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Biomedical subjects

L S Mann

Publications and source records attributed to L S Mann.

54 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

Parental qualities as perceived by borderline personality disorders.

This study explores the contribution of parental qualities to the borderline personality disorder. The Parental Bonding Inventory is used to compare four parental qualities (caring mother, caring father, overprotective father, and overprotective mother) across three groups (borderline personality disorders, assorted psychiatric controls and normal controls). The major finding was that the borderline patients perceived their parents to be significantly less caring and more overprotective than both the psychiatric control or nonclinical control groups. This study was verified previous reports that patients diagnosed with an affective illness (in either the borderline group or psychiatric control group) reported no significant differences on the inventory. Pinpointing parental characteristics which antecede mental disorders may be an important first step in devising primary preventive interventions for adult disorders.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Dopamine-beta-hydroxylase activity and homovanillic acid in spinal fluid of schizophrenics with brain atrophy.

Schizophrenic patients with high ventricle brain ratios and cortical brain atrophy, as shown by computerized tomography, had decreased spinal fluid concentrations of homovanillic acid and dopamine-beta-hydroxylase activity. These decreased cerebral spinal fluid concentrations in patients with brain atrophy support the proposal of disturbed noradrenaline and dopamine neurotransmission in a subgroup of schizophrenic patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Computed tomographic scans in patients with schizophrenia, schizoaffective, and bipolar affective disorder.

Computed tomographic (CT) scans of 28 chronic schizophrenic patients, 15 chronic schizoaffective patients, and 19 patients with bipolar affective disorder were compared on three measures: ventricular size, sulcal prominence (cortical atrophy), and cerebellar atrophy. Because the patients with bipolar disorder were older, measures were adjusted by controlling for age statistically or excluding patients over age 50 years. After age correction, there were no significant differences across diagnostic groups. Each group contained some subjects with enlarged ventricles, sulcal prominence, and/or cerebellar atrophy. The similarity of CT scan results across the three groups argues against ascribing these abnormalities to any one psychiatric disorder or to a specific drug effect. Sampling effects and the possibility of differential causes of the findings in the different diagnostic groups must be considered. Examination of the correlations of these three CT scan measures found them to be significantly related to each other. Age correlated with all measures when patients over age 50 years were included in the analysis, but not for patients aged 50 years and younger.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Cerebral glucography with positron tomography. Use in normal subjects and in patients with schizophrenia.

Local cerebral uptake of deoxyglucose labeled with fluorine 18 was measured by positron-emission tomography in eight patients with schizophrenia who were not receiving medication and in six age-matched normal volunteers. Subjects sat in an acoustically treated, darkened room with eyes closed after injection of 3 to 5 mCi of deoxyglucose 18F. After uptake, seven to eight horizontal brain scans parallel to the canthomeatal line were done. Scans were treated digitally, with a 2.3-cm strip peeled off each slice and ratios to whole-slice activity computed. Patients with schizophrenia showed lower ratios in the frontal cortex, indicating relatively lower glucose use than normal control subjects; this was consistent with previously reported studies of regional cerebral blood flow. Patients also showed diminished ratios for a 2.3-cm square that was positioned over central gray-matter areas on the left but not on the right side. These findings are preliminary; issues of control of mental activity, brain structure identification, and biologic and anatomic heterogeneity of schizophrenia remain to be explored.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Secondary alexithymia: an empirical validation.

Alexithymia is described as both a primary personality trait and a secondary state reaction to medical illness. To empirically study secondary alexithymia, a series of medically ill patients seen in psychiatric consultation were compared with a healthy control population. Measured by the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS), the medically ill were more alexithymic than the healthy population. Alexithymia was best predicted by both depressed mood and lowered quality of life, rather than by the categorical ranking of the severity of the medical illness. Alexithymia did appear to be separate from self-reported mood. These data support the concept of secondary alexithymia.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Alexithymia and the five-factor model of personality.

The relationship between alexithymia assessed by the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) and the five-factor model of personality measured by the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (FFI) was investigated in a group of psychiatric outpatients (n = 114) and normal volunteers (n = 71). When controlling for depression, the domains of neuroticism, introversion, and low openness predicted alexithymia. These three dimensions accounted for 57.1% of the explained variance in the patient cohort and 38.1% in the volunteer group. In the patient cohort, neuroticism contributed the majority of explained variance, which may reflect the state effect of distress that elevates neuroticism. Introversion was the most significant predictor in the volunteer group. These data suggest alexithymia is a unique personality trait that is not fully explained by the five-factor model of personality.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The attribution of somatic symptoms in psychiatric outpatients.

The attribution of common somatic symptoms was investigated in 100 psychiatric outpatients. Subjects who were more depressed and alexithymic as measured by the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) tended to endorse a psychological attribution for somatic complaints. Somatosensory amplification, anxiety, and inability to express and report specific feelings predicted psychological attribution. The data support the role of alexithymia in somatization and further explain a possible role of psychological attribution of somatic symptoms in the underrecognition of physical disorders in psychiatric patients.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Relationship between alexithymia, dissociation and personality in psychiatric outpatients.

BACKGROUND: The relationship between alexithymia and dissociation is not known. Both mechanisms ward off overwhelming affective states; hence, this report examines the relationship between dissociation, alexithymia, depressed mood and the five-factor model of personality in a sample of psychiatric outpatients. METHODS: One hundred and sixteen outpatients were evaluated using the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS), the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES), NEO Five-Factor Inventory and visual analog scales assessing depression and anxiety. Data was analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance, logistic regression and linear regression techniques. RESULTS: Depressed mood accounted for the group differences between the global TAS and DES scores. Using DES both dimensionally and categorically with regression models, there was minimal contribution of DES or its subfactors to predict TAS. CONCLUSIONS: These data reaffirm previous findings that dissociation fundamentally differs from alexithymia. Dissociation involves a change of one's sense, of self, whereas alexithymia reflects a cognitive state of externally oriented thinking with an inability to identify and report discrete emotions.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Factors affecting anxiety and depression in psychiatric consultation patients.

Factors that contribute to dysphoric affects in patients seen on a consultation-liaison service were investigated. Eighty-five subjects were studied to assess the role of character style, locus of control and seriousness of medical illness upon the magnitude of depression and anxiety each patient experienced. Results indicated that the obsessoid individual as well as individuals in pain reported significantly more depression and anxiety than their hysteroid counterparts. The severity of illness did not correlate with greater dysphoria. Those individuals who were more externally located were found to be in greater subjective pain. Furthermore, psychiatric consultants significantly tended to ignore the issue of the pain more often than anxiety and depression. The implications of these findings are discussed as they relate to a patient's personality style and the experience of illness and hospitalization.

Adult↗