Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

N G Ward

Publications and source records attributed to N G Ward.

31 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1982

Change in auditory asymmetry with amobarbital: evidence of cerebral pharmacological asymmetry?

Eleven right-handed subjects were administered a dichotic listening test to assess cerebral hemispheric dominance, both under a drug-free condition and following systemic injection of the barbiturate, amobarbital. The finding of increased right ear advantage during the drug period reflects increased left cerebral dominance, and suggests that amobarbital may have an asymmetric, pharmacological effect on the two cerebral hemispheres.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Psychobiological markers in coexisting pain and depression: toward a unified theory.

Psychological and biological variables were examined in two groups of patients with both depression and pain. The relationship of these variables to severity of pain and to pain threshold was examined in a nontreatment evaluation group (N = 25), and their relationship to relief of pain and depression was examined n a doxepin-treated group (N = 16). Eighty-seven percent of the treatment group experienced some pain relief, and 56% experienced complete relief. In the nontreatment group, anxiety as measured on the Zung Anxiety Scale, depression as measured on the Hamilton Depression Scale, and urinary 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylethylene glycol (MHPG) were all found to correlate significantly and positively with severity of pain as rated on the McGill Pain Questionnaire. Each of these variables was related to different dimensions of the pain experience as measured by the McGill-Melzack Pain subscales. Only anxiety correlated significantly with pain threshold. In the treatment group final pain relief was positively correlated with initial MHPG and anxiety and with improvement in depression. A theory unifying biological, psychological, and clinical experimental pain data is presented.

Anxiety Disorders↗
PubMed1980

Factors associated with suicidal behavior in polydrug abusers.

In 155 polydrug abusers, drug use patterns that were associated with serious suicidal behavior included preference for depressant drugs, history of withdrawal from barbiturates, and lower frequency of PCP use. Diagnostic factors associated with increased suicidal behavior included a history of depression in the subject's mother and a diagnosis of antisocial personality in the subjects themselves. These findings are discussed in relation to Winokur's concept of broad spectrum depressive disease.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Medical students and psychiatric patients: an encounter of the first kind.

The use of psychiatric patients in teaching interview techniques to inexperienced medical students is a common practice. This report describes the impact of this training as assessed through questionnaire analysis of 35 patients and 32 medical students involved in an interview course for second-year medical students. The experience was viewed by both patients and students as useful, and more students reported it as being stressful than did patients. Patients valued it because they thought it would improve medical education, while students found it personally helpful. Most patients (94 percent) and all students indicated they would participate in a similar experience. Most patients felt that the students understood them well in contrast to the student's perception of not understanding the patient.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed1978

Sodium amylobarbitone in the differential diagnosis of confusion.

The authors describe the use of intravenous sodium amylobarbitone to differentiate between functional and organic confusion. Four psychiatric patients with functional confusion developed a clear sensorium on this drug. Since previous studies have demonstrated that organic confusion is increased by sodium amylobarbitone, the authors conclude that the drug can be an aid in the differential diagnosis of confusion. They discuss possible applications.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1975

Successful lithium treatment of transvestism associated with manic-depression.

A case of transvestism in a 24-year-old manic-depressive man is described. The behavior had been maintained for 2 years and disappeared soon after lithium treatment was begun. It has not returned during the first year on lithium. Dynamic and behavioral explanations for this unusual therapeutic response are considered. The dynamic explanation involves the assumption that the transvestism was perpetuated by mood-dependent motives that were eliminated by lithium. The behavioral explanation involves the assumption that the manic state itself became an intermittent reinforcer for the transvestism, and the lithium, by eliminating the mania, created a relatively permanent extinction period.

Adult↗
PubMed1975

Reducing emotional distance: a new method to teach interviewing skills.

Following an extensive review of the literature on the teaching of interviewing to medical students and psychiatry residents, the authors conclude that too much teaching emphasis has been given to the content of the interview and not enough to the process of the interview. A new method to teach interviewing skills to residents in psychiatry is described. The method focuses entirely on the interpersonal aspects of the interview. Within a seminar format, each resident attempts to reduce the "emotional distance" between himself and a patient. Much consideration is given to the individual emotional style of the resident. Through practice with this method and with peer and staff feedback, each resident who was studied improved in this ability, gained much affectual information from the patient, and learned many of the subtle aspects of process that are necessary for good interviewing and good psychotherapy.

Communication↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A comparison of the use of tricyclic antidepressants by psychiatrists and non-psychiatric physicians.

In a chart review comparing use of tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) by psychiatrists and non-psychiatrists, the psychiatrists performed significantly better in documenting a diagnosis of depression, and in documenting length of treatment and continued need for patients already on a TCA. In other areas including route and frequency of administration, and use of multiple psychoactive drugs, there was no difference between the two groups. The authors conclude that performance by psychiatrists is better than for non-psychiatrists but below what might be set as reasonable standards, particularly in the area of documenting specific signs and symptoms of depression in patients receiving a TCA.

Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic↗