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Biomedical subjects

V K Kumar

Publications and source records attributed to V K Kumar.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

"How deeply hypnotized did i get?" Predicting self-reported hypnotic depth from a phenomenological assessment instrument.

Procedures for estimating hypnotic depth have been used for more than 70 years. This study predicted self-reported hypnotic depth from the phenomenological and behavioral variables of the Phenomenology of Consciousness Inventory-Hypnotic Assessment Procedure (PCI-HAP). Participants were divided into 2 groups; 1 was used to generate regression equations, and the other group was used for cross-validation. Both imagery vividness during hypnosis (imagoic suggestibility) and the PCI pHGS measure of hypnotic depth (hypnoidal state) accounted for most of the variance in self-reported hypnotic depth. The above results, further supported by correlational and 3-D visual analyses, are consistent with other researchers' observations that ratings of hypnotic depth are a function of: (a) alterations in subjective experience, and (b) the perception of responsiveness to suggestions. The findings are also congruent with J. Holroyd's hypothesis that suggestibility and altered-state effects interact to produce hypnotic effects.

Consciousness Disorders↗
PubMed2005

Direct and indirect scales of hypnotic susceptibility: resistance to therapy and psychometric comparability.

Groups of participants were randomly assigned to receive either direct hypnotic procedure using the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility: Form A (HGSHS:A) or its indirect counterpart, the Alman-Wexler Indirect Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale (AWIHSS). Prior to hypnosis, participants completed the Inventory of Childhood Memories and Imaginings (a measure of fantasy proneness) and the Therapeutic Reactance Scale (TRS, a measure of resistance to therapeutic directives). The Phenomenology of Consciousness Inventory was completed in reference to a 2-minute sitting-quietly period embedded in the hypnotic procedure. Although results generally suggest that the two scales are alternate measures of hypnotizability, some differences were observed: (a) item difficulty levels differed on 4 of the 12 items; (b) subjects reported greater altered awareness with the direct method; and (c) contrary to the results of previous research, the more resistant subjects showed a tendency toward higher hypnotizability scores with the HGSHS:A, while the less resistant subjects responded better with the AWIHSS.

Attitude↗
PubMed2005

Proliferative myositis--a case report.

Proliferative myositis is a recently recognized and unusual reactive fibroproliferative lesion of striated muscle. It shows a bizarre cytological and histological appearance that can mimic a soft tissue sarcoma. It is important to recognize this pseudosarcomatous lesion so as to spare the patient anxiety and unnecessary surgery.

Child↗
PubMed2004

Self-hypnosis relapse prevention training with chronic drug/alcohol users: effects on self-esteem, affect, and relapse.

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a self-hypnosis protocol with chronic drug and alcohol patients in increasing self-esteem, improving affect, and preventing relapse against a control, a transtheoretical cognitive-behavioral (TCB), and a stress management (attention-placebo) group. Participants were 261 veterans admitted to Substance Abuse Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Programs (SARRTPs). Participants were assessed pre- and postintervention, and at 7-week follow-up. Relapse rates did not significantly differ across the 4 groups at follow-up; 87% of those contacted reported abstinence. At follow-up, the participants in the 3 treatment conditions were asked how often they practiced the intervention materials provided them. Practicing and minimal-practicing participants were compared against the control group for each of the 3 interventions via MANOVAs/ANOVAs. Results revealed a significant Time by Groups interaction for the hypnosis intervention, with individuals who played the self-hypnosis audiotapes "at least 3 to 5 times a week" at 7-week follow-up reporting the highest levels of self-esteem and serenity, and the least anger/impulsivity, in comparison to the minimal-practice and control groups. No significant effects were found for the transtheoretical or stress management interventions. Regression analyses predicted almost two-thirds of the variance of who relapsed and who did not in the hypnosis intervention group. Hypnotic susceptibility predicted who practiced the self-hypnosis audiotapes. The results suggest that hypnosis can be a useful adjunct in helping chronic substance abuse individuals with their reported self-esteem, serenity, and anger/impulsivity.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Fantasy proneness, creative capacity, and styles of creativity.

