Changes in sleep structure and sleep spindles are associated with the neuropsychiatric profile in paradoxical insomnia.

AIM: Sleep spindles have an important role in the pathophysiology and perception of sleep. We aimed to investigate the link between sleep spindles and microstructural architecture of sleep in regard to psychiatric characteristics in paradoxical insomnia. METHOD: A total of 40 participants (20 with paradoxical insomnia, 20 healthy controls) were included in the study. All participants were evaluated by somnologists and undergone a full-night polysomnography at sleep laboratory. In addition, psychiatric interview was made by the same psychiatrist, and questionnaires were performed to assess the dimensions of the personality such as the neuroticism or extroversion (Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, EPQR-A); to evaluate the tendency to exaggerate somatic perceptions (Somatosensory Amplification Scale, SSAS), somatic parts of dissociation (Somatoform Dissociation Questionnaire, SDQ-20), and somatization (Somatization Scale, SS); to measure participants' feelings about their health and disease anxiety (Health Anxiety Inventory, HAI-18), and the level of uncontrollable and persistent anxiety (Penn State Worry Questionnaire, PSWQ); to investigate the tendency to ruminative thinking (Ruminative Thought Style Questionnaire, RTSQ), alexithymia (Toronto Alexithymia Scale, TAS-20); and to define the presence and the severity of depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory, BDI). RESULTS: The duration and frequency of the sleep spindles were similar between two groups, while the density was significantly decreased in paradoxical insomnia. The duration of sleep spindles, on the other hand, showed positive correlations with the extroversion dimension scores of EPQR-A and PSWQ scores. DISCUSSION: Sleep protective mechanisms are disturbed in paradoxical insomnia as shown by the lower density of sleep spindles. In addition, fast spindle activity is associated with the personality traits, characterized by an increase in the expression of feelings and the level of anxiety.

Reducing mental illness stigma in mental health professionals using a web-based approach.

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to investigate the efficacy of a web-based mental disorder stigma education program for mental health professionals. METHODS: The sample consisted of 205 individuals who were either residents or specialists in psychiatry. Participants were contacted through a national web-based e-mail group that consisted of professionals in psychiatry, who were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The experimental group received an informative e-mail which contained a general account of "stigma" before they were asked to respond to an Internet-based questionnaire which was designed to predict their stigmatizing attitudes towards individuals with mental disorders. Control subjects, on the other hand, were asked to respond to the same Internet-based questionnaire without having been given the aforementioned informative e-mail. RESULTS: The experimental group, compared to the control group, demonstrated a lesser stigmatizing attitude towards individuals with mental illness, as measured by the Internet-based survey which utilized the "social distance" concepts of stigma. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that such "anti-stigma" campaigns using the potential of the Internet might be an effective tool in the fight against the stigmatization of persons with mental illness.

Gender effect on attitudes towards the mentally ill: a survey of Turkish university students.

UNLABELLED: This study investigates gender-associated characteristics of attitudes towards the mentally ill in a large sample of Turkish university students. Factors associated with gender variation were also analyzed. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Student's t-test and linear regression analyses of the results of a vignette-based opinion survey conducted on a sample of final-year Turkish university students (n=700) were performed. The survey consisted of the following: the "Dangerousness Scale:' "Characteristics Scale," "Skill Assessment Scale:" "Social Distance Scale:" "Affective Reaction Scale" and a socio-demographic questionnaire. RESULTS: The results showed a statistically significant difference between female and male respondents with regard to their answers to the questions on the "Dangerousness Scale," "Characteristics Scale" and the "Skill Assessment Scale" In all of these three scales, female respondents showed a less stigmatizing attitude than the male respondents. This gender effect continued after controlling for the subjects' age and family income. In female respondents, parents' level of education and a more positive attitude about treatment of mental illness predicted less stigmatizing attitudes towards mental illness. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that gender difference in this sample has an impact on the stigmatization phenomenon in an independent fashion. A more positive view of female university students towards the mentally ill might be due to their comparatively optimistic attitudes about the treatability of mental illnesses. The observed gender difference seems to be accentuated by the fact that female students' parents' level of education was higher than that of their male counterparts.