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Biomedical subjects

R H Dworkin

Publications and source records attributed to R H Dworkin.

47 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

Positive and negative schizophrenic symptoms, attention, and information processing.

This study was concerned with the relationship between attentional and information-processing deficits and positive vs. negative symptoms in schizophrenia. Sixteen schizophrenic patients, rated for extent of positive and negative symptomatology, 17 depressed patients, and 31 normal control subjects were tested on a measure of distractibility and ability to process under information overload. To establish the validity of our measures, schizophrenic patients were compared with depressed patients and with normal control subjects. Lowered processing capacity appeared to be specific to schizophrenia, although the specificity of differential distractibility was less clear. For schizophrenic patients, positive symptoms were related to distractibility, whereas negative symptoms were associated with lowered processing capacity. These findings were interpreted as supporting Crow's (1981) hypothesis that the two clinical syndromes reflect independent pathological processes.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Processing bias: individual differences in the cognition of situations.

An approach to investigating individual differences in the cognition of situations is presented. Situations are characterized in terms of Gibson's notion of affordances, and it is suggested that individuals differ in the extent to which they differentially process information specifying certain types of affordances rather than others. This differential cognitive processing of a situational affordance is termed a "processing bias." It is proposed that processing biases are manifest in an individual's anticipation, perception, and memory of situations. To illustrate the approach, a processing bias for social vs. nonsocial affordances is investigated within and among these three cognitive domains. The relationship of this processing bias to two facets of the personality trait dimension of sociability--overall level and self-schemata--is also examined. Such research on processing biases may help to clarify the role of cognition in person-situation interactions. The greatest strength of the approach is that its characterization of individual differences in cognition and behavior is complementary to a general approach to describing human environments.

Cognition↗
PubMed1984

Symptoms and the genetics of schizophrenia: implications for diagnosis.

To determine whether genetic influences in schizophrenia are related to the symptoms specified by diagnostic criteria, the case histories of 151 pairs of monozygotic twins from five twin studies of schizophrenia were rated for positive and negative symptoms. Concordance rates in monozygotic twins were significantly higher when probands had a greater number of negative symptoms; no evidence of a similar relationship was found for positive symptoms. The data indicate that negative symptoms may be characteristic of schizophrenia in which there is a greater genetic component. The results have important implications for determining diagnostic criteria and understanding the pathogenesis of schizophrenia.

Diseases in Twins↗
PubMed1984

Individual differences in hedonic capacity.

Hedonic capacity--an individuals ability to experience pleasurable affect--is important, not Only in accounting for the development of psychopathology but in understanding normal personality as well. In this article, the development and validation of three scales of hedonic capacity are described. One scale consists of MMPI items, a second consists of CPI items, and the third combines items from both inventories. These scales demonstrated acceptable internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Initial support for the construct validity of the scales was also obtained. Because they have been constructed from the MMPI and CPI, the scales described in this article can be used to address important questions in research on schizophrenia, depression, and normal personality with a wide variety of data that has already been collected.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1984

Linoleic acid and multiple sclerosis: a reanalysis of three double-blind trials.

Data from three double-blind trials of linoleic acid in the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) were reanalyzed to examine whether inconsistency in the results was due to a relationship between patient characteristics and treatment response. The combined data consisted of neurologic assessments over 2 1/2-year trials for 87 treated patients and 85 control patients. Treated patients with minimal or no disability at entry had a smaller increase in disability than did controls (p less than 0.05). In addition, treatment reduced the severity and duration of relapses at all levels of disability and duration of illness at entry to the trials.

Clinical Trials as Topic↗
PubMed1976

A longitudinal study of the genetics of personality.

A longitudinal twin study was conducted to determine whether personality traits with significant heritability in adolescence remain so in adulthood. A subsample of a group of twins who had been administered in Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory and the California Psychological Inventory in adolescence was readministered the same two inventories 12 years later. The subsample was found to be representative of the sample from which it was drawn. Different patterns of significantly heritability were found for the two ages studied: Several personality traits demonstrated evidence of significant heritability in either adolescence or adulthood, while others demonstrated evidence of significant heritability at both ages. In addition, genetic influences on the change from adolescence to adulthood were found for several personality traits. The results raise important questions for the interpretation of twin research and the understanding of genetic influences on personality development.

Adolescent↗