scholarly journals Fear Reduction Processes in Imaginal and In Vivo Flooding: A Comment on James' Review

1987 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 215-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey E. Hecker ◽  
Geoffrey L. Thorpe
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Processing ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Specific Treatment ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Fear Reduction ◽  
Treatment Techniques ◽  
Clinically Significant

The research comparing imaginal and in vivo exposure in the treatment of clinically significant fear, recently reviewed by James (1986), is reexamined from the perspective of bioinformational theory and the concept of emotional processing. Fear is assumed to be stored in long term memory as a network of propositionally-coded information, which has to be processed if treatment is to be successful. Emotional processing is indicated by activation of fear responses and their habituation within and across treatment sessions. Consistent with the theory, our review indicates that successful treatment via imaginal and in vivo exposure is indeed related to activation and habituation of fear responses; interference with processing has a negative impact upon fear reduction, regardless of the specific treatment techniques employed. Furthermore, some apparently discrepant findings in the available research literature can be understood in terms of the theories cited. These ideas provide a useful perspective from which to plan future research efforts and to advance our understanding of the processes underlying reduction of pathological fear.

Introduction to the Special Issue: Challenges in Treating Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder With Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 171-173
Author(s):  
Michael G. Wheaton
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy ◽  
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ◽  
Behavioral Therapy ◽  
Specific Treatment ◽  
Cognitive Behavioral ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Obsessive Compulsive ◽  
Compulsive Disorder ◽  
Treatment Techniques

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a recommended treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). CBT offers specific interventions with demonstrated efficacy, including both cognitive therapy and exposure and ritual prevention (ERP). Yet, implementing these techniques with individual patients can present clinical challenges. In this special issue, expert clinicians and researchers present cases in which they addressed some common challenges in implementing CBT for OCD, including comorbid depression, poor insight, and family accommodation of symptoms in pediatric OCD. Other papers present how CBT can be tailored to specific OCD manifestations, including post-partum OCD, taboo thoughts, and relationship OCD. Other authors detail how they have augmented standard ERP with additional treatment techniques to maximize outcomes. These articles present a diverse set of case histories and specific treatment techniques that illustrate ways to maximize the effectiveness of CBT for OCD, serving as a useful guide for clinicians in practice and highlighting areas for future research.

Anxiety in Adolescents and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder

2017 ◽  
pp. 91-116
Author(s):  
Micah O. Mazurek
Keyword(s):  
Behavioral Therapy ◽  
Specific Treatment ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Adults With Autism ◽  
Assessment Approach ◽  
Adolescents And Adults ◽  
Clinically Significant ◽  
No Gold Standard ◽  
Adults With Asd

Adolescents and adults with ASD are at high risk for clinically significant symptoms of anxiety. Accurate symptom identification and differential diagnosis can be challenging due to the similarity of presentation of many anxiety and ASD symptoms. Although there are no gold-standard tools for assessment of anxiety in individuals with ASD, clinicians are encouraged to use a comprehensive multi-informant, multi-modal assessment approach. Research supports the use of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for treatment of anxiety in ASD, particularly in high-functioning adolescents. ASD-specific treatment modifications may be helpful for achieving optimal treatment response. There is limited available evidence regarding the effectiveness or potential adverse effects of pharmacological treatments for anxiety in this population. Future research is needed to understand the etiology and mechanisms of anxiety in individuals with ASD and to examine short- and long-term efficacy and effectiveness of a range of treatments.

Contamination-Focused Exposure as a Treatment for Disgust-Based Fears: A Preliminary Test in Spider-Fearful Women

2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 640-651 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesse R. Cougle ◽  
Berta J. Summers ◽  
Ashleigh M. Harvey ◽  
Kirsten H. Dillon ◽  
Nicholas P. Allan
Keyword(s):  
Treatment Strategy ◽  
Exposure Therapy ◽  
Specific Treatment ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Contamination Assessment ◽  
Spider Fear ◽  
Transdiagnostic Treatment ◽  
Disgust Propensity

