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Clinical Trial 2003; 24(3-4): 173-180 PubMed PMID: 14523353 Citation  Keywords:  Adult, Affect:physiology, Female, Humans, Hydrocortisone:metabolism, Male, Music:psychology, Photic Stimulation, Radioimmunoassay, Saliva:metabolism, Sex Characteristics, Stress, Psychological:metabolism, Testosterone:metabolism,.   

OBJECTIVES: The aims of the present study were to examine sex-related differences in testosterone (T) and cortisol (C) changes with music listening and visual stress.

SETTING AND DESIGN: Saliva T and C concentrations were measured in 88 healthy college students (44 males and 44 females). These subjects were placed in one of 4 different conditions: (1) 30 min of listening to music, (2) 30 min of listening to music with visual stress (documentary film without sound including violent scenes), (3) 30 min of visual stress without music, and (4) 30 min of silence.

METHODS: All subjects provided two saliva samples, one collected before intervention and the other after intervention. T and C levels were assessed by radio immuno assay (RIA).

RESULTS: There was a significant difference between the sexes in the way music affected T. Music decreased T in males, whereas it increased T in females. As for C, no sex-related differences were found under any of the conditions studied. C decreased with music and increased under other conditions. THE MAIN FINDINGS: Our data suggests that the effects of music and stress on T differ between males and females.

CONCLUSION: Further investigation is necessary to evaluate the relationships between music and other substances, the effect of degree of preference and hormonal changes not only during music listening but also during music plays and creation....

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Comment 2003; 24(3-4): 148-150 PubMed PMID: 14523348 Citation  Keywords:  Adaptation, Psychological:physiology, Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity:diagnosis, Biological Evolution, Child, Child Behavior:physiology, Humans,.   

: The evolutionary approach to the issue of ADHD derives from the assumption that what is regarded as a pathological phenomenon today was once an adaptive response to the conditions of life in the ancestral stages of human development. The paper argues against this conception on the basis of the clinical picture of ADHD. The author believes that in the previous "natural" conditions the ADHD syndrome was even more of a maladaptation than in the "protective" conditions of present-day life....

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Comparative Study 2002; 23(Suppl 4): 105-115 PubMed PMID: 12496741 Citation  Keywords:  Adaptation, Psychological:physiology, Animals, Biological Evolution, Brain:drug effects, Central Nervous System Agents:pharmacology, Competitive Behavior, Depression:etiology, Ethology:methods, Humans, Molecular Biology:methods, Neurosciences:methods, Pep.   

: Evolutionary psychologists often overlook a wealth of information existing between the proximate genotypic level and the ultimate phenotypic level. This commonly ignored level of biological organization is the ongoing activity of neurobiological systems. In this paper, we extend our previous arguments concerning strategic weaknesses of evolutionary psychology by advocating a foundational view that focuses on similarities in brain, behavior, and various basic psychological features across mammalian species. Such an approach offers the potential to link the emerging discipline of evolutionary psychology to its parent scientific disciplines such as biochemistry, physiology, molecular genetics, developmental biology and the neuroscientific analysis of animal behavior. We detail an example of this through our impending work using gene microarray technology to characterize gene expression patterns in rats during aggressive and playful social interactions. Through a focus on functional homologies and the experimental analysis of conserved, subcortical emotional and motivational brain systems, neuroevolutionary psychobiology can reveal ancient features of the human mind that are still shared with other animals. Claims regarding evolved, uniquely human, psychological constructs should be constrained by the rigorous evidentiary standards that are routine in other sciences....

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Journal Article 2002; 23(Suppl 4): 39-45 PubMed PMID: 12496734 Citation  Keywords:  Adaptation, Biological, Adaptation, Psychological, Biological Evolution, Humans, Mental Disorders:genetics, Models, Biological,.   

: A greater understanding of psychopathology will be found in the integration of genetic and evolutionary perspectives on adaptation and function. Evolutionary theory proposes that adaptive traits are reproduced more successfully than maladaptive ones. However, some traits, while contributing to fitness in the ancestral environment, may contribute to fitness no longer. This is known as mismatch theory. Evolutionarily informed research into various "pathologies" has yielded interesting results, some based on this theory. This paper serves to distinguish between genetic and evolutionary perspectives on psychopathology as well as to examine some recent research on the selective forces that may be implicated in psychopathy, anorexic behavior, and ADHD. We suggest that research into psychopathy in general would benefit from an evolutionary perspective and an examination of the assumptions behind past research....

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Journal Article 2002; 23(Suppl 4): 31-38 PubMed PMID: 12496733 Citation  Keywords:  Biological Evolution, Humans, Mental Disorders:epidemiology, Mental Health, Psychiatry, Stress, Psychological,.   

