Jim H. Patton’s research while affiliated with Baylor University and other places

Right frontal cortical activity, thought to reflect increased activity in withdrawal-related systems, has been observed in angry and anxious samples. The current study attempted to examine this effect in impulsive aggressive individuals (IAs) and nonaggressive controls. Impulsive aggression is a reactive violent response characterized by loss of behavioral control and previous physiological studies have found IAs have sensory and informational processing deficits. In Study 1, undergraduate volunteers (n = 10 IAs, n = 14 controls) completed a resting EEG and IAs showed more right frontal cortical activity than controls at rest. In Study 2, we replicated this result with undergraduate males (n = 15 IAs, n = 15 controls) and demonstrated that not only did IAs have more right frontal activity at rest than controls, controls were able to switch between the behavioral inhibition system (BIS) and behavioral activation system (BAS) depending on exposure to affective stimuli, whereas IAs could not. Results indicated IAs likely have an overactive BIS, and thus have difficulty recognizing emotional stimuli, suggesting a dysfunction in emotional arousal. Future directions are discussed.

Impulsive behavior is generally viewed as counterproductive by society, and individual differences in impulsivity have been found to be related to a number of socially relevant behaviors. Yet, there are times when acting quickly and without thinking may seem desirable, even adaptive. With the possible exception of intelligence, no other personality dimension or trait so broadly influences various areas of human endeavor: interpersonal relationships, education, fiscal responsibility, personal moral behavior, business ethics and entrepreneurship, aggression, and criminality. This chapter gives an overview of impulsivity from a personality theory perspective. Topics discussed include the historical development of the construct, the place of impulsivity in a broader personality theory, selfreport and behavioral assessment, and the role of impulsiveness in impulse control disorders.

Impulsivity, with the possible exception of intelligence, is the personality dimension or trait that most broadly influences human endeavor. Impulsivity has been a topic of consideration throughout recorded history and discussed by classical philosophers. Over the past century, paper-and-pencil tests have been developed to test impulsivity and its three major dimensions, but these measures have still not been able to reliably predict how any one individual will react in any specific situation. Impulsivity relates directly to both impulsive and compulsive behavioral disorders, possibly mediated by some underlying central serotonergic dysfunction. Pharmacotherapy for these disorders has tended to focus on selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). Psychotherapeutic interventions that have proved effective in the treatment of impulsivity and the impulse control disorders (both impulsive and compulsive) include cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavioral therapy.

The Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11) is a 30 item self-report instrument designed to assess the personality/behavioral construct of impulsiveness. Originally developed as part of a larger attempt to relate anxiety and impulsiveness to psychomotor efficiency, the BIS is arguably the most commonly administered self-report measure for the assessment of impulsiveness in both research and clinical settings. Over the last 50 years the BIS has significantly influenced the way that impulsivity is conceptualized in psychology and psychiatry. On its golden anniversary we thought it important to update the literature in relation to this influential psychometric instrument. The goal of this paper is threefold: (1) describe the history and development of the BIS-11; (2) present new data supporting the psychometric properties of the subscales; and to (3) review the clinical and personality literature that has reported on the BIS-11 subscales.

The purpose of the present study was to revise the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale Version 10 (BIS-10), identify the factor structure of the items among normals, and compare their scores on the revised form (BIS-11) with psychiatric inpatients and prison inmates. The scale was administered to 412 college undergraduates, 248 psychiatric inpatients, and 73 male prison inmates. Exploratory principal components analysis of the items identified six primary factors and three second-order factors. The three second-order factors were labeled Attentional Impulsiveness, Motor Impulsiveness, and Nonplanning Impulsiveness. Two of the three second-order factors identified in the BIS-11 were consistent with those proposed by Barratt (1985), but no cognitive impulsiveness component was identified per se. The results of the present study suggest that the total score of the BIS-11 is an internally consistent measure of impulsiveness and has potential clinical utility for measuring impulsiveness among selected patient and inmate populations.