Background: Disgust is thought to play a prominent role in multiple anxiety disorders and fears, including spider phobia, though little attention has been given to specific treatment strategies that may be effective for multiple disgust-based fears. Aims: In the present study, we evaluated contamination-focused exposure as a potential transdiagnostic treatment strategy for disgust-based fears in a spider fearful sample. Method: Women with significant spider fear were randomized to three 30-minute sessions of exposure therapy involving repeated contact with a dirt mixture (n=17) or a waitlist control condition (n=17). Assessments of spider fear and disgust were administered at baseline and at one-week posttreatment. Results: At high (but not low) levels of pretreatment disgust propensity, exposure led to lower in vivo spider fear and perceived danger than waitlist, though exposure had no effects on spider-related disgust. Similar effects of exposure on spider fear were found at high levels of pretreatment spider-related disgust. Exposure also reduced fear and danger perceptions, but not disgust, related to a separate contamination assessment (touching a toilet). No effects of treatment were found on self-report measures of spider fear or disgust propensity. Conclusions: These findings suggest contamination-focused exposure therapy may be an effective transdiagnostic treatment strategy for individuals with elevated disgust propensity. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

scholarly journals Revisiting alexithymia as an important construct in the treatment of anorexia nervosa: A proposal for future research

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vinushini Arunagiri ◽  
Erin Elizabeth Reilly
Keyword(s):  
Anorexia Nervosa ◽  
Emotional Processing ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Treatment Modalities ◽  
Adjunctive Treatment ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Treatment Techniques ◽  
Poor Outcomes ◽  
Emotional Identification

Consistent research supports altered emotional processing in adult patients with anorexia nervosa (AN), including elevations in alexithymia, or deficits in identifying and describing emotions and other internal experiences. Despite increasing interest in emotion-focused therapies for AN, alexithymia is often not directly addressed within many existing treatments, and little empirical work has moved beyond descriptive, cross-sectional research. In this paper, we propose that refining the field’s understanding of alexithymia may provide insights into poor outcomes in existing psychological treatments for AN. First, we provide an brief overview of existing work exploring alexithymia in AN, and then describe several next steps in treatment-relevant research, including differentiating alexithymia from related constructs, considering neurobiological correlates of alexithymia, testing the link between alexithymia and outcome across treatment modalities, and piloting adjunctive treatment techniques focused on emotional identification and description. Altogether, exploring adjunctive treatment approaches targeting alexithymia may offer one promising possibility for improving long-term outcomes.

TLR4-directed Molecular Strategies Targeting Skin Photodamage and Carcinogenesis

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (40) ◽  
pp. 5487-5502 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sally E. Dickinson ◽  
Georg T. Wondrak
Keyword(s):  
Causative Factor ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Bibliographic Databases ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Inflammatory Signaling ◽  
Molecular Therapeutics ◽  
Published Evidence

Background: Exposure to solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation is a causative factor in skin photodamage and carcinogenesis, and inflammatory dysregulation is a key mechanism underlying detrimental effects of acute and chronic UV exposure. The health and economic burden of skin cancer treatment is substantial, creating an increasingly urgent need for the development of improved molecular strategies for photoprotection and photochemoprevention. Methods: A structured search of bibliographic databases for peer-reviewed research literature revealed 139 articles including our own that are presented and critically evaluated in this TLR4-directed review. Objective: To understand the molecular role of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) as a key regulator of skin anti-microbial defense, wound healing, and cutaneous tumorigenic inflammation. The specific focus of this review is on recent published evidence suggesting that TLR4 represents a novel molecular target for skin photoprotection and cancer photochemoprevention. Results: Cumulative experimental evidence indicates that pharmacological and genetic antagonism of TLR4 suppresses UV-induced inflammatory signaling involving the attenuation of cutaneous NF-κB and AP-1 stress signaling observable in vitro and in vivo. TLR4-directed small molecule pharmacological antagonists [including eritoran, (+)-naloxone, ST2825, and resatorvid] have now been identified as a novel class of molecular therapeutics. TLR4 antagonists are in various stages of preclinical and clinical development for the modulation of dysregulated TLR4-dependent inflammatory signaling that may also contribute to skin photodamage and photocarcinogenesis in human populations. Conclusion: Future research should explore the skin photoprotective and photochemopreventive efficacy of topical TLR4 antagonism if employed in conjunction with other molecular strategies including sunscreens.

