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ABSTRACT: Abstract Self-presentation refers to the behavioral strategies a person adopts to convey desired social images of oneself to other people. The Concern for Appropriateness Scale (CAS) measures a defensive and fearful social approach aimed at avoiding social threats whereas the Revised Self-Monitoring Scale (RSMS) measures an active and flexible social approach aimed at gaining power and status. In this study, a significant correlation was found between hypnotizability, as measured by the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form C (SHSS:C) scores and CAS (r = .43, p = .002) but not between hypnotizability and RSMS (r = .070, p = .631). These results suggest that a protective self-presentation style may incline certain individuals to cooperate with hypnotic suggestions.
International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis 04/2013; 61(2):183-92. · 1.52 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the startle response is a cross-species measure of sensorimotor gating that provides a valuable tool for assessing the capacity to effectively screen out irrelevant sensory input. Accumulating evidence suggests that PPI deficits may correlate with impairments in social cognition, i.e. the ability to construct representation about others, oneself and the relations between others and oneself. Social cognition deficits are commonly encountered within the framework of psychiatric disorders. In this study 113 healthy volunteers completed psychopyhsiological measures of sensorimotor gating (PPI) and social self-presentation style (the Concern for Appropriate (CAS) and the Revised Self-Monitoring (RSMS) scales). CAS measures a defensive and fearful social approach aiming at avoiding social threats; RSMS measures an active and flexible social approach aiming at gaining power and status. Analyses revealed an inverse correlation between PPI at the 120 ms prepulse-to-pulse interval and total CAS scores (r=-0.19, p=0.04), as well as with the Attention to Social Comparison Information (ASCI) subscale of the CAS (r=-0.23, p=0.01). These findings suggest that reduced PPI may contribute to the tendency to adopt a defensive and fearful "getting along" social approach. This study is, to our knowledge, the first to assess the relationship between sensorimotor gating and self-presentational style in humans. Its findings suggest that very basic perceptual deficits that can be assessed using the PPI paradigm, may reflect information processing abnormalities that impact negatively upon the perception of complex social interactions.
European neuropsychopharmacology: the journal of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology 02/2011; 21(11):810-3. · 3.68 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Treatment for schizophrenia remains one of the major challenges of modern medicine. The development of innovative pharmacological approaches for this disorder can potentially alleviate tremendous human suffering and revolutionize mental health delivery systems. While current treatment guidelines for schizophrenia refer to the post-psychosis onset phase of illness, presently there is a strong resurgent interest in secondary prevention intervention applied during schizophrenia prodrome. This development stems largely from the recognition that neurobiological deficit processes associated with schizophrenia severity and chronicity are already active by the time clinical onset is recognized. Proposed preventive treatments include presently used medications and experimental compounds that hypothetically may influence ongoing pathophysiological processes earlier in their development. The future establishment of the early recognition and intervention concept in schizophrenia is critically dependent on the outcome of ongoing research assessing the feasibility of prodrome diagnosis, the efficacy of specific medications and the alleviation of the risks associated with early pharmacological treatment.
The Israel journal of psychiatry and related sciences 01/2011; 48(2):82-90. · 0.68 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Dopaminergic mechanisms have been theorized to influence hypnotizability and sensorimotor gating. In this study, the authors investigated an association between sensorimotor gating, as measured by prepulse inhibition (PPI), and hypnotizability, as assessed by the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form C (SHSS:C). They found an inverse correlation between the SSHS:C and PPI. This finding, which replicates an earlier study, provides further evidence for a dopaminergic basis for hypnotizability and suggests additional avenues for research, including a method for possibly enhancing hypnotizability through pharmacological interventions.
International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis 59(4):399-405. · 1.52 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Studies have suggested a possible role for shiatsu in treating a variety of mental and physical ailments.
To determine if shiatsu can provide clinical benefit to individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia.
An open-label pilot study.
An inpatient psychiatric ward at Herzog Memorial Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel.
Twelve hospitalized patients with chronic schizophrenia.
Shiatsu treatment provided in a course of eight 40-minute biweekly sessions over 4 weeks.
All subjects were evaluated at baseline, 2 weeks, 4 weeks (end of treatment), and 12 weeks (followup). The tools used for assessment included the Clinical Global Impression (CGI), the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D), the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A), and the Nurses' Observation Scale for Inpatient Evaluation (NOSIE). Side effects were measured using the Simpson-Angus Scale for Extrapyramidal Symptoms (SAS) and the Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS).
On all scales of psychopathology and side effects, the subjects showed a statistically and clinically significant improvement by the end of treatment. This improvement was maintained at the 12-week follow-up. These findings, while encouraging, must be considered preliminary and require confirmation and cross-validation in larger-scale controlled studies.
Alternative therapies in health and medicine 15(5):44-6. · 1.77 Impact Factor
