Neurochemical knowledge in electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)

The paper is concerned with an attempt to generalize and categorize current hypotheses on the biochemical basis of ECT. The hypotheses are critically evaluated with respect to the relevance of their experimental fundamentals. Thus, certain hypotheses are valid only in a qualified sense. Particular interest is focussed on those conceptions which try to correlate ECT-induced changes in synaptic receptor sensitivities (up-/down-regulation) with super- resp. subsensitivity hypotheses of psychoses. In this connection, noradrenergic and opioid systems on the one hand, and the axis hypothalamus-hypophysis on the other hand seem to play a dominant role.     

Hermann Emminghaus--100 years of the psychopathology of childhood and adolescence

The centenary of Hermann Emminghaus's monograph "Die psychischen St?rungen des Kindesalters" ("The Psychic Disorders of Childhood") gives occasion to appreciate the life and work of the founder of modern children and youth psychiatry. Children and youth psychiatry, in the G.D.R., operates on the principle of sub-specialization out of its parent subjects. In this, Hermann Emminghaus's basic views, as expressed in his monograph of 1887, are confirmed.     

A view of aggression in phobic states

This article attempts to apply a theory of aggression as motivation to overcome obstacles to the understanding of phobic states and their formation. The role of aggression in the genesis of phobic conditions is discussed, and the traditional analytic view of aggression as instinctual drive is contrasted with a motivational approach. The motivational view offers the advantage of a clearer understanding of the stimulus contexts, representational connections, and both real and imaginary object connections that are lacking in the more traditional understanding of aggression as a biological drive.     

Topsy--living and dying: a footnote to history

This paper explores the significance of Marie Bonaparte's book, Topsy: The Story of a Golden Haired Chow. The manifest importance of Topsy has been attached to the fact that the Freuds translated it out of gratitude to Bonaparte and because of their love for dogs. Another level of significance emerges when the book is placed in historical context. Topsy elucidates the relationships between Marie Bonaparte, Sigmund Freud, and Anna Freud. It reflects Bonaparte's feelings about Freud's illness and is part of an ongoing dialogue with him. The persistent misplaced emphasis on the "dog story" has obscured the more profound issues. The author suggests that the conflicting needs to appreciate transience and to avoid mourning may account for both the importance of the book and for its obscurity.     

Structural differentiation of psychological performances in epilepsy patients

Investigating the specific of psychic performance disorders in epileptics structural aspects in addition to quantitative performance differences are considerable. We compared psychometrically obtained performance structures of epileptic children and adults and of parallelised healthy control persons. It became evident, that the performance differentiation hypothesis is to corroborate also in epileptic patients. The psychic performance structure of epileptics is characterized by a lower differentiation level of the basis functions underlining the performances. Our factor analytic investigations emphasize the importance of deceleration of psychic/psychomotoric speed in epileptics as primary basic disorder.     

Psychometric detection of depressive mood conditions

An investigation into the diagnostic value of psychometric methods for the diagnosis of depressive states involved five psychometric questionnaires, one concentration test procedure, and one problem-solving approach to register cognitive processes. The data obtained for 80 depressive patients of varied aetiology were compared with those of sample of 80 neurotics without depressive aberration. Even univariate comparisons revealed statistically significant differences between the two samples. Multivariate methods (factor analysis, discriminative analysis) yielded more differentiated information. The "Scale for depression depth measurements" was found to be of particular diagnostic relevance; it was standardized for the time being.     

Personality and social resources in immediate and continued stress resistance among women

In this study we investigated the immediate and continued impact on women of a major stressful event, the outcome of pregnancy, and the mitigating effect of self-esteem and intimacy with their spouse on their reactions. Few other studies have investigated initial reactions to crisis events. Ninety-nine Israeli women who experienced either normal delivery or pregnancy complications were interviewed at the time of the event and 3 months later. High self-esteem was found to limit feelings of depression at both times. Intimacy with spouse limited depression at the event, but not at follow-up. High self-esteem was seen as always being exploitable by women who possessed it, whereas the benefit of intimacy with spouse was seen as being dependent on situational demands and environmental constraints. Cross-cultural implications were presented.     

Recipient's mood, relationship type, and helping

We conducted two studies to examine how a potential helper is affected by having a communal orientation toward a relationship with a potential recipient and by the potential recipient's sadness. We hypothesized that (a) having a communal orientation would increase helping and that (b) people high in communal orientation, but not others, would respond to a potential recipient's sadness by increasing helping. These hypotheses were tested in two studies. In Study 1, individual differences in communal orientation toward relationships were measured by using a new communal orientation scale reported for the first time in this article. In Study 2, manipulations were used to lead subjects to desire either a communal or an exchange relationship with another person. In both studies, subjects were exposed to a sad person or to a person in a neutral mood whom they were given a chance to help. As hypothesized, in both studies communally oriented subjects helped the other significantly more than did others. Also as hypothesized, in both studies communally oriented subjects but not others, increased helping in response to the other person's sadness although this effect reached statistical significance only in the second study.     

Validation studies of a multifactor cognitive-behavioral Anger Control Inventory

Two studies are reported on a new Anger Control Inventory based on a cognitive-behavioral person-situation interaction model. In Study 1, the inventory responses of 118 clinical subjects and 190 normal subjects were correlated with an anger problem criterion based on observable signs. Factor analyses were conducted to clarify the construct base of the inventory. In Study 2, comparisons were made between the inventory responses of 100 spouse batterers and 96 normal subjects. Significant differences between the pretreatment and posttreatment scores of 65 batterers given treatment in anger control were obtained on the inventory scales, which were found to be correlated with the problem criterion and discriminating between the clinical and normal groups. The construct validity and clinical utility of the Anger Control Inventory are discussed.