Electrical aversion conditioning with chronic alcoholics.

Previous studies suggest the utility of electrical aversion conditioning, but fail to include adequate controls. Pseudoconditioning (random shock delivery), sham conditioning (no shock), and ward controls (routine hospital treatment) were compared with 2 conditioning groups. Conditioning-only (contingent shock) and booster Ss (additional conditioning sessions after release from hospital) were shocked for drinking and reinforced by shock termination for spitting out the alcohol. Sessions were run in a simulated bar setting. 51 of 73 chronic male alcoholics completed treatment and were available for follow-up. The technique significantly increased time to relapse when compared with control groups, among which no significant differences were found. Results suggest the possible usefulness of booster sessions and the potential long-term effectiveness of the technique for some Ss. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Avoidance conditioning of verbal behavior without awareness: A paradigm of repression.

31 male college students responded to a 15-item word association list receiving an electric shock immediately after 5 arbitrarily selected response words. A number of additional trials were given with shock administered every time as S responded with one of the 5 first-trial punished responses. They were then asked to chain-associate to each of the stimulus words with no shock administered. At the conclusion of the experiment Ss could be classified into insight and non-insight groups on the basis of their levels of verbal awareness as to the reasons for the shocks and what they had done to avoid them. Both groups showed a rapid and marked learning of avoidance behavior and a significant decrement in the number of punished responses occurring during chained associations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Case report: radical management of an adolescent with amelogenesis imperfecta

Amelogenesis imperfecta is a rare developmental abnormality of enamel, the main clinical problems of which are extensive loss of tooth tissue, poor aesthetics and tooth sensitivity. Management often involves complex and long-term treatment but is usually successful if patients are well motivated. This case report outlines the management of a teenager with amelogenesis imperfecta (hypocalcified type) who had requested a dental clearance at an early age.     

Case report: chronic sub-dural hematoma following high-speed ejection

This paper reports a case of chronic sub-dural hematoma occurring in a pilot after a high-speed ejection that was within the survival envelope of the Mark 10 Martin Baker ejection seat. The events leading up to the ejection, his subsequent hospitalization for treatment of immediate injuries and late development of neurological signs, 6 weeks after the ejection, are presented. (A thorough search of literature has failed to reveal any previously published account of chronic sub-dural hematoma as a post-ejection complication.) His surgical treatment, recovery, and final assessment are discussed together with the possible causes of his sub-dural hematoma. Flight surgeons should take careful note of the events in this case. Sub-dural hematoma is frequently difficult to diagnose but it should not be discounted as a potential late complication from an ejection which is within the parameters of survivability and which yields, initially, only signs of relatively minor injury.     

"Biosyntonic" therapy: Modification of an operant conditioning approach to pedophilia.

Introduces "biosyntonic" therapy, a modified operant conditioning approach for treating sexual behavior problems. Following physiological diagnosis, a male 32-yr-old child molester was successfully taught to alter his inappropriate physiological arousal to prepubescent females without disrupting his arousal to adult females. An extremely elevated heart rate response to pictures of semiclothed female children was eliminated by the administration of electric shock. In addition to eliminating his child molesting, the procedures also improved the correspondence between his physiological and verbal response patterns and decreased his anxiety. The treatment remained successful at a 6-mo follow-up. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Anti-retroviral therapy and antiepileptics. Case report and discussion]

Therapy of HIV infection is changing rapidly as new drugs are introduced. Many patients with HIV infection require anticonvulsants for therapy or prophylaxis of seizures. Antiretroviral drugs, above all protease inhibitors, and anticonvulsants may cause interactions since they are metabolised through common hepatic pathways and may substantially modulate the activity of numerous cytochrome P450 isoenzymes. We describe known interactions between anticonvulsants and antiretroviral drugs and advise on possible combinations.     

