ABSTRACT
Objective: Sexual dysfunction is a side effect of methadone maintenance therapy (MMT). Opium Tincture (OT) has been used as a maintenance treatment. This study aimed to determine and compare the trend of sexual function and its related factors during treatment with both drugs. Method : An observational study was designed to measure the blood tests including free and total testosterone, prolactin, and sex hormone-binding globulin and a battery of questionnaires, including demographics and drug use history, in 42 and 53 patients entering MMT and OT treatment before and 1 and 3 months after the treatment. Results: Significant changes in testosterone levels were observed in the MMT but not the OT group. The difference between the two groups was not significant. Neither between nor within changes in the sexual function and premature ejaculation scores were significant (P =0.370& 0.698). Anxiety levels were significantly different (P= 0.001) within and between groups. There was a considerable difference in the trend of depression changes in the OT group, but not different in MMT group and between the two groups. Conclusion: No difference was found between MMT and OT effects on sexual function variables. The decrease in Testosterone during the three months of MMT, was not associated with diminished sexual function. In the MMT group, anxiety levels diminished during treatment. It seems that decreased testosterone in the MMT group was compensated by improved anxiety. Gonadotropin levels may not be the sole determinant in sexual activity, and complex interaction of mood and anxiety, agonist levels, and gonadotropins are involved.
ABSTRACT
Objective: A prominent challenge in modeling choice is specification of the underlying cognitive processes. Many cognitive-based models of decision-making draw substantially on algorithmic models of artificial intelligence and thus rely on associated metaphors of this field. In contrast, the current study avoids metaphors and aims at a first-hand identification of the behavioral elements of a process of choice. Method : We designed a game in Mouselab resembling the real-world procedure of choosing a wife. 17 male subjects were exposed to cost-benefit decision criteria that closely mimic their societal respective conditions. Results: The quality of choice index was measured with respect to its sensitivity to the final outcomes as well as process tracing of decisions. The correlation between this index and individual components of process tracing are discussed in detail. The choice quality index can be configured as a function of expected value and utility. In our sample the quality of choice with an average of 75.98% (SD: ±12.67) suggests that subjects obtained close to 76% of their expected gains. Conclusion: The quality of choice index, therefore, may be used for comparison of different conditions where the variables of decision-making are altered. The analysis of results also reveals that the cost of incorrect choice is significantly correlated with expected value (0.596, sig = 0.012) but not with utility. This means that when sub-jects face higher costs prior to making a decision, there exists a corresponding higher expectation of gains, i.e., higher expected value.
