Biomedical subjects

Jason C Ong

Publications and source records attributed to Jason C Ong.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Psychophysiological responses of female headache sufferers and controls using a picture-viewing paradigm.

Despite the advancement of the biopsychosocial model, the interrelationship between behavioral, emotional, and physiological factors in tension-type headache (TTH) remains unclear. Using a picture-viewing paradigm, the present study investigated differences between females with TTH and controls on physiological reactivity, affective valence and arousal, and oral motor habits. In addition, the concordance between EMG activity and self-reported oral habits (i.e., proprioceptive awareness) and EMG activity and self-reported affect (i.e., affective coherence) were measured using within-subject correlations per individual and then compared between groups. Data were analyzed for 27 TTH sufferers and 27 controls who completed a questionnaire packet followed by a psychophysiological assessment consisting of 3 phases (adaptation, scheduled-viewing, recovery) with EMG activity recorded continuously at 3 sites (frontalis, corrugator, zygomatic). During the scheduled-viewing phase, participants were presented with 24 pictures designed to elicit positive, neutral, and negative affect. Compared to controls, the headache group reported elevations in pain, oral habits, and stress across the 3 phases of the assessment, along with elevations in arousal while viewing the pictures. There were no significant differences between the groups in EMG activity while viewing the pictures. Analyses on concordance revealed partial evidence for poor proprioceptive awareness and affective coherence among the headache group, although the correlations were not significantly different than the control group. These findings suggest that arousal, stress perception, and oral habits may play a role in the pathophysiology of TTH and that within-subject designs should be tested further against group designs when measuring psychophysiological concordance.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

PubMed2005

A brief neuropsychological protocol for assessing patients with Parkinson's disease.

Mild to severe cognitive impairment and depression are common among patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and play a significant role in disability. Effective treatment planning requires a holistic assessment of cognitive and emotional difficulties. A brief neuropsychological protocol was developed to examine the pattern of cognitive and emotional functioning of patients with idiopathic PD. Data was retrospectively analyzed for the first 61 male veterans who were evaluated at an interdisciplinary movement disorders clinic. The most frequently observed cognitive impairments were in the areas of auditory learning, delayed recall memory, and visual motor functioning that required alternating tracking and sequencing. Executive dysfunction was marked by the inability of 60% of the sample to complete the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, a measure of non-verbal reasoning with a cognitive flexibility component. Clinical interviews revealed that 28% of the sample met DSM-IV Criterion A for a Major Depressive Episode. The findings suggested that this brief neuropsychological protocol established cognitive and emotional profiles of patients with PD, consistent with other samples of patients with Parkinson's Disease. Clinical uses of the brief neuropsychological protocol are detailed. Selection of an alternative executive function measure with a lower "floor" that minimizes patient fatigue and frustration is recommended.

Aged↗

PubMed2003

EMG reactivity and oral habits among young adult headache sufferers and painfree controls in a scheduled-waiting task.

Previous research has shown that patients with facial pain exhibit a pattern of physiological and behavioral reactivity to scheduled-waiting tasks that may help account for the development of facial pain. The present study extended this line of research by examining the psychophysiological reactivity of headache sufferers in a similar task. A total of 34 frequent headache sufferers screened by International Headache Society (IHS) criteria and 13 painfree controls completed a psychophysiological assessment consisting of 4 phases (adaptation, free-play, scheduled-play, and recovery) that included a scheduled-waiting condition (scheduled-play) designed to produce adjunctive behavior. Masseter and frontalis EMG were measured continuously during each phase and self-reported oral habits and pain ratings were collected following each phase. A significant interaction and group effect was found on frontalis EMG, with the headache group exhibiting elevated EMG levels across the phases, whereas the control group exhibited increasing EMG levels that peaked during the scheduled-play phase. Only a significant phase effect was found on masseter EMG, with the highest EMG levels recorded during the scheduled-play phase for both groups. In addition, a significant phase effect was found on self-reported oral habits data. Overall, these results provide general support for the adjunctive behavior effect, but the predicted difference in magnitude between the groups was not found.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Differences in anger expression between individuals with and without headache after controlling for depression and anxiety.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether anger and anger expression are different between persons with and without headache after controlling for depression and anxiety. BACKGROUND: Persons with headache may experience more problems with anger and its expression when compared with persons without headache. It is important to establish whether differences exist for persons with and without headache on trait anger and anger expression independent of depression and anxiety. To date, however, this issue has received little attention in the empirical literature. The current study measured trait anger, anger-in, hostility, anxiety, and depression among persons with and without headache, and evaluated whether trait anger and anger-in differentiated groups independent of depression and anxiety. METHODS: Participants were 422 adults recruited from a larger study within a university setting. Of those, 171 suffered from headache (mean age, 21 years; 81% were female; 69% were white; mean years with pain, 7.53). Another 251 sex-matched individuals (mean age, 21 years; 81% female; 62% white) met criteria for the headache-free group. Participants provided information regarding their headache characteristics and were administered affective trait measures (Trait version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Brief Symptom Inventory-Depression), trait anger measures (Trait Anger Scale, Cook-Medley Hostility Scale), and a measure of the extent to which individuals hold their anger in. RESULTS: Multivariate analysis of variance revealed significant differences between the 2 groups (Wilks lambda =.86, P <.001, eta2 =.14). Step-down analysis revealed that even after controlling for all other variables, those in the headache group had higher levels of anger-in (P <.001, eta2 =.08; mean, 18.98 versus 15.68). Trait anger and hostility did not differ between groups after controlling for depression and anxiety. Logistic regression revealed that anger-in contributed most to predicting headache status (P <.001; partial r =.23). CONCLUSIONS: The current findings indicate that persons with headache hold their anger in more than those without headache even after controlling for levels of trait anger, depression, and anxiety. However, after controlling for depression and anxiety, individuals no longer differed on trait anger. Also, anger-in was the strongest predictor of headache. The current findings suggest that holding anger in is more common among headache sufferers. Given recent findings regarding the negative effect of holding anger in among persons with pain conditions, this may be an important factor to evaluate when considering psychological/emotional factors affecting headache.

Adult↗