Biomedical subjects

Thilo Deckersbach

Publications and source records attributed to Thilo Deckersbach.

25 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed2004

Anterior cingulate cortex activation during cognitive interference in schizophrenia.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have reported evidence of structural and functional abnormalities in the anterior cingulate cortex of patients with schizophrenia. METHOD: The authors studied 19 male patients with chronic schizophrenia and 15 healthy male comparison subjects with functional magnetic resonance imaging and the novel Multi-Source Interference Task, a task designed to elicit robust dorsal anterior cingulate cortex activation in individual subjects. Group averaged and individual (region-of-interest-based) brain activation patterns were compared during the performance of control and interference trials. RESULTS: Performance (reaction times and accuracy) did not differ between healthy subjects and patients with schizophrenia. Comparison of interference and neutral blocks revealed activation in the medial wall of the prefrontal cortex in 93% (N=14) of the healthy subjects and 84% (N=16) of the subjects with schizophrenia. Sixty-seven percent (N=10) of the healthy subjects but only 16% (N=3) of the subjects with schizophrenia displayed maximum medial wall activation within the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex. CONCLUSIONS: The Multi-Source Interference Task produced robust activation in the medial wall of the prefrontal cortex during cognitive interference. Analysis of individual activation patterns revealed medial wall abnormalities in schizophrenia patients.

Cognition Disorders↗

PubMed2003

Relation of neurological soft signs to nonverbal memory performance in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Few studies have examined the relation between neurological soft signs (NSS) and neuropsychological performance in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Thirty outpatients with primary OCD and 30 matched normal controls were administered the Cambridge Neurological Inventory and the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (RCFT). A series of multiple regression models tested the relationship between NSS and performance on the RCFT. Patients presented significantly more neurological soft signs than controls on both sides of the body, and were impaired on the free recall and organization scores of the RCFT. Nonverbal memory deficits in OCD were predicted independently by organizational strategies during the copy condition of the RCFT, and neurological soft signs. There might be at least two variables independently mediating nonverbal memory deficits in OCD: (1) a cognitive organization and planning component, and (2) a complex motor regulatory component.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Habit reversal versus supportive psychotherapy for Tourette's disorder: a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: The authors investigated the efficacy of habit reversal for Tourette's disorder, which is characterized by multiple motor and vocal tics. METHOD: Thirty-two patients with Tourette's disorder were randomly assigned to 14 sessions of either habit reversal or supportive psychotherapy. Habit reversal consisted of awareness training, self-monitoring, relaxation training, competing response training, and contingency management. Changes in severity of Tourette's disorder and psychosocial impairment were investigated over the course of the 14-session treatment for the 29 patients who completed at least eight treatment sessions. RESULTS: In contrast to the 13 patients in the supportive psychotherapy group, the 16 patients in the habit reversal group improved significantly. The habit reversal patients remained significantly improved over pretreatment at 10-month follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Habit reversal may be an effective behavioral treatment for Tourette's disorder.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

A study of parallel implicit and explicit information processing in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined implicit sequence learning in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) under dual-task conditions. Frontal-striatal networks support implicit learning and are implicated in the pathophysiology of OCD. Neuroimaging data suggest that during implicit learning, OCD patients use neural systems normally active during explicit learning to compensate for striatal dysfunction. METHOD: The authors examined implicit sequence learning in 25 OCD patients and 25 healthy comparison subjects using a dual-task paradigm, with subjects simultaneously engaged in an explicit memory task and an implicit learning task. They predicted that implicit learning in OCD subjects would be disrupted because concurrent explicit information-processing demands would prevent use of compensatory processes. RESULTS: OCD patients failed to show evidence of implicit learning and exhibited a significant deficit in comparison with healthy subjects. CONCLUSIONS: These results are consistent with the hypothesis that concurrent explicit and implicit information-processing demands interfere with implicit learning in OCD patients.

Attention↗

PubMed2002

Cognitive-behavior therapy for self-injurious skin picking. A case series.

Self-injurious skin picking is characterized by repetitive, ritualistic, or impulsive skin picking that leads to tissue damage and causes significant distress or impairment in daily functioning. Little is known about effective behavioral or cognitive-behavioral treatments for self-injurious skin picking. As described by Azrin and colleagues, habit reversal is a promising behavioral treatment for modifying nervous habits or tics. To the authors' knowledge, only one case series currently exists in the literature that shows self-injurious skin picking, in the absence of an underlying dermatological condition or without psychiatric comorbidity, can be successfully treated with habit reversal. In the current article, the authors describe the implementation and outcome of cognitive-behavior therapy for three patients with severe self-injurious skin picking, two of which had psychiatric comorbidity.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMedDate not supplied

No evidence for verbal memory impairment in individuals putatively at risk for bipolar disorder.

BACKGROUND: Hypomanic temperament and rigid personality are putative risk factors for affective episodes and even bipolar disorder. Individuals with bipolar disorder exhibit neuropsychological impairments, especially memory difficulties, not only during mood episodes but also when they are euthymic. Such cognitive impairments may also constitute a risk factor for bipolar disorder. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the presence of memory difficulties in individuals with hypomanic and rigid personality traits. METHODS: Study participants were 6000 German students recruited from high schools, colleges, and vocational schools in Germany. The students completed the Hypomanic Personality Scale and the Rigidity subscale of the Munich Personality Test. Four groups of students were selected from this sample based on their scores in the Hypomanic Personality Scale and Rigidity subscale: individuals with (1) hypomanic temperament, (2) rigid temperament, or (3) hypomanic-rigid temperament and (4) control participants. These students (n = 153) completed the Rey-Auditory Verbal Learning Test, a well-established measure of verbal learning and memory, as well an IQ test (Leistungsprüfsystem). RESULTS: Multiple regression analyses indicated that sex and IQ, but not temperament, predicted learning of the Auditory Verbal Learning Test word list, the number of words recalled at short-delayed recall, and recognition. LIMITATIONS: The risk for affective disorders was only defined by psychometric measures, and we did not control for family history of bipolar disorders. CONCLUSIONS: Hypomanic temperament and Rigid personality were not associated with verbal learning and memory. Cognitive impairment may be associated with repeated mood episodes rather than constituting a risk factor for bipolar disorder.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Prevalence of symptoms of body dysmorphic disorder and its correlates: a cross-cultural comparison.

The authors investigated the prevalence of body image concerns, body dysmorphic disorder, and related psychiatric symptoms in a group of 101 American students. Results were compared with data from a group of 133 German students. Survey data were collected on body image concerns, self-esteem, depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and skin picking. A total of 74.3% of the American students endorsed body image concerns, and 28.7% were preoccupied by them; 4.0% appeared to meet DSM-IV criteria for body dysmorphic disorder. Body esteem was significantly correlated with self-esteem and depressive, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Body image concerns and preoccupation were significantly greater in American than in German students, although the prevalence of probable body dysmorphic disorder was not.

Adolescent↗