The Role of Homework and Skill Acquisition in the Outcome of Group Cognitive Therapy for Depression - Republished Article.

Despite the crucial role typically accorded to between-session self-help assignments in cognitive therapy of depression, the actual impact of homework assignment on therapy outcome has received little empirical attention. The present study evaluated the effect of homework by assigning 63 carefully diagnosed unipolar depressives to one of two otherwise identical 10-week cognitive therapy conditions, only one of which utilized weekly homework assignments. As predicted, assignment to the homework condition predicted more substantial improvement in symptomatic features of depression as rated by an independent clinician at therapy termination, although this effect was not maintained at six month follow-up.

Cognitive behavioral strategies in athletic performance enhancement.

While we might debate the role of sport in our culture, its influence is certainly pervasive. Each day millions of Americans engage in some form of competition, training, or physical exercise. Such popularity and the value our culture places on competition have made sport a valid area of psychological inquiry.

Shift in power to hospital accountants.

With the introduction of the Prospective Payment System, hospital accountants' role changed from reimbursement maximizers to an important role in decision making. Faced with increased competition, many hospitals are installing financial controls. Many hospitals are engaging in promotion and health awareness campaigns and expanding their services to stabilize income and reduce the effects of a changing environment.

Alcohol availability and alcohol-related crashes: does distance make a difference?

Variations in alcohol control laws can cause problems if individuals travel to less restrictive jurisdictions to purchase alcohol to circumvent more restrictive regulations. The establishment of a national minimum drinking age of 21 is an example of an attempt to eliminate the phenomenon known as "border drinking." However, it exists today in many southern states that have dry counties.

Behavioural and neurochemical effects of superior cervical ganglionectomy in rats with septo-hippocampal lesions.

This longitudinal study, extending over 12 months, assessed the behavioural and biochemical effects of hippocampal sympathetic ingrowth (HSI) into the partially denervated hippocampus. Male Long-Evans rats received fimbria-fornix lesions (FIFO) or sham operations at 90 days of age. At the same time half of the rats from each group sustained bilateral ablation of the superior cervical ganglia (SCGX).

Meaning in life categories of elderly nursing home residents.

Essays were gathered from fifty-three elderly nursing home residents about the strongest meaning in their lives. These elderly nursing home residents most often reported the category of family relationships as central, followed by pleasure and then health. A chi-square analysis showed a significant difference between the type of meaning of the elderly nursing home residents and those of younger adults.

Polydipsia and dopamine: behavioral effects of dopamine D1 and D2 receptor agonists and antagonists.

Substantial evidence implicates dopaminergic neural systems in the occurrence of polydipsia in both animals and humans. Two experiments were conducted in order to specify the behavioral mechanisms whereby manipulation of dopaminergic neural transmission can affect scheduled-induced polydipsia (SIP). The role of dopamine D1 and D2 receptors was investigated by comparing the behavioral effects of dopamine D1 agonists (SKF 38393 and SKF 82958) and antagonists (SCH 23390 and SKF 83566) to those of a dopamine D2 agonist (quinpirole) and antagonist (haloperidol) by using an animal model of excessive water consumption, drinking evoked in the SIP paradigm.

Characterization of adhesion of non-exogenously stimulated and resting platelets in normal plasma to fibrinogen and its fragments.

Platelet adhesion to various forms of fibrinogen was studied using platelets in plasma and washed platelets. The study was designed to determine if platelets prepared with minimal handling in plasma at physiological pH containing normal levels of Ca2+ have different requirements for adhesion to immobilized fibrinogen than do washed platelets tested in the absence of plasma. Exposure of platelets to citrate and low pH did not seem to affect the requirements of washed platelets for adhesion to fibrinogen.

Effect of methylene blue on the fracture toughness of acrylic bone cement.

It has been advocated that the use of contrast acrylic bone cement (namely, a cement in which a suitable additive is included) for the fixation of a cemented arthroplasty will facilitate its revision (should this be necessary). It is useful, therefore, to determine the extent to which each of the relevant mechanical properties of the cement is affected by the presence of such an additive. It is shown, in the present work, that the addition of one contrast agent (an aqueous methylene blue solution) to a cement has no statistically significant effect on its mode-I plane-strain fracture toughness.

Vascular impedance analysis in dog lung with detailed morphometric and elasticity data.

