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Biomedical subjects

S Axelrod

Publications and source records attributed to S Axelrod.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

Hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal activity in endogenously depressed post-traumatic stress disorder patients.

We studied the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) system in Vietnam veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) who also met Research Diagnostic Criteria for endogenous depression (MDD-ED). Over half also abused alcohol, and many complained of pain-confounding factors usually associated with increased HPA activity. Nonetheless, not even one patient had elevated basal plasma cortisol concentrations or an abnormal dexamethasone suppression test (DST); the subjects' post-dexamethasone cortisol values and plasma cortisol per ng plasma dexamethasone were in the low-normal range. These results highlight the biological heterogeneity of endogenous depression and its possible influence by past psychological trauma, and they raise questions about the use of current typological criteria for research purposes.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

The stability and interest consonance of lateral postural--motor biases in rats: results and implications.

Each of six different tests of lateral postural-motor asymmetries was repeatedly administered to 126 rats. Directional reliability was found for rotatory swimming, open-field exploration, and stepping down from a beam. Neonatal posture, turn in an unbaited T maze, and orientation to tail pinch proved not to be reliable across days. The behavioral asymmetries in the open-field and step-down tests were directionally consonant with each other, but neither was related to the asymmetry exhibited in rotatory swimming, implying the existence of at least two independent asymmetrical neural substrates underlying the behaviors. Neither sample-wide directional biases nor major sex differences in bias were found. The sexes were, however, differentially influenced in direction on some tests by the number of males in their natal litters, implying a role for intrauterine exposure to androgens in predisposing rats toward some left- or right-biased behaviors.

Aging↗
PubMed1989

Behavioral bias and left-right response differentiation in the rat.

To examine the proposition that lateral asymmetry facilitates left-right response differentiation in rats, we examined the relationships between the strengths of several behavioral biases and the scores on a learning task requiring left-right response differentiation. No support was found for a simple model positing a monotonic relationship between any behavioral bias and the learning scores. However, performance showed a U-shaped relationship to one behavioral bias. This finding conforms to a curvilinear model in which rats at either extreme of asymmetry are disadvantaged, at low degrees of asymmetry by a lack of navigational reference, and at high degrees by resultant strong position habits; moderately asymmetrical rats have neither disadvantage and are best able to use the asymmetry as a reference in processing left-right information.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Factors associated with better compliance with psychiatric aftercare.

The rate of compliance with aftercare following hospitalization is disturbingly low despite its proven efficacy in preventing relapse and rehospitalization. This study of 134 emergency admissions to a New York City municipal hospital examined the impact of patient characteristics, clinical variables, and attitudes toward treatment on compliance with aftercare in the six months following discharge. Excluding 31 patients who required rehospitalization, 70 percent of patients attended their first aftercare appointment, and 40 percent completed six months of aftercare. Factors associated with better compliance with aftercare were continuity of care, as reflected in less time between discharge and the first aftercare appointment; increased number of prior hospitalizations; increased length of hospital stay; less denial of need for treatment; and greater perceived need for medications. Recommendations for improving compliance with after care are presented.

Aftercare↗
PubMed1988

The right to effective behavioral treatment.

We propose that individuals who are recipients or potential recipients of treatment designed to change their behavior have the right to a therapeutic environment, services whose overriding goal is personal welfare, treatment by a competent behavior analyst, programs that teach functional skills, behavioral assessment and ongoing evaluation, and the most effective treatment procedures available.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1987

Functional and structural analyses of behavior: approaches leading to reduced use of punishment procedures?

A common approach to dealing with the serious misbehaviors of handicapped individuals is to use punishment procedures. Although punishment techniques are often effective, many claim that their use is restrictive. Emerging approaches for dealing with inappropriate behavior are to conduct a functional or structural analysis of behavior. These approaches allow practitioners to isolate and manipulate the factors responsible for aberrant behaviors. Such analyses may reveal that a maladaptive behavior results in adult attention, is associated with demand situations, or provides reinforcing sensory feedback. In each case corrective procedures relevant to the function of the inappropriate behavior or its associated stimuli, can be applied. In some cases the analysis will reveal alternative approaches to the use of punishment procedures. In other cases it may not. Presently, there have been relatively few examples of the functional and structural analysis approaches; results thus far, however, have been encouraging.

Behavior↗
PubMed1987

Spectral analysis of fluctuations in heart rate: an objective evaluation of autonomic nervous control in chronic renal failure.