Case report: an unusual presentation of gout

The efficacy of ear canal flushing and ear canal and mouth swabbing methods for the isolation of mycoplasmas was investigated in 39 goats. Of the 19 goats positive for Mycoplasma spp., 14 (73.7%) were positive with the ear canal flushing method, 4 (21.0%) were positive with both ear canal flushing and mouth swabbing methods, and 1 (5.3%) was positive by the mouth swabbing method. Mycoplasma arginini, M. mycoides subsp. mycoides, and M. mycoides subsp. capri were identified by direct immunofluorescence and growth inhibition tests. Previous reports on the isolation of M. arginini from the ear canal of goats were not found in the literature.     

Electrical aversion conditioning with chronic alcoholics: Follow-up and suggestions for research.

Reports a follow-up of a study by R. Vogler, S. Lunde, G. Johnson, and P. Martin (see record 1970-14792-001) on drinking behavior in chronic alcoholics 1 yr. after release from a hospital. Ss had been subjected to response-contingent electrical shock, random shock, sham conditioning, and control treatments. Ss were studied on the basis of 3 criteria: (a) days to 1st rehospitalization, (b) proportion of year rehospitalized, and (c) number of rehospitalizations. Conditioned Ss did not differ significantly from the random shock group, although the latter group means on all 3 criteria were better than the former. Conditioned and random shock groups were significantly more improved than the other groups. Results indicate that conditioning produced lasting effects and suggest that non-response-contingent shock may be as effective as response-contingent shock in controlling drinking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Congenital methemoglobinemia found in an adult. Case report

Cyanosis in a 36 year old patient which persisted 20 years after a successful surgical closure of her patent foramen ovale has been finally diagnosed as due to congenital methemoglobinemia: a 28% level of methaemoglobin and no activity od NAD-dependent methaemoglobin reductase were found. Erythrocyte antioxidative system was studied i.e. glutathione peroxidase, reductase, transferase, superoxidase dismutase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. Increased activity was disclosed of superoxide dismutase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase in erythrocytes in comparison to normal individuals as well as increased concentration of lipid peroxidation products coexisting with methaemoglobin reductase deficiency.     

Pulmonary valve cyst in an adult. Case report

A case is described of an asymptomatic woman who had typical findings of mild pulmonic stenosis. Right heart catheterization revealed a 44 mm. Hg gradient across the pulmonary outflow tract, and a filling defect was discovered by angiography. On surgical exploration, the defect was found to be a benign cyst attached to the anterior leaflet of the pulmonary valve.     

Studies in early infant learning: Classical conditioning of the neonatal heart rate.

Three experiments demonstrated that human newborn heart rate level can be reliably modified through classical conditioning procedures. The theory of sensitization served as a frame of reference for Exps I and II, and drive reduction served for Exp III. In Exp I the delay, delay-trace, and control groups, with 10 2-day-old newborns in each, received 5 preconditioning trials of the CS alone, 16 conditioning trials with CS–UCS pairings differing for each group, and 5 extinction trials. Exp II was a replication of the 1st study and involved only the delay and delay-trace groups with 10 infants each. In both studies the delay group curves showed significant monophasic acceleratory responses during extinction. Results support the sensitization hypothesis (i.e., the CR occurring in the interstimulus interval was fashioned out of the response to the CS). In Exp III, the measure of conditioning was the response to the probe technique. 10 experimental Ss received preconditioning trials of nitrogen puff (UCS?) administered to the abdomen, followed by 10 CS–UCS? (500-Hz tone acetic acid) pairings with an interstimulus interval of 3 sec. 10 controls received the same design with a CS–UCS? interval of 40 sec. Analyses of the probe stimulus trials showed significant changes for the control group and none for the experimental group. The CS–UCS? pairings in the experimental group are interpreted as producing increased drive and adaptive damping of the heart rate response. Findings show that early learning may occur under a variety of conditions and that the results can be incorporated by different theories. (79 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Spontaneous regression of tumoral calcinosis in an infant: a case report

A case of tumoral calcinosis presenting as a supraclavicular mass in an infant is reported. After confirmation by incisional biopsy, the lesion spontaneously resolved without further surgical or medical treatment. This phenomenon has not been described previously in a child with this condition.     