On the basis of experimentally measured morphometric and elasticity data and model-derived mean pressure-flow conditions, we attempt a theoretical modeling of pulsatile flow in the whole lung. In the model we use the "elastic tube" for arteries and veins, and the vascular impedance in arteries and veins follows Womersley's theory and electric analogue. We employ the "sheet-flow" theory to describe the flow in the capillaries and to obtain the microvascular impedance matrix.

Effectiveness of psychological and pharmacological treatments for nocturnal enuresis.

This review provides a quantitative integration of research on the effectiveness of psychological and pharmacological treatments for nocturnal enuresis. With the use of experiments that compared treatments with either no treatment or another form of treatment, this article assesses (a) the overall effectiveness of psychological and pharmacological treatments, (b) the relative effectiveness of specific types of treatments, and (c) moderators of treatment effectiveness including investigator allegiance. Findings from the review confirm that enuretic children benefit substantially from treatment.

Fluid secretion by isolated tick salivary glands dependent on an intact cytoskeleton.

Isolated salivary glands from female Dermacentor variabilis (Say) were pre-treated with either cytochalasin D or nocodazol, followed by stimulation with dopamine. Glands pre-treated with 1 microM-cytochalasin D did not secrete fluid; pre-treatment with 1 nM-cytochalasin D did not significantly reduce fluid secretion. Glands pre-treated with 1 microM-nocodazol had a significant reduction in fluid secretion (P = 0.

Evidence of a myoepithelial cell in tick salivary glands.

Type III acini from feeding female Dermacentor variabilis varied in size during in vitro and in vivo fluid production. As the type III acinus enlarged, its lumen enlarged and the adlumenal cell became thinner. As the acinus contracted, its lumen became smaller while the adlumenal cell became wider.

Cognitive level and health decision-making in children: A preliminary study.

The study examines children's stage of cognitive development in relation to their patterns of health decision-making, including their cognitive capabilities in integrating the sequential stages of the decision-making process. A sample of 81 male (N=33) and female (N=48) students were drawn from two urban public schools in West Tennessee. All participants in the study were of African-American descent.

The effects of self-hypnosis for children with cystic fibrosis: a pilot study.

This pilot study assessed the effects of self-hypnosis on psychological and physiological functioning of children ages 7 to 18 with Cystic Fibrosis (N = 12). The study used a pre- and posttest design, repeated measures, and control group. Control and experimental groups were matched for age and clinical severity.

Effects of alcohol intake on resting energy expenditure in young women social drinkers.

This investigation evaluated the effects of alcohol consumption, controlled for the energy in alcohol and chronic effects of smoking, on resting energy expenditure (REE) in college-aged social drinkers. Sixteen women who both smoked and drank alcohol were administered, on 4 separate days in a counterbalanced order, 1) cigarettes alone, 2) alcohol alone, 3) alcohol plus cigarettes, or 4) cigarettes with an energetic control. Each session consisted of a 25-min REE baseline, treatment in a randomly assigned order, and a 105-min assessment of REE.

The effect of noise spectrum on speech recognition performance-intensity functions.

Articulation theory predicts that a subject's absolute or masked threshold configuration will affect the slope of the speech recognition performance-intensity (P-I) function. This study was carried out to test that prediction. Performance-intensity functions for the Technisonic Studios W-22 recordings were obtained from 12 subjects with normal hearing.

Memory for facts, source, and context: can frontal lobe dysfunction explain age-related differences?

Age-related differences in memory for facts, source, and contextual details were examined in healthy young (18-35 years old) and old (65-80 years old) volunteers. In all tested memory functions, decline over time was greater in the elderly than in the young. A time-dependent increase in the prevalence of source amnesia errors was clearly associated with old age.

Mechanisms underlying reduction in Stroop interference with practice for young and old adults.

Age-related factors in the reduction of Stroop interference with practice were examined in 3 studies. Young and old adults received extensive practice on a modified version of the Stroop task. Both groups showed reduced interference on the Stroop task with practice.

Assessment and remediation of vowel misarticulations.

Vowel misarticulations have received very little attention in our literature. The author suggests that although vowel errors occur less frequently than consonant errors, their presence may indicate increased severity of disorder and should not be ignored. As vowel misarticulations have received relatively scant attention, their assessment and remediation have not been addressed.