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Biomedical subjects

Kieron O'Connor

Publications and source records attributed to Kieron O'Connor.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Processes of inference, schizotypal thinking, and obsessive-compulsive behaviour in a normal sample.

Previous research has shown inferential confusion as measured by the Inferential Confusion Questionnaire to be related to obsessive-compulsive symptoms. A total of 108 participants (41 men and 66 women) from a normal population in The Netherlands (M age = 46 yr., SD = 15.5) completed a package of questionnaires measuring inferential confusion, schizotypal symptoms, and obsessive-compulsive behaviour. As expected, scores for both inferential confusion and schizotypal symptoms were significantly related to those for obsessive-compulsive behaviour. In addition, analysis showed that inferential confusion and schizotypal symptoms shared common variance, but both predicted an independent portion of the variance in obsessive-compulsive behaviour while controlling for neuroticism. The present results call for further inquiry into the role of inferential confusion and schizotypal thinking in obsessive-compulsive behaviour.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Neuropsychological functioning in early- and late-onset obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Significant relationships have been noted between age of onset and demographics, clinical characteristics, and cerebral metabolic activity in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The authors investigated whether patients with early (N=21) and late (N=17) onset OCD differ with respect to neuropsychological functioning. Results revealed that the late onset OCD group obtained poorer scores on measures of executive function and auditory attention than the early onset group. Late onset OCD was also associated with poorer visual memory relative to healthy comparison subjects. These findings suggest that early and late onset OCD may be the result of at least partially differing neurobiological mechanisms.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

[Elaboration and validation of a questionnaire measuring social support in situations of anxiety with a population of university students].

A new measure of the social support specifically intended for anxiety disorders has been elaborated ; this new scale entitled "Questionnaire sur les Comportements de Soutien en situation d'Anxiété" (QCSA ; Guay et al., 2003) consists of 65 items measuring positive and negative perceived social support. Among a sample of 257 university students, the QCSA shows good psychometric properties (internal consistency and correlations with related constructs). Results of an exploratory factor analysis identified three factors : 1) criticism and coercive strategies, 2) anxiety management and reinforcement, and 3) distraction. Significant correlations were found with measures of anxiety, functioning and psychological distress. The QCSA is an adequate scale to evaluate social support in relation to mental health.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Organizational strategy use in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have been demonstrated to be less likely to use spontaneously generated organizational strategies during verbal episodic memory and visuoconstruction tasks. However, whether this organizational deficit is generalizable to other areas of cognitive functioning has not been established. In the present study, we assessed whether adults with OCD are less likely to spontaneously generate organizational strategies during performance of an executive function test, the Self-Ordered Pointing Task (SOPT). Participants included 30 adults with OCD and 24 healthy controls. Groups did not differ with respect to the time to complete or number of errors made on the SOPT. Furthermore, group differences were not observed in the ability to generate organizational strategies or in the specific types of strategies employed to complete the SOPT. These findings indicate that a reduced use of organizational strategies in OCD is not present across all cognitive domains.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Speed and accuracy on tests of executive function in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Slowness in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has been attributed to intrusive thoughts or meticulousness. Recent research suggests that slowness in OCD may be particularly evident on tests of executive function subserved by frontostriatal circuitry. In the present study, the speed and accuracy of responding on neuropsychological tests of executive functions and psychomotor speed were investigated in 27 non-depressed, unmedicated adults with OCD and 27 healthy controls. The only group difference was that patients took significantly longer to copy a complex geometric design than controls. This finding was unrelated to residual depression or overall OCD symptom severity. Results suggest that slowness in OCD may be most apparent on executive tests requiring self-initiated organizational strategies, consistent with frontostriatal abnormality.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Procedural and declarative memory in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has been associated with frontostriatal abnormality. This has led to the hypothesis that the disorder is characterized by abnormality of procedural memory. However, evidence for either procedural or declarative memory disturbance has been mixed, and few studies have directly assessed both of these forms of memory in the same patient group. In the present study, we assessed encoding and retrieval in declarative memory using the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT), and procedural memory using the Pursuit Rotor Task, in 27 adults with OCD and 29 matched healthy controls. Groups did not differ with respect to salient demographic characteristics or memory on the RAVLT. In contrast, patients with OCD performed significantly better than controls during the early, but not later trial blocks of the Pursuit Rotor Task. This pattern of results indicates intact encoding and retrieval in declarative memory, but abnormally enhanced procedural memory during the early course of learning in OCD. These findings may be consistent with striatal overactivation observed in neuroimaging studies of OCD, as well as the prominent role of the striatum during early stages of procedural memory.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Behavioral activity associated with onset in chronic tic and habit disorder.

