ORCID Profile
0000-0003-2372-8654
Current Organisation
Murdoch University
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Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2020
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2013
DOI: 10.1016/J.IJPSYCHO.2013.04.014
Abstract: Empirical research into behavioural profiles and autonomic responsivity in in iduals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) is highly variable and inconsistent. Two preliminary studies of children with ASDs suggest that there may be subgroups of ASDs depending on their resting arousal levels, and that these subgroups show different profiles of autonomic responsivity. The aim of the present study was to determine whether (i) adults with high-functioning ASDs may be separated into subgroups according to variation in resting arousal and (ii) these ASD arousal subgroups differ in their behavioural profiles for basic emotion recognition, judgements of trustworthiness, and cognitive and affective empathy. Thirty high-functioning adults with ASDs and 34 non-clinical controls participated. Resting arousal was determined as the average skin conductance (SCL) across a 2 min resting period. There was a subgroup of ASD adults with significantly lower resting SCL. These in iduals demonstrated poorer emotion recognition, tended to judge faces more negatively, and had atypical relationships between SCL and affective empathy. In contrast, low cognitive empathy was a feature of all ASD adults. These findings have important implications for clinical interventions and future studies investigating autonomic functioning in ASDs.
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 08-2022
DOI: 10.1136/BMJOPEN-2021-056609
Abstract: Test whether Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY) was non-inferior to cognitive processing therapy (CPT) for treating symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among veterans via a parallel randomised controlled non-inferiority trial. Outpatient Veterans Affairs healthcare centre. 85 veterans (75 men, 61% white, mean age 56.9) with symptoms of PTSD participated between October 2015 and March 2020: 59 participants completed the study. SKY emphasises breathing routines and was delivered in group format in a 15-hour workshop followed by two 1-hour sessions per week for 5 weeks. CPT is an in idual psychotherapy which emphasises shifting cognitive appraisals and was delivered in two 1-hour sessions per week for 6 weeks. The primary outcome measure was the PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-C). The secondary measures were the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) and Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS). Mean PCL-C at baseline was 56.5 (±12.6). Intent-to-treat analyses showed that PCL-C scores were reduced at 6 weeks (end of treatment) relative to baseline (SKY, −5.6, d= 0.41, n=41: CPT, −6.8, d= 0.58, n=44). The between-treatment difference in change scores was within the non-inferiority margin of 10 points (−1.2, 95% CI −5.7 to 3.3), suggesting SKY was not inferior to CPT. SKY was also non-inferior at 1-month (CPT–SKY: −2.1, 95% CI −6.9 to 2.8) and 1-year (CPT–SKY: −1.8, 95% CI −6.6 to 2.9) assessments. SKY was also non-inferior to CPT on the BDI-II and PANAS at end of treatment and 1 month, but SKY was inferior to CPT on both BDI-II and PANAS at 1 year. Dropout rates were similar (SKY, 27%, CPT, 34%: OR=1.36, 95% CI 0.51 to 3.62, p=0.54). SKY may be non-inferior to CPT for treating symptoms of PTSD and merits further consideration as a treatment for PTSD. NCT02366403 .
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Date: 2008
DOI: 10.1037/A0012811
Abstract: The approach-withdrawal and valence-arousal models both predict that depressive and anxious profiles will be associated with relatively reduced left frontal and increased right frontal activity respectively, while the valence-arousal model also proposes a dissociation by lower and higher right parietotemporal activity, respectively. Recent work further suggests that subtypes of anxiety disorders may be characterized by distinctive patterns of activity depending on their type of arousal (anxious arousal/apprehension). The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships among nonclinical depression/anxiety and lateralized frontal arietotemporal activity by categorizing participants (N=428) on the basis of both negative mood and alpha EEG. Key findings include: (i) greater right frontal lateralization in anxious participants, symmetrical frontal activity in depressed/comorbid, and left frontal lateralization in healthy controls (ii) right frontal lateralization in anxious arousal participants, left frontal and right parietotemporal lateralization in anxious apprehension (iii) bilateral increase in frontal and increased right parietotemporal activity in depressed/comorbid participants. Findings support predictions for frontal but not posterior regions. Grouping on the basis of EEG may not be reciprocally predictive of negative mood groupings, suggesting involvement of additional factors.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2013
DOI: 10.1016/J.BIOPSYCHO.2013.08.004
Abstract: Emotion processing, including automatic facial mimicry, plays an important role in social reciprocity. Disruptions in these processes have implications for in iduals with impaired social functioning, such as autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Past research has demonstrated that ASDs are impaired in the recognition of briefly presented emotions and display atypical mimicry of emotions presented for protracted duration. Mimicry (electromyography EMG) of briefly presented emotions was investigated in adults with ASDs. Concurrent measures of skin conductance and cardiac responses were used as markers of orientation and stimulus detection, respectively. A backward masking task was employed whereby the emotional face (happy, angry) was presented for 30 ms followed by a neutral face "mask". An implicit comparison task required rapid gender identification. The ASD group failed to differentiate by valence in their EMG (zygomaticus, corrugator) and demonstrated atypical pre- and post-stimulus arousal. These findings may provide a potential mechanism for marked deficits in social reciprocity.
