Context Aversion, Pavlovian Conditioning, and the Psychological Side Effects of Chemotherapy

1997 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 118-124
Author(s):  
Geoffrey Hall
Keyword(s):  
Animal Model ◽  
Side Effects ◽  
Theoretical Analysis ◽  
Conditioned Response ◽  
Behavioral Strategies ◽  
Contextual Cues ◽  
Anticipatory Nausea ◽  
Laboratory Rats ◽  
Anticipatory Nausea And Vomiting ◽  
Parallel Case

Patients who have undergone several sessions of chemotherapy for cancer will sometimes develop anticipatory nausea and vomiting (ANV), these unpleasant side effects occurring as the patients return to the clinic for a further session of treatment. Pavlov's analysis of learning allows that previously neutral cues, such as those that characterize a given place or context, can become associated with events that occur in that context. ANV could thus constitute an example of a conditioned response elicited by the contextual cues of the clinic. In order to investigate this proposal we have begun an experimental analysis of a parallel case in which laboratory rats are given a nausea-inducing treatment in a novel context. We have developed a robust procedure for assessing the acquisition of context aversion in rats given such training, a procedure that shows promise as a possible animal model of ANV. Theoretical analysis of the conditioning processes involved in the formation of context aversions in animals suggests possible behavioral strategies that might be used in the alleviation of ANV, and we report a preliminary experimental test of one of these.

Clinical characteristics associated with the development of anticipatory nausea and vomiting in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment.

1984 ◽  
Vol 2 (10) ◽  
pp. 1170-1176 ◽  
Author(s):  
G R Morrow
Keyword(s):  
Side Effects ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Nausea And Vomiting ◽  
Cancer Center ◽  
Chemotherapy Treatment ◽  
Anticipatory Nausea ◽  
Clinical Control ◽  
Chemotherapy Side Effects ◽  
Anticipatory Nausea And Vomiting ◽  
The University

Approximately one in four patients experiences nausea and/or vomiting in anticipation of a chemotherapy treatment by the time of their fourth treatment cycle. Anticipatory nausea and vomiting is a prevalent problem of clinical significance in the total management of chemotherapy side effects. While refractory to standard antiemetic treatment, anticipatory nausea and vomiting has been successfully treated with behavioral approaches such as systemic desensitization. The present study was designed to identify the characteristics of patients at high risk for developing anticipatory side effects. Early identification of cancer patients prone to developing anticipatory side effects could lead to preventive measures. One hundred seventy-six consecutive ambulatory patients with histologically confirmed cancer who were being treated at three geographically separate hospitals of the University of Rochester Cancer Center were studied at the time of their fourth chemotherapy treatment. Patients found to experience anticipatory nausea and vomiting were significantly more likely (P less than .001) to have four or more of the following characteristics than patients who did not report anticipatory side effects: (1) less than 50 years of age; (2) the experience of nausea and/or vomiting after their last chemotherapy treatment; (3) a description of nausea after the last treatment as "moderate, severe, or intolerable"; (4) a description of vomiting after the last treatment as "moderate, severe, or intolerable"; (5) the reporting of the side effect "warm or hot all over" after their last treatment; (6) a susceptibility to motion sickness; (7) the experience of "sweating after their last treatment"; (8) and the experience of "generalized weakness after their last chemotherapy treatment." Results support a view that anticipatory side effects are conditioned and point to practical interventions for their clinical control.

508Irradiation induced early side effects in the small intestine of an animal model after photon and neutron irradiation

1996 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
pp. S130
Author(s):  
F.-J. Prott ◽  
H. Eversmann ◽  
R.R. Lehmann ◽  
U. Haverkamp ◽  
O. Micke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Animal Model ◽  
Small Intestine ◽  
Side Effects ◽  
Neutron Irradiation

scholarly journals Behavioral Interventions in Treating Anticipatory Nausea and Vomiting

2007 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colmar Figueroa-Moseley ◽  
Pascal Jean-Pierre ◽  
Joseph A. Roscoe ◽  
Julie L. Ryan ◽  
Sadhna Kohli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Behavioral Interventions ◽  
Relaxation Training ◽  
Muscle Relaxation ◽  
Progressive Muscle Relaxation ◽  
Nausea And Vomiting ◽  
Alternative Methods ◽  
Anticipatory Nausea ◽  
Anticipatory Nausea And Vomiting ◽  
Chemotherapy Patients ◽  
Type 3

Anticipatory nausea and vomiting (ANV) is associated with a significant reduction in the quality of life for many chemotherapy patients. The use of 5-hydroxytryptamine type 3 receptor antagonists provides some relief for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, but does not seem to control ANV. Nonpharmacologic approaches, which include behavioral interventions, may provide the greatest promise in relieving symptoms. Little evidence supports the use of complementary and alternative methods, such as acupuncture and acupressure, in relieving ANV. Behavioral interventions, especially progressive muscle relaxation training and systematic desensitization, should be considered important methods for preventing and treating ANV.

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