Seventy-six people (aged 18-62 years) diagnosed with either a chronic tic disorder or a habit disorder, entering a treatment study, kept a baseline daily diary for at least ten days, noting tic frequency and activity at time of onset. Together with an evaluator, participants completed a form ranking three high-risk activities where the tic or habit was likely to appear, and three low-risk activities where the tic was absent or barely present. Subjective appraisals distinguishing the two types of activities were also elicited and their relevance to the tic was measured on a seven-point scale using an adaptation of Kelly's repertory grid technique. Overall, the most frequent high-risk and low-risk activities were, respectively, passive attendance and physical activity. There were, however, significant differences in types of high-risk activities amongst the tic and habit disorders. Conversely, appraisals of the high-risk activities seemed to center on negative evaluations of tenseness, boredom, dissatisfaction, and disinterest.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Video lottery: winning expectancies and arousal.

AIMS: This study investigates the effects of video lottery players' expectancies of winning on physiological and subjective arousal. DESIGN: Participants were assigned randomly to one of two experimental conditions: high and low winning expectancies. SETTING: Participants played 100 video lottery games in a laboratory setting while physiological measures were recorded. Level of risk-taking was controlled. PARTICIPANTS: Participants were 34 occasional or regular video lottery players. They were assigned randomly into two groups of 17, with nine men and eight women in each group. INTERVENTION: The low-expectancy group played for fun, therefore expecting to win worthless credits, while the high-expectancy group played for real money. MEASUREMENTS: Players' experience, demographic variables and subjective arousal were assessed. Severity of problem gambling was measured with the South Oaks Gambling Screen. In order to measure arousal, the average heart rate was recorded across eight periods. FINDINGS: Participants exposed to high as compared to low expectations experienced faster heart rate prior to and during the gambling session. According to self-reports, it is the expectancy of winning money that is exciting, not playing the game. CONCLUSIONS: Regardless of the level of risk-taking, expectancy of winning is a cognitive factor influencing levels of arousal. When playing for fun, gambling becomes significantly less stimulating than when playing for money.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Fusion or confusion in obsessive compulsive disorder.

Inferential confusion occurs when a person mistakes an imagined possibility for a real probability and might account for some types of thought-action and other fusions reported in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Inferential confusion could account for the ego-dystonic nature of obsessions and their recurrent nature, since the person acts "as if" an imagined aversive inference is probable and tries unsuccessfully to modify this imaginary probability in reality. The clinical implications of the inferential confusion model focus primarily on the role of the imagination in obsessive-compulsive disorder rather than on cognitive beliefs.

Cognition↗
PubMed2002

A cognitive-behavioral/psychophysiological model of tic disorders.

This article discusses current cognitive behavioral, as well as neurophysiological, accounts of the development and maintenance of tic behavior in chronic (simple or complex) tic disorders. A cognitive psychophysiological model is further elaborated, highlighting the reciprocal interplay of background cognitive and physiological factors preceding tic onset. According to the model, cognitive factors such as perfectionist concerns and heightened sensory awareness and self-attention, as well as physiological factors such as a high level of motor activation and accompanying elevated muscle tension, play a role in tic habits. Negative appraisals of tics and counter-productive coping strategies developed by clients as a means to suppress or to disguise the tic behavior may also locally reinforce tic onset. Neurochemical factors are viewed largely as concomitants of behavioral adaptations or compensations to the tic problem rather than as independent markers or precursors of tic onset. Clinically, the model emphasizes the role of cognitive-behavioral factors in tic onset, and suggests that tic management is best accomplished through cognitive behavioral interventions designed to prevent build up of both tension and pre-monitory urge in tic-affected muscles, rather than reverse the tic at the onset of the premonitory urge. The clinical validity of parts of the model is supported by recent experimental, psychometric and clinical studies. Other parts of the model remain speculative but at least yield testable predictions. A strength of the model is its ability to account for findings over diverse psychological and biological domains.

Adaptation, Psychological↗