Biomedical subjects

O A Parsons

Publications and source records attributed to O A Parsons.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1992

Long-term test-retest reliability of event-related potentials in normals and alcoholics.

The long-term test-retest reliability of event-related potentials (ERP) measures was examined in a group of 44 controls and 71 chronic alcoholics, retested after an average of 14 months. Correlational analyses revealed moderately significant test-retest correlations for visual and auditory target N1, N2, and P3 amplitudes, with significant correlations for N1, N2 and P3 latencies. Controls and alcoholics produced similar test-retest correlations for visual and auditory ERP measures. Men and women produced equally stable ERP measures over time. Overall N1 and P3 amplitudes were most reliable in both groups followed by N2 amplitude, N1 and N2 latency, and P3 latency. The stability of ERP measures found in this study over a 14-month period in both normals and chronic alcoholics supports the use of ERPs in the study of normal and disordered cognitive functioning.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

Investigation of the role of sex hormones in alcoholics' visuospatial deficits.

This study investigated whether an alcohol-related disturbance in the functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis was a factor in alcoholics' visuospatial impairment. One month detoxified male alcoholics (n = 58) performed significantly poorer than peer controls (n = 30) on a battery of visuospatial and verbal tests. Serum concentrations of testosterone, estradiol, luteinizing hormone and follicle stimulating hormone were obtained at three times during cognitive testing. Previously reported correlations in healthy young male adults between visuospatial performance with testosterone and follicle stimulating hormone concentrations were replicated in control subjects. These correlations were not significant in the alcoholics. The results suggest that chronic alcoholism may disrupt the normal relationships between the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis and cognitive functioning.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

Interpersonal problem-solving in male and female alcoholics.

This study compared the performance of alcoholics (18 male, 16 female) with community controls (15 male, 12 female) on the Adaptive Skills Battery (ASB), a test of interpersonal problem-solving. The ASB consists of 30 situations. Fifteen situations require subjects' typical responses and 15, their optimal responses. Male and female alcoholics were inferior to controls in their typical responses [F(1,57) = 45.22, p = 0.0001], but did not differ on the optimal responses (F less than 1). Further analyses indicated that decreased feelings of self-efficacy could not account for the alcoholic deficit. Females were superior to males in the optimal response condition [(F(1,56) = 9.90, p = 0.003]. No significant group x sex interactions were obtained. Performance on the ASB was not correlated with performance on traditional measures of problem-solving. Post-hoc correlational analyses revealed differential patterns between depression scores and performance for alcoholics and controls. These data suggest that (1) female and male alcoholics exhibit similar interpersonal problem-solving deficits, (2) alcoholic self-efficacy expectancies cannot account for the impairment, (3) the ASB appears to assess aspects of problem-solving not typically examined, and (4) the role of depression in alcoholic performance deserves continued empirical evaluation.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

The role of instructional set on alcoholic performance.

This study was conducted to determine whether alcoholic and control subjects respond differently to manipulations that either enhance personal involvement (PI) or reduce negative affect (R, relaxation) on tests of neuropsychological function. In Phase 1, 48 male alcoholics and 36 male control subjects completed neuropsychological tasks under standard instructional sets. In Phase 2, subjects completed equivalent forms of these tests under one of three randomly assigned conditions; the PI condition in which subjects were encouraged to identify specific ways of improving their performance, the R condition in which subjects participated in a short relaxation exercise designed to reduce anxiety, or a No Treatment (NT) condition in which no attempt to manipulate the subjects' involvement or affect was made. Alcoholics were inferior to controls in both Phase 1 and Phase 2 [Fs (1,82) > 5.03, ps < 0.03]. The experimental manipulation differentially affected measures of negative affect and effort in the predicted direction. There were no group x condition interactions. Alcoholic and control subjects responded comparably to the experimental manipulations. This investigation, in combination with others using related manipulations, reinforces the hypothesis that alcohol-related cognitives dysfunction reflects an underlying deficit in brain states.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

Neuropsychological efficiency measures in male and female alcoholics.