Aversive conditioning and alcoholism: A nineteenth century case report.

Summarizes a story by Chekhov which is viewed as an illustration of the use of aversive conditioning in treating alcoholism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Communication processes in structural family therapy: Case study of an anorexic family.

In examining the process of change in structural family therapy, interpersonal control patterns were observed within and across 15 sessions of inpatient treatment of a chronic anorexic family. Results showed that the primary therapist maintained a consistently active, dominant, and central position in the therapeutic system. As predicted, complementarity (Therapist one-up/Family Member one-down) was the predominant relational control pattern; with the anorexic daughter, complementarity was observed more frequently in the early and late phases of treatment than in the middle, restructuring phase. Although several hypotheses could not be adequately tested because of an unexpected low frequency of within-family interaction, there was some evidence that the therapist challenged family behaviors indicative of enmeshment and intergenerational coalitions and that changes in the family's rigid communication style may have occurred over time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Modification of behavior through verbal conditioning: Effects in group therapy.

An hypothesis that seems to be gaining acceptance on the basis of experimental (as opposed to heretofore face) validity, is that the interpersonal relationship in therapy is not only able to modify the patient's behavior, but in a predictable and desirable direction. This hypothesis was cross-validated by using a group of patients in a Veterans Administration hospital, all in group therapy. The experimental condition, the independent variable, involved exposing S to a TAT-like situation outside of therapy. E responded differentially to the emotionally-toned words used by S: (a) by nodding and saying "mm-hm," (b) by communicating to S via a machine that emitted a clicking sound and added on a counter, and (c) a "no reinforcement" group. Change in the patient's behavior, the dependent variable, was assessed by ratings on a scale to measure interpersonal relationships in group therapy. Significant improvement in the measure of interpersonal behavior in the group therapy was noted in Condition A only. From Psyc Abstracts 36:01:3IG28U. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Emetic and electric shock alcohol aversion therapy: Assessment of conditioning.

20 male alcoholic volunteers (mean age 42 yrs) were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups: emetic aversion conditioning, shock aversion conditioning, or a no-treatment control group. All Ss participated in psychophysiological assessment sessions and taste-test sessions before and after conditioning. Dependent measures all indicated that only emetic Ss acquired aversions to alcohol. (53 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intracanalicular meningioma with normal tomography. Case report

Autogenous saphenous vein bypass grafts to tibial or personeal vessels have resulted in successful, long-term limb preservation in appropriately selected patients. This success appears to justify an aggressive approach to what has previously been considered end-stage" distal vascular occlusive disease. This report describes the clinical management and long-term follow-up of 41 patients with tibial artery reconstruction.     

Case report: can sacroiliac joint dysfunction cause chronic Achilles tendinitis?

This case study discusses the possible relationship between chronic Achilles tendinitis and sacroiliac joint dysfunction. The patient presented is an active pole jumper, competing at both the national and international levels. He suffered from chronic Achilles tendinitis during the 1994-95 season, and conservative treatment applied locally was not successful. The athlete discarded the possibility of operative debridement of the tendon. Instead, an evaluation of the kinetic chain of the lower extremity and pelvic-lumbar area was performed, and the athlete was diagnosed with sacroiliac joint dysfunction and Achilles tendinitis. Evaluation findings, treatment program, and treatment outcome are also presented. The literature regarding sacroiliac joint mechanics and biomechanics of the foot-knee-hip and pelvic area is discussed and used to support the author's thesis that sacroiliac joint dysfunction, in this case a backward rotation of the right ilium, may have changed the kinematic chain of the lower extremity and caused a tendinitis in the Achilles tendon of the affected leg. Sacroiliac joint function and dysfunction, the reliability of sacroiliac joint mobility tests, and the validity of treatment programs are still considered controversial, and more research is needed to understand these mechanisms.