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Biomedical subjects

J Gunderson

Publications and source records attributed to J Gunderson.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Dimensions and categories: the "big five" factors and the DSM personality disorders.

The five-factor model of personality, which has been widely studied in personality psychology, has been hypothesized to have specific relevance for DSM-defined personality disorders. To evaluate hypothesized relationships of the five-factor model of personality to personality disorders, 144 patients with personality disorders (diagnosed via a structured interview) completed an inventory to assess the five-factor model. Results indicated that the majority of the personality disorders can be differentiated in theoretically predictable ways using the five-factor model of personality. However, while the personality disorders as a whole appear to be differentiable from normal personality functioning on the five factors, the patterns are quite similar across the disorders, a finding that may provide some insight into the general nature of personality pathology but may also suggest problems with discriminant validity. Third, it does not appear that considering disorders as special combinations of features (as might be expected in some categorical models) is more informative than considering them as the sum of certain features (as might be expected in a dimensional model).

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Brief communication: pathological narcissism in bipolar disorder patients.

The occurrence of pathological narcissism in bipolar patients, and the diagnostic relation between narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) and bipolar disorder (BD), were investigated. The Diagnostic Interview for Narcissism (DIN) was administered to bipolar patients when manic and when euthymic. The scores were compared to those of an NPD sample and a control group of general psychiatric patients. Euthymic bipolars do not exhibit a higher level of pathological narcissism or a higher prevalence of NPD than psychiatric patients in general. However, when manic, bipolar patients do appear similar to the narcissistic group, sharing 12 out of 14 of the identifying criteria for NPD. The results support the inclusion of mania in the differential diagnosis of NPD.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Extent of comorbidity between mental state and personality disorders.

Comorbidity between major psychiatric disorders (Axis I) and personality disorders (Axis II) is widespread, often extremely strong, and invariably confusing. The strongest associations are found between substance use and the cluster B (flamboyant) personality disorders, anxiety disorders and the anxious/fearful personality group (cluster C), and between somatisation and both cluster B and C disorders. The significance of these associations is far from clear, and almost certainly include more than one type of relationship. Empirical studies of patients with and without Axis I and II comorbidity show that the presence of a personality disorder can affect the outcome of treatment, both positively and negatively, in a way that currently appears unpredictable. One useful way of interpreting this comorbidity is by postulating personality dispositions that make some people prone to certain mental state disorders.

Comorbidity↗
PubMed1997

Heuristic models of comorbidity of axis I and axis II disorders.

The mechanisms responsible for the co-occurrence of personality disorders with Axis I disorders are not well understood. We propose a number of models that include various relationships at the etiological, pathophysiological, and observable clinical levels between personality disorders and Axis I disorders. It is recommended that such models be subjected to empirical tests to assess their validity.

Comorbidity↗
PubMed1995

Changes in pathological narcissism.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated types of change that occur over time in the psychopathology of narcissistic patients. METHOD: Baseline scores on the Diagnostic Interview for Narcissism of 20 patients, clinically diagnosed as having narcissistic personality disorder, were contrasted with their scores 3 years later by means of t tests and chi-square statistics. The authors then compared these changes in narcissism with the patients' accounts of their life events during the interval between the two assessments. RESULTS: A significant decrease in the overall level of pathological narcissism was found, particularly in the areas of interpersonal relations and reactiveness. At follow-up, 60% of the subjects had reached the cutoff score on the diagnostic interview that indicated significant improvement, and 40% remained unchanged, with a high level of pathological narcissism. A high baseline level of narcissism in interpersonal relations was associated with absence of change at follow-up. Examination of life events in the interval between assessments suggests that changes in pathological narcissism are related to three kinds of experiences: achievements, new durable relationships, and disillusionments. CONCLUSIONS: The instability of narcissistic psychopathology found in this study raises questions about the construct validity of narcissistic personality disorder as a diagnostic category and about the core construct of pathological narcissism.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Commentary: schizophrenic patients.

The results of the Boston Psychotherapy of Schizophrenia Study were reported with a mixture of hopes and fears (Gunderson et al. 1984; Stanton et al. 1984). The hope was that those therapists, hospitals, and training programs that promoted and promulgated the idea that an exploratory, insight-oriented (EIO) psychotherapy was an important, usual, and practical way of treating schizophrenia would step back from this claim and see this approach in a more restricted and selective perspective. The fear was that the results would be reduced to a broader indictment of this modality such that its proper role with schizophrenic patients would be buried. Behind both this wish and this fear were the types of vivid personal experience in working with schizophrenic patients that the papers by Sandin and by Levander and Cullberg illustrate.

Female↗
PubMed1991

Ribosomal RNA sequences of Sarcocystis muris, Theileria annulata and Crypthecodinium cohnii reveal evolutionary relationships among apicomplexans, dinoflagellates, and ciliates.

