“Yes,Of Course It Hurts When Buds Are Breaking”: Therapist Reactions to an Adolescent Client's Sexual Material in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

This article focuses on the therapist's emotional reactions to a young female client's revelations about her fear of being raped that came up in the course of an open‐ended psychodynamic psychotherapy. The client suffered from depression and emotional disturbance related to the overwhelming developmental tasks of adolescence, including individuation and psychosexual development. The patient's fears and nightmares not only raised ethical dilemmas in the therapist regarding how to handle the implications of these revelations but also reactivated the therapist's own issues from her adolescent period. The fact that the material of the patient found a “hook” (Gabbard, 1995 ) in the therapist enabled a deeper understanding of the patient that helped resolve her inner conflicts and move on in her development.     

Beyond the “Psychological Placebo”: Specifying the Nonspecific in Psychotherapy

[Clin Psychol Sci Prac 18: 113–118, 2011] There are two major shortcomings in current psychotherapy research: the standards that are used to evaluate psychotherapy (especially the way control conditions are set up in outcome research) are often not acceptable, and nonspecific factors have been largely neglected (especially in cognitive and behavior therapies). I argue that theories of psychotherapy need to specify further the role of nonspecific factors in the development and maintenance of different disorders, and how nonspecific treatment factors can be made to be more effective in therapy, often by interacting with certain specific factors. This may be the major front in the future of psychotherapy research.     

Yes I am human: Autobiography of a “retarded career”

A preliminary account of on-going life history research with a “mentally retarded” man is reported. At the time the subject was selected, he was identified by an official agency and by himself as “mentally retarded.” He had been living in group home facilities with other retarded people for 17 years. Midway in the first two years of interviewing, a battery of psychological tests were administered revealing, by such criteria, he was a well-adjusted man of average intelligence. Discussion focuses on comparison of the alternative versions he constructed of his life experiences as a retarded person, before and after the disclosure that he was not mentally retarded.     

Sex vesicle “entrapment”: Translocation or nonhomologous recombination of misaligned Yp and Xp as alternative mechanisms for abnormal inheritance of the sex-determining region

Abnormal inheritance of the sex determining region, normally located on Yp, results in about 1 in 20,000 phenotypic males with a 46,XX genotype. Studies to date indicate that many 46,XX males apparently arise due to a balanced, yet abnormal, nonhomologous interchange of Xp and Yp termini. However, 2 of the 5 XX males we report here have 3 copies of the pseudoautosomal locus, MIC2. Thus, they appear to have inherited the sex determining region as a result of Yp sequences being added onto the X pseudoautosomal region. Such an unequal, extremely nonhomologous interchange could alternatively be considered to arise from an unbalanced translocation of Yp to Xp. Our results suggest that very unequal interchange or translocation of Yp sequences onto the X pseudoautosomal region is not as rare a mechanism for XX males as originally thought. We also suggest that sex vesicle “entrapment” favors the association of a Yp fragment to the X pseudoautosomal region over a translocation to either Xq or an autosome.     

Metabolic responses in feline “red” and “white” skeletal muscle to shock and ischemia

In order to investigate possible differences in the reaction to hypoxic conditions between “red” and “white” skeletal muscle, cats were subjected to a 2 h period of either hemorrhagic shock or hind limb tourniquet ischemia, and the hypoxia induced changes were studied in the soleus and lateral gastrocnemius muscles. Muscle biopsies were analysed for ATP, CP, glucose, G 6–P and lactate. Using microelectrodes, the resting membrane potential was repeatedly measured. Both experimental models resulted in increased tissue lactate levels and a successive decrease in the membrane potential of both muscles studied. No reduction of the high energy phosphagen content (ATP+CP) occurred in any of the muscles during shock. The tourniquet ischemia resulted in a 40% reduction of the ATP+CP content in the soleus muscle, whereas in the gastrocnemius muscle no significant reduction occurred. A significant correlation was found between the tissue lactate content and the membrane potential under both conditions and in both muscles studied. It is concluded that “red” muscles are more susceptible to metabolic derangement than “white” muscles during total ischemia, whereas during hypovolemia “red” muscles appear to be protected from early hypoxic damage, probably due to a redistribution of skeletal muscle blood flow.     

