Chilean validation of the operationalized psychodynamic diagnosis-structure questionnaire (OPD-SQ) for personality structure.

BACKGROUND: This is the validation of the Operationalized Psychodynamic Diagnosis-Structure Questionnaire (OPD-SQ). METHODS: A clinical sample of 399 adults and a nonclinical general population sample of 50 healthy adults completed measures of depression, attachment, psychiatric symptomatology and distress. Internal consistency and concurrent validity were assessed. Test-retest and Reliable Change Index were also calculated, as was the ability of the OPD-SQ to distinguish between the clinical and general population groups. RESULTS: High internal consistencies were found; significant differences between clinical and nonclinical samples, and significant associations with psychiatric symptomatology, depression and psychological distress. CONCLUSION: The Chilean OPD-SQ has good reliability, and discriminates between clinical and healthy samples.

Rápida eficacia de terbinafina oral en onicomicosis de los pies: experiencia clínica multicéntrica / Rapid efficacy of oral terbinafine in foot onychomycoses: multicentric clinical experience

Se presenta la experiencia clínica multicéntrica Chile-Uruguay en el tratamiento de la onicomicosis de los pies con Terbinafina oral administrada por 3 meses y en un período de observación postratamiento de 6 meses. Se incluyen 102 pacientes, 43 hombre y 59 mujeres, con una edad promedio de 50 años, que presentaban un cuadro clínico de onicomicosis de los pies, el que fue confirmado por la presencia de dermatofitos en el cultivo micológico inicial (73,5 por ciento trichophyton rubrum). Se seleccionó la uña más comprometida, en la que se evaluaron onicólisis, engrosamiento ungueal, cambio de coloración e inflamación paroniqueal como parámetros clínicos y la evaluación micológica se hizo por examen directo y cultivo. La uña seleccionada tuvo un crecimiento estadísticamente significativo tanto en la fase de tratamiento como la de postratamiento. Los signos clínicos mejoraron durante todo el seguimiento y el 73 por ciento a 86 por ciento de los pacientes alcanzó mejoría total de estos parámetros a los 9 meses de seguimiento. Los exámenes micológicos se fueron negativizando progresivamente, alcanzando en la evaluación final a los 9 meses un 85,9 por ciento y un 90,5 por ciento para exámenes directos y cultivos negativos, respectivamente. Recaídas con cultivos micológicos positivos fueron observadas en 3 pacientes (5 por ciento ). El medicamento fue bien tolerado y los efectos adversos mas frecuentes fueron los gastrointestinales en 11 pacientes. No hubo alteraciones de los parámetros bioquímicos hepáticos. En conclusión, la terbinafina aparece como un nuevo antimicótico de alta eficacia en un corto período de tratamiento

[Computerized analysis of the verbal behavior of patients and therapists in the 1st diagnostic interview]. / Análisis computarizado de la conducta verbal de pacientes y terapeutas en la primera entrevista diagnóstica.

From 282 psychoanalysis-oriented First Interview existing in the Computarized Text-Bank of the University of Ulm, Germany, a 68-sample was selected in order to assess and evaluate the following points: (a) Describing the talking behavior of both patients and therapists, according to specific variables; (b) Constructing a sample for the future development of a "Computarized First-Interview Archive", and (c) Testing some hypotheses connected to the verbal style of psychosomatic patients, compared with psychoneurotic patients; female patients compared with male patients; and older patients compared with younger patients. Using computarized dictionaries and the Electronic-Verbal-Analysis System (EVA) already stored and programmed at Ulm, formal, grammatical, and content analysis were performed. As a result, the determinant influence of diagnosis, and the heavy influence of age and sex on verbal style were shown. As regards the text measurements discriminating capacity, it was found out that grammatical analysis, with its high reliability, and validity, proved to be the best discriminative tool.

Análisis computarizado de la conducta verbal de pacientes y terapeutas en la primera entrevista diagnóstica. / [Computerized analysis of the verbal behavior of patients and therapists in the 1st diagnostic interview]

From 282 psychoanalysis-oriented First Interview existing in the Computarized Text-Bank of the University of Ulm, Germany, a 68-sample was selected in order to assess and evaluate the following points: (a) Describing the talking behavior of both patients and therapists, according to specific variables; (b) Constructing a sample for the future development of a [quot ]Computarized First-Interview Archive[quot ], and (c) Testing some hypotheses connected to the verbal style of psychosomatic patients, compared with psychoneurotic patients; female patients compared with male patients; and older patients compared with younger patients. Using computarized dictionaries and the Electronic-Verbal-Analysis System (EVA) already stored and programmed at Ulm, formal, grammatical, and content analysis were performed. As a result, the determinant influence of diagnosis, and the heavy influence of age and sex on verbal style were shown. As regards the text measurements discriminating capacity, it was found out that grammatical analysis, with its high reliability, and validity, proved to be the best discriminative tool.

Affective expression in organic and functional gastrointestinal disease.

Verbal affective expression and psychometric variables were studied in a group of 5 duodenal ulcer and 6 irritable bowel patients. The aim was to assess the relevance of the alexithymia contruct to the distinction between both groups. Irritable bowel patients exhibited higher scores on Zung's depressiveness scale. Alexithymia scores were significantly higher for duodenal ulcer patients. Regarding verbal affective expression a discrimination was possible between both groups in the scale of hostility directed inward. Ulcer patients expressed less affect. These findings suggest that a distinction is possible at the behavioral level between patients with functional vs. patients with organic gastrointestinal illness, thus rendering the concept of alexithymia relevant to this nosological categorization.

[Augmenting-reducing construct in evoked brain potentials: dynamic test of Eysenck's dimensions]. / El constructo aumento-reducción en potenciales cerebrales evocados: Una prueba dinámica de las dimensiones de Eysenck.