A quantitative, noninvasive method of assessing autonomic control, based on the spectral analysis of beat-to-beat fluctuations in heart rate (HR), was applied to patients with chronic renal failure (RF). Since the power spectrum of HR fluctuations measures the dynamic nervous control of HR, it can be used to quantitate a normal control system as opposed to a disturbed or depressed system. Indeed, in RF patients, a strong reduction in the HR power spectrum was observed in all frequency ranges, both sympathetically and parasympathetically mediated. A similar depression in autonomic control was demonstrated in patients on hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis. RF patients not yet undergoing dialysis show a lesser degree of depression. Spectral analysis of HR fluctuations in RF patients makes it possible to quantitate autonomic dysfunction and to reliably measure its development as a function of time, and requires only a 10-min standard electrocardiogram recording.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Efficacy of strontium chloride in dental hypersensitivity.

Controlled stimuli were used to evaluate a commercially available dentifrice containing 10% strontium chloride hexahydrate for efficacy in alleviating the symptoms of uncomplicated dentinal hypersensitivity. Sixty-one subjects with hypersensitivity were included in the 12-week, double-blind, parallel, comparative (placebo) study. Levels of hypersensitivity in affected teeth were assessed by three methods: thermally controlled cold air stimulus, tactile stimulus with an electronic pressure sensitive probe, and subjective response. The results from all three methods of assessment indicated that the strontium chloride dentifrice, in comparison with a placebo, reduced dentinal hypersensitivity to a significantly greater degree. This therapeutic response to the active agent was apparent within 2 weeks and increased continuously thereafter for the length of the study. One can conclude that the regular at-home use of a dentifrice containing 10% strontium chloride hexahydrate is an effective means for reducing the discomfort and pain engendered by thermal and tactile stimuli in patients with dentinal hypersensitivity.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Denture cleansing: a comparison of two methods.

A paste brushing method (Complete) and soaking in either of two denture cleanser tablet solutions (Efferdent or Polident) were compared for denture cleansing effectiveness as measured by plaque level. The 12-week product use period with weekly evaluations allowed an assessment of plaque reaccumulation on the denture surface as well as the effect of a single cleansing event and the contribution of bleaching to the total plaque-cleansing activity. The paste/brushing method was consistently the more effective procedure for removal of denture plaque. However, the bleaching effects of the effervescent tablets could be useful in an overall denture hygiene program.

Dental Plaque↗
PubMed1984

Eye contact as an antecedent to compliant behavior.

Many experimenters and practitioners regard eye contact between instructor and learner as a facilitator, if not a prerequisite, to the effective instruction of sighted people. Without scientifically supporting the practice of demanding eye contact, experimenters, nonetheless, advocate its use and offer a variety of procedures to promote its acquisition. To justify the widespread use of demanded eye contact and to explain its role functionally, one experiment and data from six replications with nine subjects are presented. The primary experiment provides an empirical base for the training of eye contact prior to instruction. In a multiple-baseline design across two students demanded eye contact resulted in levels of compliance that were double and triple those of baseline. A tentative functional analysis of demanded eye contact is presented, followed by a discussion of the relationship of eye contact to attending.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1983

Numbers are better than words. Verbal specifications of frequency have no place in medicine.

We were concerned about the precision (i.e., consensus as to meaning) of adjectives and adverbs used to express frequency in the medical literature. We asked 103 physicians and 106 nonphysicians to assign to each of 22 such modifiers a percentage representing their understanding of the term. As indexed by the standard deviations, the degree of imprecision for 17 terms was so great for both physicians and for laymen as to make their use unacceptable. Consensus was significantly less among laymen than among physicians for 10 of the terms. Greater consensus was shown by native English-speaking physicians than by those with other native languages. Our data suggest further that American graduates of American medical schools show more consensus than American graduates of foreign medical schools. Board-certified physicians did not show greater consensus than physicians who were not board-certified. Verbal expressions of frequency should be eliminated from medical communications; failing that, the author should specify numerically the frequency he intends when he uses any such expression.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Not all sinistrality is pathological.

Information regarding age, sex, birth stress, and handedness was obtained form 762 university faculty members and 1869 undergraduate and medical students, who also provided age, sex, and handedness information for their first-degree relatives. In addition, students reported the occupations and educational levels of their parents. Analyses of the effects of birth order, reported birth stress, and maternal, paternal, and joint parental age showed that an increased incidence of sinistrality was only rarely associated with high birth risk; in all cases, the effects were confined to male subjects, most frequently male faculty members. Sinistrality was not associated with low socioeconomic status; on the contrary, there were significantly more sinistrals among parents of high than of low educational and occupational levels. The pathogenic hypothesis has other implications which fail to find support in the current literature, thus casting further doubt on the proposition that all sinistrality is pathological in origin.

Adolescent↗