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Biomedical subjects

G Loas

Publications and source records attributed to G Loas.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

Anhedonia and alexithymia: distinct or overlapping constructs.

The aim was to examine the relationship between alexithymia, anhedonia, and capacity for displeasure in a group of 133 healthy subjects using principal components analysis. A correlation matrix comprised of items from both the Communication and Identification scale of the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale and the Physical Pleasure-Displeasure Scale yielded a four-factor solution (one Communication-Identification, two Pleasure, and one Displeasure factor) with no overlap of the significant factor loadings for the items from each scale. Moreover, there were no positive significant correlations between the Communication and Identification Scales and the Physical Anhedonia Scale. Our findings support the view that physical anhedonia is a construct distinct and separate from alexithymia.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Vulnerability to depression: a model centered on anhedonia.

The aim of the present study is to present a model of depressive vulnerability centered on anhedonia. After a review of the literature, we suggest a specific symptomatic profile associating anhedonia, introversion, low sensation-seeking, autonomy, dysfunctional attitudes, high displeasure capacity, obsessive-compulsive features, passitivity and pessimism. This symptomatic profile could constitute a mild chronic mood disorder which, following stress, might decompensate into unipolar endogenomorphic depression. Several methods of research are suggested to test the validity of our model.

Depressive Disorder↗
PubMed1996

Anhedonia, depression and the deficit syndrome of schizophrenia.

A total of 29 deficit schizophrenics were compared with 121 non-deficit schizophrenics using the Physical Anhedonia Scale (PAS) and the abridged form of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). The results show that the deficit schizophrenics had a higher score on the PAS and lower score on the BDI than the non-deficit schizophrenics.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Factor analysis of the French version of the 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20).

A French version of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 Items (TAS-20) was factor-analyzed on a sample of 263 university students and its factor solution analyzed along with the studies using the Canadian version. Our results show a two-factor solution where the items rating the difficulty to identify feelings and the items rating the difficulty to describe feelings constitute a sole factor contrary to the Canadian version. These data are reviewed in the context of previous research and offer two subscales for future investigations utilizing the TAS-20.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

[Exploratory study of amitriptyline resistance in depressed patients: results of WHO French collaborating center on depressions resistant to treatments].

A multicountry, multicentre double-blind study in a group of depressives, coordinated by the Mental Health Division of the World Health Association (WHO) has been done. The goal of the study is to determine whether the therapeutic effects of amitriptyline can be enhanced and potentiated by combining it with an antioxydant (gingko biloba). An exploratory study has preceded the main study which had the objective to estimate the proportion of non-response patient to amitriptyline. We report the results concerning the French center. 23 inpatients meet the ICD-10 criteria for depression (F32 and F33) and were treated during 6 weeks by amitriptyline with the initial daily dose of 50 mg until the maximum dose of 200 mg. The proportion of non-responsive patient to amitriptyline was 34.78 (95% confidence interval : 15.32 to 54.24%), all clinically deteriorated.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

[Prevalence of alexithymia in a general population. Study in 183 "normal" subjects and in 263 students].

The prevalence of alexithymia has been studied in two groups of healthy subjects, 183 normals and 263 university students. In the normal group the alexithymia was rated using the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) and in the student group the alexithymia was rated using the revised version of the TAS (Twenty-items TAS or TAS-20). Using our cutoff scores (> or = 73 for the TAS, > or = 56 for the TAS-20), the prevalence in the normal group and the student group were respectively 23% and 17.1%.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

[Evaluation of the subjective component of emotions in normal subjects: relation between anhedonia and the capacity to perceive unpleasant feelings in a population of 221 normal subjects].

This work presents a study of 221 healthy subjects among whom we have assessed the capacity to feel pleasure or displeasure through two rating scales, the FCPCS-PP and the HDCS-PD. We have observed a significant correlation between the scores, which shows that the more pleasure the subject feels, the more displeasure he feels. These results seem to confirm the existence of an overall dimension of emotional experience.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

[Anhedonia and sensation seeking].

The relationship between anhedonia and sensation seeking has been studied in 56 normal subjects of both sexes (33 males, 23 females). Anhedonia and sensation seeking were respectively defined by two reliable rating scales: Physical Anhedonia Scale of Chapman (PAS), Zuckerman's Sensation Seeking Scale (SS form V -40 items). The results have shown a negative correlation between this scales for males but not for females. These finding suggest that lowered levels of sensation seeking could constitute for males, like anhedonia, a risk factor of schizophrenia.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

[Affective dependency and primary alcoholism].

The relationships between dependency and alcoholism have been studied in two groups of male subjects. In the first group 41 subjects met Spitzer's criteria for primary alcoholism and the 50 subjects of the second group were healthy. All the subjects filled out two rating scales, the Interpersonal Dependency Inventory (IDI) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) (shortened version). The alcoholics were divided into depressives vs non depressives by the means of the score of the BDI. Comparing to controls the alcoholics scored significantly higher on the IDI, but there were no differences for this scale between the two sub-groups of alcoholics (depressed alcoholics, non depressed alcoholics). Interpersonal dependency seems to be a characteristic of the alcoholic personality without influence of secondary depression.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

[Evaluation of anhedonia in psychopathology: second study of the validation of the French version of the Chapman and Chapman physical anhedonia scale. Study of 356 persons].

This work presents a second study of validation of the French version of the Physical Anhedonia Scale (PAS) in four groups (221 and 32 normal subjects, 61 schizophrenics (RDC) and 42 major depressives (RDC). The internal consistency was determined by the Kuder-Richardson coefficient (KR 20) which values was 0.75 in the normal group and 0.82 in the schizophrenic group. The mean of the correlations between each item and the total score was 0.25. The concurrent validity was studied by the correlation coefficient between the PAS score and a sub-scale of physical pleasure (FCPCS-PP) extracted from the Fawcett Clark Pleasure Capacity Scale. The values were -0.39 (p < 0.01) in the normal groups, -0.37 (p < 0.01) in the schizophrenic group and -0.56 (p < 0.01) in the depressive group. A test retest have shown a value of 0.76 (p < 0.01) between two passations (3 weeks) of the PAS. The norms of PAS in the French population were given.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Physical anhedonia in major depressive disorder.

Physical anhedonia, evaluated by the score on the physical anhedonia scale (PAS) of Chapman et al. [J. Abnorm. Psychol. 4 374-382 (1976)] was studied in 61 patients, who met RDC criteria for major depressive disorder and in 61 normal subjects. The depressed patients scored significantly higher than the normal group and presented a continuous distribution. Physical anhedonia of depressed patients seems related to the severity of the depression and does not appear to identify a qualitatively distinct subgroup.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

[Topographical analysis of endogenous evoked potentials in depressed old people and in patients with Alzheimer's type dementia].

Latencies, amplitudes and localization of the maximum of the peaks of late onset evoked responses have been studied in 3 groups of elderly people: normal, depressed and demented (probable dementia of Alzheimer type DAT) at the early stage of the disease. Evoked responses with an auditory oddball paradigm have been recorded with 16 electrodes in 2 situations: counting the target sounds, and motor response with measurement of the reaction time. No difference in amplitude was observed between the 3 groups. Only a significant difference for P3 latency was observed between the DAT and the depressed groups and only in the counting situation. The maximum P3 response was most often found on the anterior areas in the DAT group and in the posterior areas in the normal and depressed groups. The topographic localization of the P3 peak could therefore be of some help in the characterize of subjects with probable DAT at the early stage of the disease.

Aged↗