Cognitive-behavioral modification of coronary-prone behaviors: Proposal for a treatment model and review of the evidence

The Type A behavior pattern (TABP) has been proposed as a causal risk factor in coronary heart disease (CHD), and Cognitive-Behavioral treatment procedures have been proposed as a means of altering TABP. However, recent research suggests that only one component of TABP, hostility and anger, is the primary pathogenic factor in CHD. We review the research literature addressing the relationship of cognitive dysfunction and TABP and the relationship between cognitive dysfunction and anger expression. We then review the cognitive-behavioral therapy research literature regarding the modification of cognitive dysfunction, TABP and anger expression. While sparse, the research suggests that cognitive-behavioral treatments for anger and hostility hold promise for the treatment of individuals at risk for CHD.Jeffrey M. Lohr, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville. His research interests are in the assessment of irrational beliefs and their association with dsyphoric motivational statesL. Kevin Hamberger, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine of the Medical College of Wisconsin. His clinical and research interests are in the cognitive-behavioral treatment of male spouse abusers     

Perceived family environments of depressed and anxious children: Child's and maternal figure's perspectives

This study examined perceived environment among families with a depressed, depressed and anxious, anxious, or normal child from the 4th to 7th grades. Fifty-one such children were classified according to criteria from the K- SADS and a set of self-ratings of depression and anxiety. Results showed that children in all three diagnostic groups, and to a lesser extent their mothers, experienced their families as more distressed on a host of dimensions relative to controls. In addition, significant differences were found between families with a depressed and anxious child and those with an anxious child. Discriminant function analyses revealed that 68.63 % of the youngsters could be classified correctly into depressed and anxious groups on the basis of their family ratings alone.     

Limbic networks and associative learning: I. Entorhinal contributions to instrumental conditioning

The hippocampal formation is a highly delineated brain structure that is believed to play a prominent role in learning and memory. The present experiment evaluated the contributions of medial and lateral perforant path input to bar press-conditioning under (a) continuous and (b) differential reinforcement of low rates of responding (DRL) schedules, and (c) shuttlebox avoidance conditioning. Bilateral deafferentation of either pathway had no effect on the acquisition of bar press responses or on performance under the DRL schedule. Deafferentation of the medial pathway facilitated acquisition of avoidance responses in a manner much like the effects seen in hippocampectomized animals. It is suggested that the medial perforant path participates in the expression of correlated patterns of neuronal discharge known to develop within the hippocampus and that this “model” serves to modulate the temporal characteristics of simple conditioned reflexes. Loss of the modulatory influence of the model may affect acquisition and extinction rates. Contributions of other hippocampal circuits are discussed in relation to established deficits. Preliminary results of this experiment were presented at the second annual convention of the American Psychological Society, Dallas, Texas, June 1990.