Exploring “personal” and “shared” sense of community identity in Durham City,England

“Personal” and “shared” aspects of sense of community identity are explored in a an established community in Durham City, England. Durham City has a history of over 1,000 years of continuous settlement, and is generally viewed as a stable and relatively harmonious setting. In the study 102 residents responded to a Community Response Questionnaire based on Puddifoot's taxonomy of elements of sense of community. The findings suggest the existence of three underlying “personal” dimensions of Sense of Community Identity (SOCI), namely, “Sense of Personal Support,” “Sense of Personal Contentedness,” and “Personal Involvement,” and three “shared” dimensions of SOCI, namely, “Perceived Community Engagement,” “Perceived Neighborliness,” and “Perceived Settledness.” This article discusses these findings and the prospect of creating a measure for comparative analysis around these dimensions. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

“Donating our bodies to science”: A discussion about autopsy and organ donation in Turner syndrome

At the Third Turner Resource Network Symposium, a working group presented the results of collaborative discussions about the importance of autopsy in Turner syndrome (TS). Considerable gaps in understanding the causes of death in TS can only be closed by more frequent death investigations and autopsies. The presentation included an overview of autopsy methods, strategies for utilizing autopsy, and biobanking to address research questions about TS, and the role of palliative care in the context of autopsy. This review highlights strategies to promote autopsy and tissue donation, culminating with an action plan to increase autopsy rates in the TS community.     

Waiting for a diagnosis in Rubinstein–Taybi: The journey from “ignorance is bliss” to the value of “a label”

The journey to receiving a diagnosis for rare genetic disease can be long and emotionally impactful. This study describes parental experiences of receiving their child's diagnosis of Rubinstein–Taybi syndrome (RTS), a rare genetic condition characterized by growth and developmental delay together with dysmorphic features. Parents from the RTS Australia support group participated in qualitative, semi‐structured phone interviews, which were transcribed verbatim and thematically analyzed. Questions focused on psychosocial challenges and benefits pre and post‐diagnosis. Ten mothers and three fathers participated, with the mean age of diagnosis being 8 months. Parents reported positive psychological effects from a slight delay in diagnosis, and negative effects from an extended diagnostic delay, suggesting the ideal time for a parent to receive a diagnosis lies in the post attachment stage, prior to the development of significant parental concerns. This stage would vary depending on condition severity. Parents desired a diagnosis to reduce uncertainty; however, uncertainty remained post diagnosis, and shifted its focus from broadly encompassing etiology and prognosis, to specifically focusing on concerns regarding severity within the spectrum. Perceived benefits of a diagnosis mainly centered on the provision of a label. Parents articulated that a label increased social acceptance, enhanced coping, promoted communication, and improved access to medical, financial, and support services. This study provides insights into the experience of families prior to and following receipt of a diagnosis. It also highlights the possibility of an optimal time window to receive a diagnosis; in which bonding is maximized and parental distress is minimized.     

“Fast” and “slow” skeleto-fusimotor innervation in cat tenuissimus spindles; a study with the glycogen-depletion method

The glycogen-depletion method was used to investigate the motor supply to tenuissimus with respect to the presence of fast β axons and to assess the total proportion of both fast and slow β-innervated spindles in this muscle. In a first series of 5 expts., groups of motor axons with conduction velocities higher than 85 m/s were repetitively stimulated so as to produce glycogen depletion in the muscle fibres they innervated. The whole muscle was then quick-frozen, serially cut, stained to demonstrate glycogen and examined for intrafusal glycogen depletion. Zones of glycogen depletion were found in 16 of the 46 examined spindles; they were most frequently located in the longest of the chain intrafusal muscle fibres. Since it is known that there are no purely fusimotor axons to tenuissimus with conduction velocities above 50 m/s, it was concluded that β axons are present among the fastest axons to this muscle. In a second series of 5 expts. as many motor axons as possible with conduction velocities above 60 m/s were stimulated. Zones of glycogen depletion were found in 19 of the 47 examined spindles. They affected chain fibres in about half of the instances and bag₂ fibres in the others. As this latter location is characteristic of slow dynamic β axons, it was concluded that both slow and fast β axons occur regularly in the motor supply to tenuissimus. β-innervation is present in at least 40% of tenuissimus spindles with almost no convergence of fast and slow β axons onto the same spindle.     

