Uncharged S4 residues and cooperativity in voltage-dependent potassium channel activation

The purpose of this study was to investigate psychological testing features of children and adolescents with dissociative disorder diagnoses to provide diagnostic information that might facilitate early intervention. The psychological testing protocols of 30 children diagnosed with dissociative disorders were compared with the testing protocols of 30 consecutive admissions to the Sheppard Pratt Hospital who did not receive a dissociative identity disorder (DID; formerly termed multiple personality disorder) or dissociative disorder not otherwise specified (DDNOS) diagnosis. A rater, blind to the diagnosis, scored these protocols for the presence or absence of behavioral and testing response variables hypothesized to discriminate between the dissociative patients and the mixed group of other diagnoses. Behavioral features significantly more common in the dissociative group included forgetting, staring, unusual motor behaviors, dramatic fluctuations, fearful and angry reactions to stimuli, physical complaints during testing, and expressions of internal conflict. Significant indications of dissociation in the test responses included images of multiplicity, malevolent religiosity, dissociative coping, depersonalized imagery, emotional confusion, extreme dichotomization, images of mutilation and torture, and magical transformation. A combination of these behavioral and response variables was able to select 93% of the dissociative sample. These results add support to the discriminant validity of DID and DDNOS as diagnostic categories in childhood and provide clinical information that may be useful for early diagnosis of traumatized children with dissociative pathology.     

Alcohol and stress response dampening: pharmacological effects, expectancy, and tension reduction

Alcohol consumption and alcohol expectation were separately evaluated in terms of effects on psychophysiological levels prior to stress and reduction of the magnitude of response to stress. 96 male, experienced drinkers were assigned to 8 conditions in a between-Ss design in which beverage consumed (alcohol or tonic), beverage expected (alcohol or tonic), and stressor (self-disclosing speech or threat of shock) were manipulated. Dosage for Ss receiving alcohol was 1 g ethanol/kg. Results indicate strong effects of alcohol consumption on prestress levels, consisting of accelerated heart rate (HR), lower HR variability, higher skin conductance, longer pulse transmission time (PTT), higher "cheerfulness" and lower "anxiety" ratings. Alcohol consumption significantly reduced the magnitude of the HR, PTT, and anxiety responses of Ss to the stressors. No effects attributable to alcohol expectation were found. Results are integrated with the existing literature concerned with pharmacological and cognitive effects of alcohol as they pertain to stress, psychophysiological responses to stress, and tension reduction. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)