: In this paper, we discuss the concept of mental disorder from the perspective of Darwinian psychiatry. Using this perspective does not resolve all of the quandaries which philosophers of medicine face when trying to provide a general definition of disease. However, it does take an important step toward clarifying why current methods of psychiatric diagnosis are criticizable and how clinicians can improve the identification of true mental disorders. According to Darwinian psychiatry, the validity of the conventional criteria of psychiatric morbidity is dependent on their association with functional impairment. Suffering, statistical deviance, and physical lesion are frequent correlates of mental disorders but, in absence of dysfunctional consequences, none of these criteria is sufficient for considering a psychological or behavioral condition as a psychiatric disorder. The Darwinian concept of mental disorder builds from two basic ideas: (1) the capacity to achieve biological goals is the best single attribute that characterizes mental health; and (2), the assessment of functional capacities cannot be properly made without consideration of the environment in which the individual lives. These two ideas reflect a concept of mental disorder that is both functional and ecological. A correct application of evolutionary knowledge should not necessarily lead to the conclusion that therapeutic intervention should be limited to conditions that jeopardize biological adaptation. Because one of the basic aims of medicine is to alleviate human suffering, an understanding of the evolutionary foundations of the concept of mental disorder should translate into more effective ways for promoting individual and social well-being, not into the search for natural laws determining what is therapeutically right or wrong....

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Journal Article 2002; 23(3): 219-225 PubMed PMID: 12080282 Citation  Keywords:  Acute Disease:psychology, Adult, Age Factors, Birth Weight, Cognition, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, Male, Models, Psychological, Neuroimmunomodulation, Predictive Value of Tests, Retrospective Studies,.   

BACKGROUND: The Barker Hypothesis suggests that an unfavourable uterine environment can have the effect of programming the body for disease later in life. Research indicates a bidirectional relationship between thought and biochemical reactions, that may be influenced by early programming. Reports suggest that 25% of variance in birthweight is a result of foetal environment and that the health and cognitive deficits do not just affect those with an officially low birthweight.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigates the influence of birthweight on cognition and minor illness in adults.

METHODS: This is a retrospective, cross sectional design with an opportunity sample of 75 adults. Participants whose birthweight ranged from 2.5 kg to 4.88 kg, completed a symptom check list and general self-efficacy scale, reporting on the previous month.

RESULTS: Analysis of variance indicates that those with higher birthweight have fewer minor illness symptom days and higher general self-efficacy. Regression analysis indicates that birthweight is significantly predictive of levels of minor illness and general self-efficacy.

CONCLUSION: From the findings of this and previous studies, it is possible to infer vertical coactions between foetal environment and immuno competence. It is suggested that birthweight is an early predictor of levels of a cognitive mediator and minor illness. Data were applied to an equilibrium model to represent the relationship in terms of Gottlieb's concept of horizontal and vertical coactions....

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Journal Article 2018; 39(4): 331-341 PubMed PMID: 30531709 Citation  Keywords:  Adaptation, Psychological, Adult, Anxiety Disorders:psychology, Cross-Sectional Studies, Depressive Disorder:psychology, Female, Humans, Male, Mental Disorders:psychology, Middle Aged, Neurotic Disorders:psychology, Outpatients, Psychotic Disorders:psycho.   

BACKGROUND: Much attention has been paid to psychological factors influencing characteristics, severity, and course of mental disorders. The objective of our investigation was to examine the interrelations among quality of life (QoL), self-stigma, and coping strategies, demographics and severity of the disorder in neurotic spectrum disorders, schizophrenia, and depressive spectrum disorders. METHODS: A total of 343 clinically stable Czech outpatients with different mental disorders (153 with neurotic spectrum disorders; 81 with depression, and 109 with schizophrenia spectrum disorders) were included. The patients were examined by their outpatient psychiatrists during regular psychiatric checkup and completed a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Quality of Life Satisfaction and the Enjoyment Questionnaire (Q-LES-Q), the Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness Scale (ISMI), the Stress Coping Style Questionnaire (SVF-78), and the Clinical Global Impression scale (CGI). RESULTS: The study demonstrates that the self-stigma and coping strategies are significant factors linked to the QoL in all diagnostic groups of patients. Patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders had lower scores in QoL compared to the other two groups. The patients with depression or neurotic spectrum disorders had a lesser degree of self-stigma than the patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. The severity of the illness significantly correlated with the QoL, self-stigma, and coping strategies. CONCLUSIONS: The investigation confirmed the connection between the quality of life, self-stigma, coping strategies, and the severity of the illness, in outpatients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders, depressive, and neurotic spectrum disorders. A further longitudinal study would be useful to determine the causative relationships of these variables....

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