The role of time in performance on many neuropsychological tests has been relatively neglected in the literature to date. Neuropsychological functioning in 90 male and female alcoholics and 65 peer controls was examined using both accuracy and time measures for four basic types of neuropsychological functioning: verbal skills, learning and memory, problem-solving and abstracting, and perceptual-motor skills. Alcoholics had significantly lower efficiency ratios (accuracy/time) than controls in each of the four areas, and had significantly lower overall accuracy and time scores. There were no significant Group x Gender interactions for efficiency, speed or accuracy scores, indicating that male and female alcoholics have similar deficits as a result of chronic alcoholism. The study is the first to apply systematically an empirical measure of neuropsychological efficiency to different areas of cognitive function; the results have implications for neuropsychological testing procedures.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

Resting cardiovascular activity and antisocial behavior in Essential and Reactive alcoholic men.

This study showed that 10 men identified as Essential alcoholics had significantly lower resting systolic and diastolic blood pressures and significantly higher scores on Latcham's measure of antisocial behavior than 11 Reactive alcoholics. For all alcoholics the antisocial measure was positively correlated with the total score on the Rudie-McGaughran questionnaire. Also, the antisocial measure was negatively correlated with diastolic blood pressure and heart rate. If lower resting cardiovascular activity were a psychophysiological indicator of more antisocial behavior, change on both variables could be associated with initiation and maintenance of alcoholic drinking by Essential alcoholic men.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

Factor analysis of the Rudie-McGaughran Essential-Reactive questionnaire for VA alcoholic men.

In this study factor analysis was used to estimate the validity of the Rudie-McGaughran Essential-Reactive questionnaire. Answers of VA alcoholic men were tape-recorded and scored using the Rudie and McGaughran criteria. Only 2 factors, economic dependence and gastrointestinal symptoms, were validated using factor analysis. Five of the remaining six factors evaluated dimensions of dependence unique to the Essential alcoholic men.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed1991

The influence of depressive symptomatology on alcoholics' locus of control: a methodological note and a correction.

In a previously published experiment from our laboratory, we reported two findings. First, controls showed the expected negative correlation between internal and external LOC dimensions, while alcoholics did not. Second, a difference score between LOC-internal and LOC-external was correlated significantly and positively with alcoholics' abstracting impairment. Data from two new independent samples of alcoholics and controls confirmed the first finding, but not the second; further, a calculation error was discovered in the previously published data that invalidated the second result. However, in all three studies, depressive symptomatology was found to be correlated negatively with the internal-external LOC difference score in both alcoholics and controls. It is suggested that depressive symptomatology be assessed in any study that investigates LOC.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

Verbal fluency deficits in female alcoholics.

Verbal fluency deficits in female alcoholics (n = 48) were investigated using Thurstone's Word Fluency Test (TWFT) and a category fluency test. Overall, alcoholics performed less well than did controls (n = 36). Simple effects indicate that although controls performed less well on category fluency than on the TWFT, alcoholics did not differ between the two tests. Simple effects also show that controls' performance was superior to that of alcoholics on the category fluency test, but the groups did not differ on the TWFT. The pattern of results suggests that the process of shifting rapidly between categories is more difficult than perusing a mental lexicon. Correlations between these tasks and other tests of cognitive functioning suggest that the TWFT and the category fluency test may be assessing different types of verbal fluency.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

Antihypertensive efficacy of guanfacine and methyldopa in patients with mild to moderate essential hypertension.

Guanfacine, an alpha-2 adrenoceptor agonist, was compared with methyldopa as step-2 therapy for patients with mild-to-moderate essential hypertension in a 12-week, double-blind, randomized, parallel evaluation of efficacy and safety. The study consisted of a 2-week screening/weaning period (phase I), a 3-week treatment period with a diuretic (phase II), and a 12-week treatment period with a diuretic plus methyldopa or guanfacine (phase III). Patients were weaned from prior anti-hypertensive medication during the screening/weaning period and began receiving chlorthalidone 25 mg every morning. Patients received only 25 mg of chlorthalidone each morning during the phase II period. Those who had an average seated diastolic blood pressure (BP) of 95-114 mm Hg at the end of the phase II period were eligible to enter the phase III period and were randomly assigned to chlorthalidone plus guanfacine, 1 mg every night, or methyldopa, 250 mg tid. Seated and standing systolic and diastolic BP and pulses were measured biweekly for 12 weeks after randomization. Of the 112 patients who were randomly assigned to guanfacine or methyldopa, 87% completed the entire study. The mean seated systolic and diastolic BP were reduced 13/13 mm Hg by guanfacine administration and 15/13 mm Hg by methyldopa administration. No significant changes in seated pulse were seen in either group. Similar changes occurred in the standing position. Very few adverse effects were reported during the study, the most prevalent side effect was xerostomia (13% guanfacine, 9% methyldopa). No significant differences were observed between treatment groups for the incidence of cardiac arrhythmias after methyldopa or guanfacine administration was stopped.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

PubMed1991

Clinical validity of the Speech-Sounds Perception Test and the Seashore Rhythm Test.

