered hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis functioning up to 3 weeks following the cessation of drinking, with a more subtle impairment present for greater than 6 months following abstinence.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗
PubMed1987

Serotonergic activity and disinhibitory psychopathy in alcoholism.

Evidence exists of an increased risk for alcoholism in those individuals with some form of disinhibitory behavioral disturbance such as impulsivity, low frustration tolerance, attention span deficits, impersistance, sociopathy, hyperactivity and stimulus-seeking behavior. Studies have also linked alcohol abuse with aggression and criminality. Aggressive and impulsive individuals have been shown to have low levels of the major CSF metabolite of serotonin, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid. Interestingly, abstinent alcoholic men, and non-alcoholic first-degree relatives have been shown to have similar decrement. Alcoholism may therefore be part of a spectrum of disinhibitory psychopathy which is characterized by reduced central serotonergic activity, and has a familial or genetic component.

Aggression↗
PubMed1978

Malpractice suits.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Insurance Carriers↗