Biomedical subjects

J F Godoy

Publications and source records attributed to J F Godoy.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1996

The behavioral treatment of auditory hallucinatory responding of a schizophrenic patient.

This study assessed the efficacy of a behaviorally based treatment package to decrease the frequency of verbal responding to auditory hallucinations and to increase attention to important external stimuli, rather than to the hallucinations. The subject, a 49-year-old male, with a 20-year history of auditory hallucinatory responding (AHR), laughing and talking to himself, was seen in an outpatient clinic. Observations were made during management skill training, given usually twice a week. Observation sessions were divided into 15-minute intervals. The intervention package included reinforcement in the form of praise, pats on the back, and token reinforcement contingent on the absence of auditory hallucinations. Cancellation tests were given to measure his ability to attend to external tasks. Using an ABCAD design, it was seen that the data indicated that the intervention resulted in both a sharp decrease in auditory hallucinations and an increase in the subject's ability to attend to external tasks.

Attention↗

PubMed1996

Recency effect in multiple sclerosis.

The main object of this study was to test acquisition-retrieval deficits in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients A Spanish version of the Rey Auditory-Verbal Test (RAVLT) (Rey 1964) was used with an MS group (n=10 subjects) and a control group (n=10) Different measurements were obtained with the RAVLT memory span, a learning curve, and a curve of serial position of words The results revealed no differences between groups in memory span and learning curve, but significant differences were found in the curve of serial position No revency effect in the immediate form of theRAVLT was seen These results are discussed with reference to the work of Baddelaey and Hitch (1993) regarding recency effects and related literature on the acquisition-retrieval deficits in MS patients.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1994

Discrimination between and among schizophrenics and other pathologies using a Spanish version of the Whitaker Index of Schizophrenic Thinking.

A Spanish version of Forms A and B of the Whitaker Index of Schizophrenic Thinking (WIST) was administered to two sets of subjects. In the first study, the WIST was administered to 147 subjects of both sexes grouped into one of six categories: acute paranoid schizophrenic, acute nonparanoid schizophrenic, chronic paranoid schizophrenic, chronic nonparanoid schizophrenic, normal, and university student. Results revealed significant group differences; schizophrenics scored significantly higher. Further, chronic schizophrenics, regardless of the existence of paranoia, scored higher than acute subjects. In the second study, a heterogenous group of schizophrenics was compared to heroin addicts and depressed subjects (total N = 93). Significant group differences again were noted; the schizophrenics scored higher than the two other clinical samples.

Adult↗

PubMed1994

Cardiovascular effects of traffic noise: the role of negative self-statements.

This study assesses cardiovascular and subjective effects of traffic noise and the mediator role that negative self-statements play. Eighty-four female students underwent a Physiological Reaction Test to two 15 min presentations of high intensity traffic noise (85-95 db) under two noise conditions, with and without negative self-statements. Half of the subjects were given specific instructions to increase the credibility of the self-statements. Dependent variables were heart rate (HR), blood volume pulse amplitude from both temporal arteries and subjective tension. Traffic noise provoked subjective tension and cardiovascular responses that did not habituate either within or between noise presentations. Negative self-statements had the greatest effect on HR. In fact, this response habituated to a second noise presented only when this condition was without negative self-statements. Instructions increased the effect of the self-statements only on the left temporal artery and also increased subjective tension. The implications of this physiological reactivity in psychosomatic problems and the importance of negative self-statements are discussed.

Arousal↗

PubMed1992

Physiological and subjective effects of traffic noise: the role of negative self-statements.

This study assesses physiological and subjective effects of traffic noise and the mediator role that negative self-statements play. 84 female students underwent a Physiological Reaction Test to two 15 min presentations of high intensity traffic noise (85-95 dB) under two Noise conditions--with and without negative self-statements. Half of the subjects were given specific instructions to increase the credibility of the self-statements. Dependent variables were frontal EMG, electrodermal variables (conductance level and number of responses) and subjective tension. Traffic noise provoked subjective tension and physiological responses. Only the number of electrodermal responses habituated between noise presentations, the rest of the physiological variables did not habituate. Negative self-statements had the greatest effect on frontal EMG. In fact, only the noise with negative self-statements condition produced a significant EMG increase in the first part of the Test. Instructions increased subjective tension and also increased the effect of the self-statements on the electrodermal variables. The implications of these results for psychosomatic problems and the importance of negative self-statements are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1990

Auditory discrimination, attention, learning, and memory in paranoid schizophrenics.

The present research was designed to assess auditory discrimination, attention, memory, and learning in paranoid schizophrenic patients using a dichotic listening procedure consisting of attending to a signal or a story channeled only to one ear. A sample of 24 paranoid schizophrenics and 24 normal controls volunteered. In Experiment 1, 12 schizophrenics and 12 controls attended to the signal while shadowing the story. The task of the other 12 clinical and 12 normal subjects in Experiment 2 was identical to Experiment 1 with the exception that the subjects did not shadow the story. In each experiment, subjects completed three trials as well as three evaluations of the story. The results indicated that schizophrenics showed substantial attentional deficits in comparison to normal controls.

Journal Article↗