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Biomedical subjects

A M Ludwig

Publications and source records attributed to A M Ludwig.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Creative achievement and psychopathology: comparison among professions.

This study was designed to determine (1) whether members of the 8 "creative arts" professions (i.e., architects, artists, musicians, composers, actors/directors, essayists, fiction writers, and poets) display greater rates of psychopathology than members of other professions, and (2) whether a significant relationship exists between creative achievement and mental disturbance. The final study sample (n = 1,005), constituting 18 separate professions, consisted of all appropriate individuals whose biographies were reviewed in the New York Times Book Review over a 30-year period (1960 to 1990). The results, in their entirety, suggest (a) that different patterns of psychopathology, if any, tend to be associated with different professions and at different periods in individuals' lives, (b) that different professions are associated with different levels of creative achievement, and (c) that certain types of psychopathology are associated with creative achievement across all professions.

Achievement↗
PubMed1992

Culture and creativity.

The relationship between cultural and creative expression is complex. Cultural factors clearly have a profound influence on appropriate outlets for creative expression, on the nature of the subject matter and form of expression, on the functions that various forms of expression serve, and on the types of individuals selected for, or engaged in, creative activity. There are many different ways by which societies shape all aspects of creative expression, ranging from the availability of resources to the provision of rewards or punishments. It also becomes apparent that the association of creativity with originality is largely a Western outlook and that artistic achievements in other cultures do not necessarily have this requirement. Despite the powerful impact of culture on the creative expression of individuals, this relationship is often reciprocal. For whatever reasons, there tend to be individuals in all societies who challenge the cultural norm and societal tradition, despite the consequences, and who thereby help to shape the nature and form of art.

Art↗
PubMed1990

Alcohol input and creative output.

Is alcohol use a help or a hindrance for creativity? And, conversely, what effect does creative activity have on alcohol use? In order to answer these questions, relevant information was obtained from the biographies of 34 well known, heavy drinking, 20th century writers, artists or composers/performers. Analysis of this information yielded a number of interesting findings. Alcohol use proved detrimental to productivity in over 75% of the sample, especially in the latter phases of their drinking careers. However, it appeared to provide direct benefit for about 9% of the sample, indirect benefit for 50% and no appreciable effect for 40% at different times in their lives. Creative activity, conversely, can also affect drinking behavior, leading, for instance, to increased alcohol consumption in over 30% of the sample. Because of the complexities of this relationship, no simplistic conclusions are possible.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1990

Who is someone?

The ways of knowing another human being are limited to personal information provided by the individual, creative expressions by the individual, personal observations of the individual, and empathic identification with the individual. Each of these sources of information, while valuable, possesses certain inherent limitations, often contributing to a distorted picture of who a person is. To a large extent, such distortions can be attributed to the still unresolved issue of what is meant by a "self." Addressing this issue allows for a more rational formulation of just who someone is.

Empathy↗
PubMed1979

Neurological soft signs and psychopathology. I. Findings in schizophrenia.

Systematic, standardized evaluations for neurological soft signs were conducted on five psychiatric populations and a control group of medical inpatients. Soft signs were grouped according to their probable clinical association with cortical lobe dysfunction. Preliminary results indicated that schizophrenics, compared to other groups, showed significant increased presence of soft signs presumably related to frontal and parietal lobe dysfunction.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Neurological soft signs and psychopathology: incidence in diagnostic groups.

In earlier studies the authors have reported impairments of cortical function in the parietal and frontal lobes of schizophrenic patients. In this study these results are pursued. The performance of different groups of psychiatric patients with respect to individual neurological soft signs rather than combined cortical function scores, was studied. The potential influence of psychotropic drugs on the significant findings was also analyzed. The results show that specific individual neurologic soft signs are significantly more frequently present in schizophrenics than in either controls or in other psychiatric groups. Additionally, there was no statistical evidence of psychotropic drug effects on the findings.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

'Loss of control' in alcoholics.

This study evaluates the ability of alcoholics to regulate their blood alcohol levels (BAL) within a designated range by relying primarily on interoceptive cues. Forty male alcoholics and 20 control subjects were exposed to an initial training session in which they received sufficient ethanol to maintain them within a designated BAL range over a 2 1/2-hour period. They were then exposed to two experimental sessions, one providing "overfeedback" and one "underfeedback." During each session, subjects had ten drinking decisions to make with respect to regulation of their BAL. The results indicated that alcoholics displayed greater "loss-of-control" than control subjects. This finding supported the hypothesis that alcoholics may possess a neurophysiologic feedback dysfunction that contributes to their relative inability to regulate ethanol intake.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

The medical basis of psychiatry.

The authors state that the medical model represents the most useful and appropriate model available for the practice of psychiatry. They discuss the implications for psychiatry of the three essential features of the medical model: the concept of disease and diagnosis, the concept of etiology and treatment, and the nature of the doctor-patient relationship. They conclude that the adoption of the medical model for psychiatry would have profound implications for residency training, continuing education, delivery of care, standards of ethical and professional practice, dealings with third-party payers, and conflicts with other professions.

Diagnosis, Differential↗
PubMed1977

Multiple personality--an objective case study.

A case of multiple personality is presented and described. Psychological and neurophysiological parameters obtained on the personalities are evaluated. Major differences between the personalities in the processing of sensory information (augmenting-reducing parameter) are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Deficits in the regulation of ethanol intake by alcoholics.

In an appropriate experimental paradigm, loss-of-control drinking can be demonstrated when an individual consumes sufficient ethanol over time to cause his blood alcohol level (BAL) to rise progressively above a previously established, designated range. For this study, 10 alcoholics were exposed to a training session and provided accurate feedback of their blood alcohol level at ten 15-minute intervals. On following days, they were then exposed to three exposed to three experimental sessions during which they were instructed to maintain their BAL within the established training session range by relying primarily on interoceptive cues. The experimental sessions were characterized by distorted or no feedback concerning blood alcohol levels as the basis for drinking-decision behavior. The results indicated that 60% of alcoholics displayed loss-of-control (LOC) (by our criterion) in a least one session, the greatest percentage in the "No Feedback" session. The results were interpreted to support our theory of a neurophysiologic feedback dysfunction associated with LOC drinking.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Alcoholics and high-low sensory input: a pilot study.

It is hypothesized that alcoholics possess a perceptual-neurophysiological sensitivity which renders them vulnerable to the effects of information or stimulus overload: the resort to alcohol, therefore, may represent an adaptive attempt to restore physiologic homeostasis through the pharmacologic "dampening" properties of this drug. Twelve alcoholic subjects were assigned to three different levels of audio-visual sensory stimulation (no, medium, high) and three different doses of alcohol (placebo, low, high) according to a balanced incomplete block design. The results indicated trend level and significant interactions between alcohol and sensory level effects on craving intensity and systolic blood pressure, respectively, as well as a number of other intriguing findings. Should the findings of this pilot study be replicated, they will have important implications for the understanding of alcoholism.

Alcoholism↗
PubMed1976

Cognitive performance in conversion hysteria.

In order to test some neurobiologically based assumptions pertaining to attention and memory dysfunction in conversion hysteria, a series of tasks was given to 17 hospitalized patients with hysterical conversion reaction and to a control group of nonpsychotic patients under conditions of nonstress and stress. The results indicated significant differences in performance between hysteria and control subjects. The former group, in comparison to controls, had heightened suggestibility, greater field dependency, and greater impairment of recent memory and vigilance-attention. A discriminant analysis indicated the feasibility of using such tests as objective diagnostic criteria for hysteria.

Adult↗