The interpretive significance of the Speech-Sounds Perception Test (SSPT) and the Seashore Rhythm Test (SRT) was evaluated through literature review and empirical investigations. Subjects were 43 pseudoneurologic controls and 81 brain-damaged persons, divided into subgroups of subjects with left-hemisphere damage (n = 20), diffuse brain damage (n = 31), and right-hemisphere damage (n = 30). Our data indicate that the SSPT and SRT failed to discriminate left- and right-hemisphere damage. Furthermore, discriminant analyses demonstrated that these tests make no unique diagnostic contribution within the context of a neuropsychological battery. We question whether these tests should be routinely used.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1991

Impaired efficiency in female alcoholics' neuropsychological performance.

Forty-eight female detoxified alcoholics and 36 female nonalcoholic controls were administered a short computerized neuropsychological test battery; accuracy and speed were assessed for each item. The accuracy and speed scores were used to create summary efficiency ratios (accuracy/speed) for each test. Alcoholics had significantly lower efficiency ratios than controls on each of the tests, and this deficit was maintained across instructional conditions (emphasizing speed, accuracy, or speed and accuracy equally) and level of task difficulty. In addition, alcoholics and controls manifested similar types of relationships between response speed and correctness of the response, with these relationships varying as a function of type of task. The results of this study illustrate the benefits of including speed of response as a performance variable, and provide further support for the use of efficiency as a measure sensitive to alcoholic neuropsychological impairment.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

Blood pressure dysregulation associated with alcohol withdrawal.

Alcoholics' blood pressures (BP) are typically elevated during withdrawal. Do such elevations predict future blood pressure dysregulation or are they simply a transitory effect of alcohol toxicity? Thirty-two patients admitted to the hospital for alcohol detoxification were tested to examine the relationship between admission BP and response to isometric handgrip administered 4 to 5 days (session 1) and 3 to 4 weeks (session 2) postdetoxification. Alcoholics were divided into three groups based on admission BPs: Hypertensive (HT, greater than or equal to 160/95 mmHg), Borderline Hypertensive (BHT, 140/90-159/94 mmHg), and Normotensive (NT, less than 140/90 mmHg). In sessions 1 and 2, the groups no longer differed on resting BP or heart rate (HR) but did differ on BP and HR response to handgrip: Compared with the NT group, the HT and BHT groups had greater rises in systolic and diastolic BP and HR. There was a trend for HT alcoholics to report a positive parental history of hypertension (91%) compared to BHT and NT alcoholics (64% and 60%, respectively), suggesting the existence of premorbid factors to this exaggerated cardiovascular response. Further, alcohol consumption, based on a quantity-frequency index, was significantly higher in the HT group than in the NT group. The results suggest that transitory elevations in blood pressure observed during alcohol withdrawal may predict future BP abnormalities.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

Alcohol-related efficiency deficits using an ecologically valid test.

This study investigated whether male and female alcoholics and controls differed in their ability to solve an ecologically valid measure of abstraction. Ninety-one alcoholics (39 females, 52 males) and 61 community controls (36 females, 26 males) completed a battery of abstraction tasks including a Piagetian-type task, the Plant Task. The Plant Task demands that subjects predict the outcome of an unseen plant given a specific treatment regime. No group differences in the ability to correctly predict the unseen plant's outcome were obtained. Alcoholics were significantly poorer than controls in isolating the relevant variable (chi 2 (1) = 8.24, p = 0.004). There were no sex differences in the ability to isolate the relevant variable. However, there was a sex effect in the number of irrelevant explanations (chi 2 (3) = 15.58, p = 0.001) with females producing more than males and female alcoholics more than any of the other three cells. These data suggest that (1) alcoholics may exhibit subtle abstraction deficits most readily observed in tasks examining process as opposed to final performance, (2) males and females differ in their response patterns regarding irrelevant material, and (3) further empirical study of the Plant Task may support its use in experimental and clinical settings.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

Effects of alcoholism and instructional conditions on speed/accuracy tradeoffs.