The Creativity Styles Questionnaire-Revised was used to measure graduate psychology students' (N=173) self-perceptions of creative capacity and styles of creativity (beliefs about and strategies for going about being creative). Participants also completed the Inventory of Childhood Memories and Imaginings, a self-report measure of Fantasy Proneness. The Self-perceived Creative Capacity and Fantasy Proneness scores were significantly correlated (r=.36, p<.001), and these scores were positively correlated with the styles subscale scores of Belief in Unconscious Processes. Use of Techniques, Use of Senses, and negatively correlated with Final Product Orientation. Also, the Fantasy Proneness scores were positively correlated with the Superstition scores and the Environmental Control and Behavioral Self-regulation scores.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Phenomenological experiences associated with hypnotic susceptibility.

Following the administration of a Hungarian translation of the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form C (SHSS:C), 104 Hungarian subjects completed the Hungarian translation of the Phenomenology of Consciousness Inventory (PCI). Subjects had also been administered the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A (HGSHS:A) about 1 week to 2 months before the SHSS:C. The pattern of correlations between hypnotizability (as measured by the HGSHS:A and the SHSS:C) and the 5 factors of the PCI was quite similar to that of previous work carried out using the English language versions on subjects in the United States. SHSS:C and HGSHS:A scores correlated significantly with the PCI factors of dissociated control, positive affect, and attention to internal processes factors. In addition, the SHSS:C score correlated significantly with the visual imagery factor, as found in previous work.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Operationalizing "trance". I: Rationale and research using a psychophenomenological approach.

Despite the popularity of the term "trance" among clinicians to describe the subjective effects associated with being hypnotized, heretofore there has been no means to operationalize that definition. The authors present a rationale and psychophenomenological method to operationalize the term "trance" in terms of (a) hypnotic depth, a quantitative measure of subjective trance assessed via a pHGS (predicted Harvard Group Scale) score, derived from regression analysis, and (b) "trance typology profiles," a qualitative differentiation of empirically derived (via cluster and discriminant analyses) categories of subjective trance experiences. The authors then discuss theoretical and clinical implications of this psychophenomenological approach for developing an operational definition of the concept of trance.

Consciousness↗
PubMed1999

State and trait depression, physical and social anhedonia, hypnotizability and subjective experiences during hypnosis.

This study (n = 465) examined if (a) hypnotic susceptibility (assessed by the Harvard Group Scale, Form A) was related to state and trait depression, and physical and social anhedonia, and (b) phenomenological experiences (assessed by the Phenomenology of Consciousness Inventory [PCI]) varied with depression, anhedonia,and hypnotizability during hypnosis, compared with a sitting quietly condition. Only physical anhedonia showed a weak, but significant, negative correlation with hypnotizability. Hypnosis, compared with the sitting quietly condition, facilitated lowering of feelings of sadness especially for the chronically depressed. Other results pertaining to phenomenological experiences suggest that in future studies, instead of only correlating individual difference variables with hypnotizability, it may be more fruitful to explore their relationships with what happens during hypnosis in terms of reported phenomenological experiences.

Depression↗
PubMed1999

The Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility and related instruments: individual and group administrations.

The Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A (HGSHS:A), Tellegen's Absorption Scale (TAS); Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES); and Phenomenology of Consciousness Inventory (PCI) were administered either individually or in groups. Eighty students from undergraduate Introduction to Psychology classes were randomly assigned to 1 of the 2 administration conditions with 40 students each. Although there was a general trend of differential item difficulty levels across the 2 administration conditions, a variety of results (descriptive characteristics, reliability, and validity) point to the similarity of behavioral and subjective responses to hypnosis in the 2 conditions. The TAS, DES, and PCI also produced similar results across both conditions of administration.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Phenomenological experience in response to monotonous drumming and hypnotizability.

Participants (N = 206) experienced 15-min of monotonous drumming either before or after hypnosis (Harvard scale). Participants completed the Phenomenology of Consciousness Inventory (PCI) in reference to the last 4-min of drumming. Stimulus order did not affect the objective trance levels as measured by the Harvard scores. The subjective trance level as measured by hypnoidal scores (predicted Harvard scores from the PCI) was significantly higher when drumming preceded hypnosis. Participants' estimated average trance level achieved during drumming fell in the medium range of susceptibility (5-8) (Pekala, 1995). Participants who achieved higher hypnoidal and Harvard scores were more likely to report relaxed feelings and shamanic-type experiences in narratives about their subjective experiences during drumming.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Utility of Doppler-detectable microbubbles in the diagnosis and treatment of decompression sickness.