Music,perceived arousal,and intensity: Psychophysiological reactions to Chopin's “Tristesse”

The present study investigates the relation of perceived arousal (continuous self‐rating), autonomic nervous system activity (heart rate, heart rate variability) and musical characteristics (sound intensity, musical rhythm) upon listening to a complex musical piece. Twenty amateur musicians listened to two performances of Chopin's “Tristesse” with different rhythmic shapes. Besides conventional statistical methods for analyzing psychophysiological reactions (heart rate, respiration rate) and musical variables, semblance analysis was used. Perceived arousal correlated strongly with sound intensity; heart rate showed only a partial response to changes in sound intensity. Larger changes in heart rate were caused by the version with more rhythmic tension. The low‐/high‐frequency ratio of heart rate variability increased—whereas the high frequency component decreased—during music listening. We conclude that autonomic nervous system activity can be modulated not only by sound intensity but also by the interpreter's use of rhythmic tension. Semblance analysis enables us to track the subtle correlations between musical and physiological variables.     

The histopathology of tissues in “resistant” and “susceptible” strains of mice infected with a moderate dose of Mycobacterium lepraemurium

A systematic study by light and electron microscopy of tissues from BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice infected subcutaneously with 107 Mycobacterium lepraemurium organisms was carried out at various times throughout the infection. The relatively resistant C57BL/6 mice had an earlier inflammatory response at the site of the infection than did the susceptible BALB/c mice. The infiltration in the former strain contained fibroblast-like cells and epithelioid cells early on in the infection. Few lymphocytes were observed in both strains throughout the infection. The spread of acid-fast bacilli was slower in the resistant strain (C57BL/6). The findings indicated that the rate of cellular infiltration at the infection site and the nature of the cells in the infiltration may determine the outcome of this infection.     

Preparation and characterization of unsymmetrical “liposomes in a net”

Negatively charged lipid molecules were converted into polymerizable lipids by introduction of polymerizable mono- or bifunctional counterions. As an attempt to mimic the cytoskeleton of biomembranes, unsymmetrical polymeric vesicles were prepared, where the polyelectrolyte is attached either only to the inner or to the outer bilayer surfaces. Polymerizable cations were introduced to the outer surface of preformed small unilamellar vesicles via ion-exchange. The outer counterions of vesicles bearing polymerizable counterions at both sides of the membrane were replaced by Na⁺. Polymerization of these systems leads to unsymmetrical vesicles. The introduction, separation and polymerization of the organic counterions was monitored by UV-spectroscopy. Due to polymerization of the counterions, the phase transition temperature of the membranes is shifted remarkably to higher temperatures. For a comparison of ionically attached and covalently bound polymers, two cationic lipids were synthesized, which have a bifunctional polymerizable headgroup. In contrast to the lipids with “ionic” spacers, the polymerization of the covalently bound methacrylic units resulted in a decrease of the phase transition temperature. Thus, by application of ionically bound polymerizable units, unsymmetrical polymerized vesicle membranes are readily available. These systems may serve as models for mimicking the cytoskeleton of living cells.     

“Silver dust”—a tool to study growth interrelationships between bone,periosteum and muscle

A cylinder of gelatin containing silver spongy granules was placed in and lay within the masseter muscle, the periosteum, and the mandible, and terminated in the medial pterygoid muscle of young (3 month-old) growing miniature pigs. On the basis of an animal sacrificed one week after placement of the cylinder, it was found that the suspending gelatin was removed by cellular activity. Nine months later the remaining animals were sacrificed. Periodic X-rays were taken during the course of the experiment. After sacrifice, the mandible and associated tissues were histologically examined. The results of this study suggest that the silver granules in the muscles maintained their location during growth; the silver granules in the mandible moved forward with mandibular growth. “Slippage” appeared to occur external to the fibrous layer of the periosteum; the site of movement was revealed by the trail of the silver granules. The described method should prove of value in studying the growth interrelationships between bone, periosteum, and muscle.