The purpose of the present study was to revise the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale Version 10 (BIS-10), identify the factor structure of the items among normals, and compare their scores on the revised form (BIS-11) with psychiatric inpatients and prison inmates. The scale was administered to 412 college undergraduates, 248 psychiatric inpatients, and 73 male prison inmates. Exploratory principal components analysis of the items identified six primary factors and three second-order factors. The three second-order factors were labeled Attentional Impulsiveness, Motor Impulsiveness, and Nonplanning Impulsiveness. Two of the three second-order factors identified in the BIS-11 were consistent with those proposed by Barratt (1985), but no cognitive impulsiveness component was identified per se. The results of the present study suggest that the total score of the BIS-11 is an internally consistent measure of impulsiveness and has potential clinical utility for measuring impulsiveness among selected patient and inmate populations.

The purpose of the present study was to revise the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale Version 10 (BIS-10), identify the factor structure of the items among normals, and compare their scores on the revised form (BIS-11) with psychiatric inpatients and prison inmates. The scale was administered to 412 college undergraduates, 248 psychiatric inpatients, and 73 male prison inmates. Exploratory principal components analysis of the items identified six primary factors and three second-order factors. The three second-order factors were labeled Attentional Impulsiveness, Motor Impulsiveness, and Nonplanning Impulsiveness. Two of the three second-order factors identified in the BIS-11 were consistent with those proposed by Barratt (1985), but no cognitive impulsiveness component was identified per se. The results of the present study suggest that the total score of the BIS-11 is an internally consistent measure of impulsiveness and has potential clinical utility for measuring impulsiveness among selected patient and inmate populations.

The primary purposes of this study were: (1) to determine if total scores on the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) are significantly related to the number of impulsive behaviors a patient displays; (2) to determine if within a population of adolescent psychiatric patients there exists a subgroup of individuals who displays multiple impulsive behaviors; (3) to determine if multi-impulsivity is a useful concept within a female sample; and (4) to determine if the PCL-R is useful for measuring behavioral impulsiveness in females. The current study extends past multi-impulsive research by: (1) studying adolescents from a residential psychiatric facility; (2) the inclusion of enuresis as an impulsive behavior; (3) the inclusion of female patients; and (4) the use of the PCL-R, a behavioral checklist designed to measure psychopathic behavior. The results indicate that the total score on the PCL-R is significantly related to the number of impulsive behaviors exhibited by a patient. The number of impulsive behaviors displayed was not related to a patient's age, IQ, length of present stay, educational placement or number of restraints per month. Multiple impulsive behaviors were evident in 88% of the adolescent patients and equally present in both the male (87%) and female (89%) subgroups. Male patients exhibiting three or more impulsive behaviors from a markedly different subgroup of multi-impulsive patients who scored significantly higher on the PCL-R. It is suggested that these patients may suffer from a true generalized lack of impulse control. These results are consistent with and lend support to previous studies on the concept of multi-impulsivity.

Administered the Rorschach as well as audiotaped items of the California Psychological Inventory from the Alpha, Delta, and Gamma scales to 28 inpatient boys and 22 inpatient girls (mean age 13.3 yrs). The Rorschach whole response and white space response were significantly related to gender and to California Psychological Inventory classification. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

The present study was undertaken to determine if fluoxetine HCl (Prozac, Dista Products Ltd., Liverpool, UK) might cause adverse vascular effects, such as hematomas, in rats exposed in utero. Gravid Sprague-Dawley rats were administered 5.62 mg/kg fluoxetine HCl by oral gavage beginning on day 7 of gestation and ending the day of birth. A control group received distilled water by oral gavage during gestation. At birth, offspring of both groups were assessed for visible adverse vascular effects. Fluoxetine HCl-exposed offspring showed a statistically higher frequency of skin hematomas when compared to water controls. This result is consistent with known adverse effects of fluoxetine and lends support to a recently published report that attempted to link fluoxetine HCl use to bleeding episodes in eight patients being treated for obsessive-compulsive disorder. The results of this study suggest caution in the prolonged use of this medication during pregnancy and in patients with predisposing conditions that may increase the chances of bleeding.