Words and Wards: A Model of Reflective Writing and Its Uses in Medical Education

Personal, creative writing as a process for reflection on patient care and socialization into medicine ("reflective writing") has important potential uses in educating medical students and residents. Based on the authors' experiences with a range of writing activities in academic medical settings, this article sets forth a conceptual model for considering the processes and effects of such writing. The first phase (writing) is individual and solitary, consisting of personal reflection and creation. Here, introspection and imagination guide learners from loss of certainty to reclaiming a personal voice; identifying the patient's voice; acknowledging simultaneously valid yet often conflicting perspectives; and recognizing and responding to the range of emotions triggered in patient care. The next phase (small-group reading and discussion) is public and communal, where sharing one's writing results in acknowledging vulnerability, risk-taking, and self-disclosure. Listening to others' writing becomes an exercise in mindfulness and presence, including witnessing suffering and confusion experienced by others. Specific pedagogical goals in three arenas-professional development, patient care and practitioner well-being - are linked to the writing/reading/listening process. The intent of presenting this model is to help frame future intellectual inquiry and investigation into this innovative pedagogical modality.     

Children's memory for complex autobiographical events: does spacing of repeated instances matter?

Often, when children testify in court they do so as victims of a repeated offence and must report details of an instance of the offence. One factor that may influence children's ability to succeed in this task concerns the temporal distance between presentations of the repeated event. Indeed, there is a substantial amount of literature on the "spacing effect" that suggests this may be the case. In the current research, we examined the effect of temporal spacing on memory reports for complex autobiographical events. Children participated in one or four play sessions presented at different intervals. Later, children were suggestively questioned, and then participated in a memory test. Superior recall of distributed events (a spacing effect) was found when the delay to test was 1 day (Experiment 1) but there was little evidence for a spacing effect when the delay was 1 week (Experiment 2). Implications for understanding children's recall of repeated autobiographical events are discussed.     

Injury increases the risk for PTSD: an examination of potential neurobiological and psychological mediators

A growing number of common traumatic events involve both physical and emotional injuries. In contrast to previously held beliefs, the rapidly growing body of literature shows quite convincingly that physical injury, over and above exposure to the traumatic event itself, increases rather than decreases the risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A pertinent question becomes how bodily injury contributes to the risk of developing PTSD. In this article, we review contemporary findings regarding the neurobiological and psychological mechanisms by which bodily injury may augment or independently contribute to chronic posttraumatic stress. In addition, we propose three theoretical pathways through which physical injury can increase the risk for PTSD. These pathways are: additive, unique, and recovery impeding. Finally, we highlight unresolved issues pertaining to each one of these pathways and propose directions for future research to address them.     

Functional magnetic resonance imaging studies in bipolar disorder

Abnormalities in brain activation using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during cognitive and emotional tasks have been identified in bipolar disorder patients, in frontal, subcortical and limbic regions. Several studies also indicate that mood state may be differentiated by lateralization of brain activation in fronto-limbic regions. The interpretation of fMRI studies in bipolar disorder is limited by the choice of regions of interest, medication effects, comorbidity, and task performance. These studies suggest that there is a complex alteration in regions important for neural networks underlying cognition and emotional processing in bipolar disorder. However, measuring changes in specific brain regions does not identify how these neural networks are affected. New analytical techniques of fMRI data are needed in order to resolve some of these issues and identify how changes in neural networks relate to cognitive and emotional processing in bipolar disorder.     

Women's knowledge of prenatal ultrasound and informed choice

This study evaluated women's understanding of prenatal ultrasound in terms of meeting the requirements for informed choice. A cross-sectional survey was conducted to evaluate (1) how information is provided, (2) women's perceived value of the information received and, (3) their understanding of ultrasound in relation to the principles of informed choice. Women (n = 113) completed a questionnaire prior to their 18-week ultrasound. Fifty-five percent stated they received no information from their care provider. Only 31.9% considered health care providers as a very helpful source of information. Yet, 69.0% stated their care provider gave them information that facilitated their understanding. Gaps were identified in women's understanding of ultrasound. Specifically, 46.0% did not view ultrasound as a screen for anomalies; some were uncertain about the safety (18.6%), diagnostic capabilities (26.5%), and limitations of testing (37.2%). These results suggest that women's understanding of ultrasound does not meet the requirements of informed choice.     

Environmental factors associated with a spectrum of neurodevelopmental deficits

A number of environmental agents have been shown to demonstrate neurotoxic effects either in human or laboratory animal studies. Critical windows of vulnerability to the effects of these agents occur both pre- and postnatally. The nervous system is relatively unique in that different parts are responsible for different functional domains, and these develop at different times (e.g., motor control, sensory, intelligence and attention). In addition, the many cell types in the brain have different windows of vulnerability with varying sensitivities to environmental agents. This review focuses on two environmental agents, lead and methylmercury, to illustrate the neurobehavioral and cognitive effects that can result from early life exposures. Special attention is paid to distinguishing between the effects detected following episodes of poisoning and those detected following lower dose exposures. Perinatal and childhood exposure to high doses of lead results in encephalopathy and convulsions. Lower-dose lead exposures have been associated with impairment in intellectual function and attention. At high levels of prenatal exposure, methylmercury produces mental retardation, cerebral palsy and visual and auditory deficits in children of exposed mothers. At lower levels of methylmercury exposure, the effects in children have been more subtle. Other environmental neurotoxicants that have been shown to produce developmental neurotoxicity include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins, pesticides, ionizing radiation, environmental tobacco smoke, and maternal use of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana and cocaine. Exposure to environmental agents with neurotoxic effects can result in a spectrum of adverse outcomes from severe mental retardation and disability to more subtle changes in function depending on the timing and dose of the chemical agent.     

Resilience to loss and chronic grief: a prospective study from preloss to 18-months postloss

The vast majority of bereavement research is conducted after a loss has occurred. Thus, knowledge of the divergent trajectories of grieving or their antecedent predictors is lacking. This study gathered prospective data on 205 individuals several years prior to the death of their spouse and at 6- and 18-months postloss. Five core bereavement patterns were identified: common grief, chronic grief, chronic depression, improvement during bereavement, and resilience. Common grief was relatively infrequent, and the resilient pattern most frequent. The authors tested key hypotheses in the literature pertaining to chronic grief and resilience by identifying the preloss predictors of each pattern. Chronic grief was associated with preloss dependency and resilience with preloss acceptance of death and belief in a just world.     

Bioelectrical potentials of Philodendron cordatum: a new method for investigation of behavior in plants

We explored the prospect of using the bioelectrical potentiaLs of Philodendron cordatum as a new method for studying the behavior of plants. The bioelectrical potentials were recorded from equipment typically associated with EEG recordings. Plants were exposed to a 6-hr. training period of light only, dark only, or alternating 1-min. periods of light/dark. Following training, all plants were exposed to a 10-min. testing period in darkness during which bioelectrical potentials were recorded. Power of the bioelectric potentials was compared between groups of plants for frequencies between 0.1 and 10.0 Hz. Significant main effects of group and frequency were found, raising questions about the possibility of "learning" in P. cordatum.