Eysenck's personality dimensions (neuroticism N, and extraversion, E) are formulated on the basis of levels of activity within the Central Nervous System. These can be explored by means of electroencephalographic techniques, such as the cerebral evoked potential (CEP). The augmenting-reducing construct allows the prediction of individual differences according to the tendency of subjects to augment or reduce sensory experience and CEP amplitude. The present work explores auditory CEP at increasing intensities in order to develop a stimulus-response function. A negative correlation between N score and the slope of the stimulus-response function for some CEP components was found. Together with the positive correlation between N score - CEP amplitude at minimum intensity, such data suggest a higher nervous system reactivity in subjects with high N score. For E dimension, a positive correlation between E score and latency of CEP components was found (inhibition effect). These findings support to some extent Eysenck's theory. The augmenting-reducing construct is discussed in terms of its contribution as a dynamic test of Eysenck's dimensions.

On the measurement of alexithymic behavior.

It is suggested in this paper that alexithymia may be a graded behavioral characteristic in much the same way as psychological dimensions are. Under this assumption every person would possess an alexithymic score, however low it could be, and the basis for distinguishing between diagnostic groups would thence be quantitative rather than qualitative. The measurement of alexithymia in any given individual poses two main problems: the nature of the underlying phenomenon and the instruments that should be used for its depiction. Whether alexithymia is a trait, a state, or both cannot be answered confidently at present. On the other hand, its quantitative assessment depends upon an interaction between phenomenon, observer and situation. Some data bearing on the application of the Beth Israel Alexithymic and Psychosomatic Questionnaire by informed and uninformed interviewers suggest the need for reliability studies of this instrument. Also advanced is the possibility that some aspects of the syndrome (reflected differently in the questionnaire items) might be easier to detect or more amenable to quantitative assessment, thus suggesting that some weighting of items is needed in order to obtain a total alexithymia score.

El constructo aumento-reducción en potenciales cerebrales evocados: Una prueba dinámica de las dimensiones de Eysenck. / [Augmenting-reducing construct in evoked brain potentials: dynamic test of Eysencks dimensions]

Eysencks personality dimensions (neuroticism N, and extraversion, E) are formulated on the basis of levels of activity within the Central Nervous System. These can be explored by means of electroencephalographic techniques, such as the cerebral evoked potential (CEP). The augmenting-reducing construct allows the prediction of individual differences according to the tendency of subjects to augment or reduce sensory experience and CEP amplitude. The present work explores auditory CEP at increasing intensities in order to develop a stimulus-response function. A negative correlation between N score and the slope of the stimulus-response function for some CEP components was found. Together with the positive correlation between N score - CEP amplitude at minimum intensity, such data suggest a higher nervous system reactivity in subjects with high N score. For E dimension, a positive correlation between E score and latency of CEP components was found (inhibition effect). These findings support to some extent Eysencks theory. The augmenting-reducing construct is discussed in terms of its contribution as a dynamic test of Eysencks dimensions.

El constructo aumento-reducción en potenciales cerebrales evocados: Una prueba dinámica de las dimensiones de Eysenck / [Augmenting-reducing construct in evoked brain potentials: dynamic test of Eysenck’s dimensions]

Eysenck’s personality dimensions (neuroticism N, and extraversion, E) are formulated on the basis of levels of activity within the Central Nervous System. These can be explored by means of electroencephalographic techniques, such as the cerebral evoked potential (CEP). The augmenting-reducing construct allows the prediction of individual differences according to the tendency of subjects to augment or reduce sensory experience and CEP amplitude. The present work explores auditory CEP at increasing intensities in order to develop a stimulus-response function. A negative correlation between N score and the slope of the stimulus-response function for some CEP components was found. Together with the positive correlation between N score - CEP amplitude at minimum intensity, such data suggest a higher nervous system reactivity in subjects with high N score. For E dimension, a positive correlation between E score and latency of CEP components was found (inhibition effect). These findings support to some extent Eysenck’s theory. The augmenting-reducing construct is discussed in terms of its contribution as a dynamic test of Eysenck’s dimensions.

Event-related slow potential (ERSP) correlates of thyroid gland function level.

This study shows an association between thyroid gland function level and event-related slow brain potential (ERSP) parameters (peak amplitude and area under the curve), obtained during "classical" and "operant" reaction-time paradigms. A significant positive correlation between ERSP parameters and 24-hr I131 uptake and a negative nonsignificant one between them and ankle jerk reflex were found. Organismic factors related to thyroid function had greater influence upon ERSP amplitude and area than situational ones, for no significant effect of task was evidenced and no interaction between them was found under the conditions employed. Hyper- and hypothyroids showed also a tendency to present longer reaction times than euthyroids. These results are discussed within the framework of the arousal-distraction coupling hypothesis as proposed by Tecce and Cole (1976) and compared to those previously obtained in high-neuroticism anxiety-prone indivuduals. Although these and hyperthyroids do show indications of similar behavioral manifestations (excessive reactive arousal), both groups are considered to differ regarding empirical referennts of anticipatory arousal (ERSP parameters). A major difference seems to be the absence of a "ceiling effect" in hyperthyroids. This hypothetical phenomenon can be expected on the basis of the inverted U-shaped relation between ERSP amplitude and arousal level. A stronger "distraction" effect associated with increased arousal in anxiety neurotics is postulated and tentatively attributed to covert verbalizations of worry and feelings added to increased awareness of autonomic input. The contention is advanced that similar behavioral manifestations could be distinguishable at the physiological level employed and this might add further insights to diagnostic typologies (e.g., "psychosomatic" vs. "psychoneurotic" patients).