Longitudinal analysis of the illness representation model in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

A prospective longitudinal study explored the illness representation model of patients with irritable bowel syndrome: how representations may change; whether they predict subsequent psychological outcome; and whether any link between representation and outcome may be mediated by coping. Patients were recruited from primary care. Representations were found to be stable over time, and they did predict outcome to some extent, but coping played no part in mediating the link.

Illness representation, coping and outcome in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

OBJECTIVE: Irritable bowel syndrome has no observable symptom markers and there is little that the medical profession can do to help sufferers. Psychotherapy, antidepressants and drugs aimed at the most problematic symptoms have been shown to have limited efficacy. In an attempt to help understand the illness better, and to suggest alternative forms of intervention, the study tested whether outcome might be influenced by patients' representation of their illness and by their coping strategies.

Inhibitory effects during object name retrieval: The effect of interval between prime and target on picture naming responses.

Three picture naming experiments are reported which examine the relationship between the apparent inhibition of a response on one trial, and naming latency on the subsequent trial. The design of each experiment involves the presentation of prime and target pairs, either presented in succession (Lag 1 condition), or separated by two intervening unrelated trials (Lag 3 condition). A control condition is also included.