Sarcocystis muris is a coccidium with a two-host life cycle involving the domestic cat and the mouse, Mus musculus. S. muris and Theileria annulata belong to the phylum Apicomplexa, but the latter organism is a tick-borne protozoon in the subclass Piroplasmea and causes tropical theileriosis in cattle. The small-subunit ribosomal RNA (16S-like rRNA) coding regions of these organisms as well as that of the free living dinoflagellate Crypthecodinium cohnii were amplified using polymerase chain reaction techniques and compared to 16S-like rRNA sequences from other eukaryotes. The 16S-like rRNA genes of S. muris and T. annulata are more similar to each other than either is to Plasmodium falciparum, the cause of malignant tertian malaria of humans or Plasmodium berghei, the agent of the commonly studied malaria of rodents. Evolutionary trees inferred from the rRNA sequence similarities support a close phylogenetic relationship between the Apicomplexa and Dinoflagellata as represented by Prorocentrum micans and C. cohnii. Apparently members of these related phyla arose from an ancestral stock that gave rise to the ciliated protozoa.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Identifying criteria for narcissistic personality disorder.

The authors report an exploratory effort to identify useful criteria for narcissistic personality disorder. They used the semistructured Diagnostic Interview for Narcissism to assess 24 narcissistic patients and 58 others on 33 characteristics imputed to pathological narcissism. The following characteristics were significantly more common among the patients with narcissistic personality disorder: a sense of superiority, a sense of uniqueness, exaggeration of talents, boastful and pretentious behavior, grandiose fantasies, self-centered and self-referential behavior, need for attention and admiration, arrogant and haughty behavior, and high achievement. The results provide an empirical basis for developing an improved set of criteria for narcissistic personality disorder.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Effectiveness of a writing system using a computerized long-range optical pointer and 10-branch abbreviation expansion.

Many individuals with limited abilities require specialized technological writing systems. These individuals and the clinicians and engineers who work with them need information regarding the effectiveness of various systems. This study developed a methodology for assessing the effectiveness of a technological writing support system and evaluated its success. The Long-Range Optical Pointer and 10-Branch Abbreviation Expansion System developed at the Trace R&D Center at the University of Wisconsin was used. The study applied a single subject research design: a series of AB replications with naturally-occurring baselines comparing data within subjects across behavior, and across subjects. Behaviors assessed included typing rate, efficiency, and accuracy. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of this system with four individuals with severe physical disabilities and one able-bodied person. Among the data collected, typing rates were found to range from 3 to 15 words per minute, with suspected dependency on familiarity with the system. Discussion highlights the potential benefits of this system and the critical requirement to individually assess a person's needs in order to appropriately select and prescribe these types of technology. The need for further application-oriented single-subject research as well as classical human factors research is emphasized.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Descriptive studies on narcissistic personality disorder.

This article describes a series of empirical studies on narcissistic disturbances and the narcissistic personality disorder in psychiatric patients. The work began with a survey of the literature and a comparison of three diagnostic systems for narcissistic personality disorder that helped clarify the degree of concordance among the existing systematic descriptions. This work gave rise to the development of a semistructured interview: the Diagnostic Interview for Narcissism. This tool was then used for investigating the following two main questions about pathologic narcissism: (1) Which characteristics identify and best distinguish patients with pathologic narcissism from psychiatric patients with various other diagnoses? (2) Can the Diagnostic Interview for Narcissism identify and distinguish patients with narcissistic personality disorder from patients with other psychiatric disturbances or related personality disorders?

Humans↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Narcissistic traits in psychiatric patients.

This paper reports a first step towards identifying the descriptive characteristics of what is called pathological narcissism by clinicians. Twenty-three patients with various forms of narcissistic disturbances were evaluated with a semistructured interview for the presence of 27 putative signs of pathological narcissism. They were compared with patients with other psychiatric disorders (n = 28) to determine what features characterize and discriminate them. Fifteen statements proved to be useful in identifying patients with narcissistic disturbances. An additional two discriminate certain narcissistic patients. Implications for differential diagnosis and future research are noted.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Phylogeny of trichomonads inferred from small-subunit rRNA sequences.

Small subunit (16S-like) ribosomal RNA sequences were obtained from representatives of all four families constituting the order Trichomonadida. Comparative sequence analysis revealed that the Trichomonadida are a monophyletic lineage and a deep branch of the eukaryotic tree. Relative to the early divergent eukaryotic assemblages the branching pattern within the Trichomonadida is very shallow. This pattern suggests the Trichomonadida radiated recently, perhaps in conjunction with their animal hosts. From a morphological perspective the Devescovinidae and Calonymphidae are considered more derived than the Monocercomonadidae and Trichomonadidae. Molecular trees inferred by distance, parsimony and likelihood techniques consistently show the Devescovinidae and Calonymphidae are the earliest diverging lineages within the Trichomonadida, however bootstrap values do not strongly support a particular branching order. In an analysis of all known 16S-like ribosomal RNA sequences, the Trichomonadida share most recent common ancestry with unidentified protists from the hindgut of the termite Reticulitermes flavipes. The position of two putative free-living trichomonads in the tree is indicative of derivation from symbionts rather than direct descent from some free-living ancestral trichomonad.

Animals↗