The speed and accuracy of neuropsychological performance in alcoholics and nonalcoholics were assessed for each item within a four-test computerized battery. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of three instructional conditions: Speed-emphasis instructions, Accuracy-emphasis instructions, or Typical instructions emphasizing speed and accuracy equally. Across conditions, alcoholics were less accurate and took longer to perform than controls. Examining speed and accuracy components separately within each condition, as predicted, the greatest differences in accuracy scores between alcoholics and controls appeared in the Speed-emphasis condition, while the greatest group differences in speed scores appeared in the Accuracy-emphasis condition. The results indicate that the relationships between speed and accuracy are dissimilar between alcoholics and controls; alcoholics exhibit speed/accuracy tradeoffs in that they are unable to adjust performance to meet speed or accuracy demand without suffering substantial compromise in the other aspect of performance. These results have implications for future studies concerning methodological approaches to speed and accuracy assessment and provide support for an information-processing deficit associated with chronic alcohol abuse.

Alcoholism↗

PubMed1991

Differences between essential and reactive alcoholics on tests of neuropsychological functioning and affect.

This study tested the hypothesis that Essential Alcoholics (n = 15) develop a more severe form of alcoholism than Reactive Alcoholics (n = 12). VA alcoholic patients were classified as Essential or Reactive Alcoholics, using the Rudie-McGaughran questionnaire, and tested on four neuropsychological tests, the Neuropsychological Impairment Scale, the Beck Depression Inventory, Tarter's Hyperactivity/Minimal Brain Dysfunction questionnaire, and Latcham's Measure of Antisocial Behavior. While the two groups did not differ in age, education, or Family History of alcoholism. Essential Alcoholics had an earlier age of onset and a longer chronicity of alcoholism. After analysis of covariance was used to control for group differences in age of onset and chronicity, Essential Alcoholics were still significantly higher on depression and significantly more impaired on five subtests of the Neuropsychological Impairment Scale: global measure, total items, general, learning-verbal, and frustration. Nonsignificant group differences, in the expected direction, were found for the Shipley Mental Age and Tarter's questionnaire. These results suggest that Essential Alcoholics have higher depression scores and greater impairments in neuropsychological functioning than Reactive Alcoholics.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

Prediction of resumption of drinking in posttreatment alcoholics.

The ability of five factors (depressive symptomatology, neuropsychological performance, psychosocial maladjustment, previous treatment history, and childhood attention deficit disorder symptomatology) to predict relapse was examined in a follow-up experimental design. Fifty-eight male and 45 female alcoholics were interviewed immediately following release from inpatient treatment units. Fourteen months later, 41 subjects (41%) were classified as resumers; 62 (59%) were abstainers. Resumers showed significantly poorer scores than abstainers on all five of the predictor variables. Discriminant function analysis resulted in 75% correct classification of resumers and abstainers (chi 2 = 22.1, p less than .001). Stepwise multiple regression resulted in isolation of depressive symptomatology as the best single predictor of relapse.

Adult↗

PubMed1990

Does neuropsychological test performance predict resumption of drinking in posttreatment alcoholics?

The prediction of resumption of drinking in posttreatment alcoholics was investigated as a function of five possible confounding variables: depression, anxiety, childhood symptoms of attention deficit and conduct disorders and family history of alcoholism. Male and female detoxified alcoholics (n = 103) in inpatient treatment programs were administered a neuropsychological battery and retested as outpatients 14 months later; peer nonalcoholics (n = 73), given the same battery, had a similar interest interval. Alcoholics who resumed drinking (N = 41) performed significantly poorer on an overall neuropsychological performance index than abstainers (N = 62) who performed significantly poorer than nonalcoholics. Stepwise multiple regression equations using the variables noted above revealed that depressive symptoms, ADD and the performance index were the only variables to enter the prediction (R2 = .26, p less than .001); depression accounted for most of the variance. At retest all three groups improved significantly, but not differentially, and were as significantly different at retest as at initial testing. Implications of these results are discussed.

Adult↗