Physiological and therapeutic effects of high frequency electrical pulses

The results of stimulating human subjects with the LISS Cranial Stimulator (LCS) and the LISS Body Stimulator (LBS) include an increase or decrease in the activities of certain neurotransmitters and neurohormones and the reduction of associated pain, insomnia, depression, and spasticity. The effects were documented in human subjects with measurements of the serum concentration of the various agents and assessments of the symptoms being performed before and after stimulation. The stimulators had a carrier frequency of 15,000 hz, which utilizes the bulk capacitance of the body, and a 15 hz modulating bioactive frequency. The second modulating frequency presently used, 500 hz, reduces the energy input to the patient by half. Significant increases in levels of CSF serotonin and beta endorphin were recorded post stimulation. There were also elevations in the levels of plasma serotonin, beta endorphin, GABA and DHEA together with diminished levels of cortisol and tryptophan. Concomitant with these changes were significant improvements in the symptoms of pain, insomnia, spasticity, depression, and headache.     

Symposium: A discussion of the videotapes of a difficult group

Three conference participants (Drs. Yvonne Agazarian, Louis Ormont and Saul Tuttman), each an experienced group therapist employing distinctly different styles and theoretical frames, react to a videotape of a Difficult Group and offer their respective critique and suggestions. The material was originally presented before an audience at the Eastern Group Psychotherapy Association Annual Conference (1985) in New York City. The audience first saw the videotape at the conference and then observed the interaction among panelists. This material was submitted for publication because: 1) issues of contrasting technique and theory are heightened by a concrete comparison of different clinicians' reactions to the same material; 2) the serious task of coping with a group of difficult patients is of concern to all group therapists who are faced with such challenges; 3) the circumstances, in which patients who feel needy and neglected chronically put pressure on the therapists, occur with frequency; at the same time, 4) the therapists are also under stress in that their supervisors and evaluators are scrutinizing their work. All of this makes for a fascinating and difficult dynamic situation. Finally, 5) examining this group material resulted in a lively exchange which was stimulating and interesting to both audience and participants.Yvonne Agazarian, Ed.D., is in private practice in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.     

The group member's view of inner and outer reality: The Janus phenomenon applied to the group

This paper surveys some theoretical aspects of psychodynamic group treatment from the vantage point of the Janus phenomenon. This focus may provide some clarification in understanding how group therapy facilitates growth, especially in the relationships between inner realities and the realities of the external world. The paper explores and seeks bridges and connections between the dynamics of the group and intrapsychic dynamics. The inner view may be understood as intimately connected with intrapsychic concerns, whereas the issues for patients in groups do, to a degree, concern interpersonal processes in and projections onto the external world. The paper concludes that, thus far, we must accept less than perfect integration of theory and settle for limited domain reasoning (Scheidlinger, 1982). Erlebnis is the term coined by Paul Federn (1952) to refer to subjective experience of the self.     

Relapse dynamics during smoking cessation: recurrent abstinence violation effects and lapse-relapse progression

Smoking cessation is a process that unfolds over time and is characterized by intermittent lapses. We used parametric recurrent event survival analyses to better understand the dynamic relationship between a set of Abstinence Violation Effect (AVE, Marlatt & Gordon, 1985) responses to lapsing and subsequent lapse-relapse progression. Participants were 203 smokers who achieved abstinence and responded to items assessing three core components of the AVE (internal attribution, abstinence self-efficacy and guilt) following a total of 1,001 lapse episodes in near real time. Neither self-blame, self-efficacy, nor guilt following participants' first lapse predicted relapse. Controlling for responses to their first lapse, responses to each additional lapse did prospectively predict lapse progression, such that drops in self-efficacy were associated with accelerated progression to a subsequent lapse (HR = 1.09, CI = 1.02-1.15), while increases in internal attributions of blame actually protected against lapsing (HR = 0.98, CI = 0.97-0.99). Treatment with nicotine patches slowed recurrent lapse progression (HR = 0.58, CI = 0.48-0.70), but this effect dissipated over multiple lapses, and was moderated by elevated ratings of postlapse guilt (HR = 1.08, CI = 1.01-1.18), which predicted accelerated progression within the active patch group, while protecting against lapse in the placebo group. Results highlight the dynamic nature of lapse responses during smoking cessation, indicating that self-efficacy predicts progression from one lapse to the next, while attributions of self-blame and guilt influenced progression in unexpected ways.     

Relationship maintenance and biases on the line bisection task: Attractive alternatives,asymmetrical cortical activity,and approach–avoidance motivation

People in long-term romantic relationships possess relationship maintenance mechanisms designed to protect against the temptation of desirable relationship alternatives. The current research examined the link between relationship maintenance mechanisms and an index of neurologically based approach/avoidance motivation. Participants completed a line bisection task that yields measures of asymmetric activity in the right and left frontal cortices; such activity is thought to reflect people's level of approach/avoidance motivation. Compared to single participants, participants in committed relationships displayed relatively less left visual field bias on the line bisection task (indicative of greater left frontal cortical activation and greater cognitive avoidance motivation) in response to available, attractive opposite-sex targets. Decreased left visual field bias was particularly pronounced among individuals with moderate levels of relationship commitment — those expected to display the highest levels of relationship maintenance. These findings provide insight into perceptual, motivational, and neurological processes that may help people avoid tempting relationship alternatives.