The Natural Course of Defibrination Syndrome Caused by Echis Colorata Venom in Man

1974 ◽  
Vol 31 (03) ◽  
pp. 420-428 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Fainaru ◽  
S Eisenberg ◽  
N Manny ◽  
C Hershko
Keyword(s):  
Factor Viii ◽  
Blood Coagulation ◽  
Major Bleeding ◽  
Renal Damage ◽  
Specific Treatment ◽  
Natural Course ◽  
Factor V ◽  
Thrombocyte Count

SummaryThe natural course of defibrination syndrome caused by Echis colorata venom (ECV) in five patients is reported. All patients developed afibrinogenemia within six hours after the bite. Concomitantly a depression in factor V was recorded. Factor VIII and thrombocyte count in blood were normal in most patients. In the light of the known effects of ECV on blood coagulation in vivo and in vitro it is concluded that the afibrinogenemia is due to intravascular clotting.Four patients had transient renal damage, manifested by oliguria, azotemia, albuminuria and cylindruria, ascribed to microthrombi in the renal glomeruli.After the bite, the natural course was benign, no major bleeding was observed, and all signs of coagulopathy reverted to normal within 7 days. Therefore we recommend no specific treatment for this condition. In the case of heavily bleeding patients, administration of antiserum against ECV and/or heparin should be considered.

Roles of externalisation activities in the design process

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 34
Author(s):  
Maral Babapour Chafi
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Physical Models ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Knowledge Gaps ◽  
Design Processes ◽  
Digital Modelling

Designers engage in various activities, dealing with different materials and media to externalise and represent their form ideas. This paper presents a review of design research literature regarding externalisation activities in design process: sketching, building physical models and digital modelling. The aim has been to review research on the roles of media and representations in design processes, and highlight knowledge gaps and questions for future research.

Applying personalized medicine to adult severe asthma

2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. e8-e16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angelica Tiotiu
Keyword(s):  
Personalized Medicine ◽  
Severe Asthma ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Target Therapy ◽  
Asthma Management ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Biologic Therapies ◽  
Eosinophilic Asthma ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Structured Approach

Background: Severe asthma is a heterogeneous disease that consists of various phenotypes driven by different pathways. Associated with significant morbidity, an important negative impact on the quality of life of patients, and increased health care costs, severe asthma represents a challenge for the clinician. With the introduction of various antibodies that target type 2 inflammation (T2) pathways, severe asthma therapy is gradually moving to a personalized medicine approach. Objective: The purpose of this review was to emphasize the important role of personalized medicine in adult severe asthma management. Methods: An extensive research was conducted in medical literature data bases by applying terms such as “severe asthma” associated with “structured approach,” “comorbidities,” “biomarkers,” “phenotypes/endotypes,” and “biologic therapies.” Results: The management of severe asthma starts with a structured approach to confirm the diagnosis, assess the adherence to medications and identify confounding factors and comorbidities. The definition of phenotypes or endotypes (phenotypes defined by mechanisms and identified through biomarkers) is an important step toward the use of personalized medicine in asthma. Severe allergic and nonallergic eosinophilic asthma are two defined T2 phenotypes for which there are efficacious targeted biologic therapies currently available. Non-T2 phenotype remains to be characterized, and less efficient target therapy exists. Conclusion: Despite important progress in applying personalized medicine to severe asthma, especially in T2 inflammatory phenotypes, future research is needed to find valid biomarkers predictive for the response to available biologic therapies to develop more effective therapies in non-T2 phenotype.

Employees' Perceptions of the Effects of Retrenchment on Job Stress and Organisational Commitment in a Mining Company

2019 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Landiswa Seteni ◽  
Pierre Joubert ◽  
Manilall Dhurup
Keyword(s):  
Job Stress ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Surface Mining ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Global Changes ◽  
Organisational Commitment ◽  
Consultation Process ◽  
Mining Company ◽  
Time Stress

Over the past decade, South African organisations have had to cope with an ever-increasing rate of local and global changes. There have been considerable and ongoing socio-political changes, resulting from new government regulations. Most organisations have experienced some type of downturn, whether due to external business factors or poor internal performance. A typical response to organisational decline is retrenchment. Our study sought to explore employees’ perceptions of the effects of retrenchment on job stress and organisational commitment in a mining company. The study was located within a quantitative research paradigm. Four research hypotheses were posited and data was collected in one region from a sample of 400 surface mining employees, including management, administrators, engineers and artisans. The results showed that the effects of retrenchment did not have a negative impact on job stress (time stress and anxiety). This may be due to the fact that the mining company in question had a planning and consultation process in place for the employees prior to the retrenchment process. The results also showed that job stress (time stress and anxiety) was negatively associated with organisational commitment. To conclude this article we discuss the implications of our findings, outline the limitations of our study and make recommendations for future research.

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