BACKGROUND: Doppler-detectable microbubbles (DMB) are frequently used to evaluate altitude decompression stress. However, the role of DMB in the therapy of decompression sickness (DCS) has not been examined. HYPOTHESIS: The ability of Doppler to detect microbubbles during decompression (Doppler test) may be used in the diagnosis of DCS, and to aid clinical decisions about treatment options for DCS. METHODS: We examined the data on DMB and symptoms from NASA Database on DCS (n = 516). The accuracy of Doppler test was obtained from the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) for DMB (grades I through IV), and efficacy was obtained by calculating predictive or post-test probabilities. Threshold analysis was used to obtain the probabilities for testing and/or treatment decisions. RESULTS: The Doppler test was useful for both screening and confirming DCS, when different criteria (grade I for screening; grade IV for confirming) were used for a positive test. Calculation of predictive values and threshold analysis showed that: 1) early recompression was the therapy of choice when post-test probability of disease was > 0.25 in individuals with non-specific pain at altitude, and early recompression with 100% oxygen for 2 h at site level was optimal therapy when this probability was > 0.33; 2) hyperbaric therapy was optimal when post-test probability was > 0.04 in individuals with uncertain symptoms post-flight. CONCLUSIONS: The Doppler test was of greater utility in excluding DCS than confirming its presence, and was useful in making therapeutic decisions on DCS when confronted with non-specific symptoms at altitude.

Aerospace Medicine↗
PubMed1996

Behavioral and subjective scoring of the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility: further data and an extension.

The present study replicated and extended Kirsch, Council, and Wickless's work evaluating the reliability and concurrent validity of a subjective response scale developed for the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility. Consistent with Kirsch et al.'s findings, the subjective counterpart of the Harvard scale demonstrated high reliability (coefficient .90) and concurrent validity (r = .84 with Harvard's standard behavioral score). Similar correlations of the behavioral and subjective scales with the Dissociative Experience Scale (DES) and Phenomenology of Consciousness Inventory (PCI) suggested that the two hypnotizability scales are measuring similar constructs. However, using the two scales in combination did not yield a morestringent measure of hypnotizability in terms of DES and PCI variables than using either of them alone.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Trait factors, state effects, and hypnotizability.

This study examined the relationship of 15 trait (e.g., absorption, ego-permissiveness) and 21 phenomenological variables (assessed by the Phenomenology of Consciousness Inventory) with performance on the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A. Factor analyses suggested three trait factors (absorption-permissiveness, general sensation seeking, and social desirability) and five state factors (dissociated control state, positive affect, negative affect, attention to internal processes, and visual imagery). The factors correlated to hypnotizability were absorption-permissiveness, dissociated control, positive affect, and attention to internal processes. In predicting hypnotizability, the amount of variance accounted for by the trait factors was approximately 9%; an additional 22% was accounted for by state factors. The interactions did not account for any additional variance in predicting hypnotizability.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

A cDNA encoding an ADP/ATP carrier from the mosquito Anopheles gambiae.

Two cDNAs are described from Anopheles gambiae that correspond to the ADP/ATP carrier or translocase. The clones are identical except for minor differences in the 5' non-coding region and in the lengths of the poly-A tails. They code for mRNAs of 1261 and 1263 bp and contain one open reading frame of 906 bp. A probe made from the 1263 bp cDNA hybridized to bands of approximately 1260 and 1700 bp on developmental Northern blots. The putative 300 amino acid peptide sequence shows from 53.4-78.5% identity to AAC peptide sequences from a range of organisms from Zea mays to human. Both clones mapped to region 26a on the left arm of chromosome 2 in An. gambiae.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1991

Effectiveness of filler items in disguising scale purpose.

Subjects (n = 246) were asked to identify the trait(s) measured by Rotter's Interpersonal Trust Scale with and without filler items, either by responding freely or by circling traits listed on a sheet. Half the subjects were informed prior to filling out the questionnaire that their task was to identify the traits being measured by the questionnaire; the remaining half of the subjects were informed of their task after they completed the questionnaire. Very few subjects were able to identify correctly the trait being measured by Rotter's scale regardless of the experimental condition. Most subjects named multiple traits. It was concluded that the use of filler items per se was not the key factor in disguising the true purpose of Rotter's test; rather item wording may have produced multiple interpretations.

Adult↗