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 2018
Abstract: Pain is a pervasive, debilitating disorder that is resistant to long-term pharmacological interventions. Although psychological therapies such as cognitive behavior therapy demonstrate moderate efficacy, many in iduals continue to have ongoing difficulties following treatment. There is a current trend to establish complementary and integrative health interventions for chronic pain, for which yoga has been found to have exciting potential. Nevertheless, an important consideration within the field is accessibility to adequate care. Telehealth can be used to provide real-time interactive video conferencing leading to increased access to health care for in iduals located remotely or who otherwise have difficulty accessing services, perhaps through issues of mobility or proximity of adequate services. This article assesses the current status and feasibility of implementing tele-yoga for chronic pain. Methodological limitations and recommendations for future research are discussed.
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 2020
Abstract: Gulf War Illness (GWI) is a poorly understood condition characterized by a constellation of mood, cognitive, and physical symptoms. A growing body of evidence demonstrates autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysfunction. Few published treatment studies exist for GWI. We recently completed a randomized controlled trial comparing a 10-week group yoga intervention to 10-week group cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for veterans with GWI. Here, we present exploratory data on ANS biomarkers of treatment response from a small pilot exploratory neurophysiological add-on study (n = 13) within that larger study. Findings suggest that veterans with GWI receiving either yoga or CBT for pain improved following treatment and that changes in biological ANS—especially for the yoga group—moved in the direction of healthy profiles: lower heart rate, higher square root of the mean squared differences between successive R-R intervals (RMSSD), greater parasympathetic activation/dominance (increased high-frequency heart rate variability [HF-HRV], decreased low-frequency/high-frequency [LF/HF] ratio), reduced right amygdala volume, and stronger amygdala-default mode/amygdala-salience network connectivity, both immediately posttreatment and at 6-month follow-up. Biological mechanisms of CBT appeared to underlie improvements in more psychologically loaded symptoms such as self-reported fatigue and energy. Higher tonic arousal and/or more sympathetic dominance (higher skin conductance, lower RMSSD, lower HF-HRV, higher LF/HF ratio) pretreatment predicted greater treatment-related improvements in self-reported ANS for both the yoga and CBT group. These exploratory pilot data provide preliminary support for the suggestion that treatment (yoga, CBT) is associated with improvements in both biological and self-reported ANS dysfunctions in GWI. The major limitation for these findings is the small s le size. Larger and more controlled studies are needed to replicate these findings and directly compare biomarkers of yoga versus CBT.
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 04-2019
DOI: 10.1136/BMJOPEN-2018-027150
Abstract: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating, highly prevalent condition. Current clinical practice guidelines recommend trauma-focused psychotherapy (eg, cognitive processing therapy CPT) as the first-line treatment for PTSD. However, while these treatments show clinically meaningful symptom improvement, the majority of those who begin treatment retain a diagnosis of PTSD post-treatment. Perhaps for this reason, many in iduals with PTSD have sought more holistic, mind–body, complementary and integrative health (CIH) interventions. However, there remains a paucity of high-quality, active controlled efficacy studies of CIH interventions for PTSD, which precludes their formal recommendation. We present the protocol for an ongoing non-inferiority parallel group randomised controlled trial (RCT) comparing the efficacy of a breathing meditation intervention (Sudarshan Kriya Yoga [SKY]) to a recommended evidence-based psychotherapy (CPT) for PTSD among veterans. Assessors are blinded to treatment group. The primary outcome measure is the PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version and a combination of clinical, self-report, experimental and physiological outcome measures assess treatment-related changes across each of the four PTSD symptom clusters (re-experiencing, avoidance, negative cognitions or mood and hyperarousal/reactivity). Once the RCT is completed, analyses will use both an intent-to-treat (using the ‘last observation carried forward’ for missing data) and a per-protocol or ‘treatment completers’ procedure, which is the most rigorous approach to non-inferiority designs. To the best of our knowledge, this is this first non-inferiority RCT of SKY versus CPT for PTSD among veterans. The protocol is approved by the Stanford University Institutional Review Board. All participants provided written informed consent prior to participation. Results from this RCT will inform future studies including larger multi-site efficacy RCTs of SKY for PTSD and other mental health conditions, as well as exploration of cost-effectiveness and evaluation of implementation issues. Results will also inform evidence-based formal recommendations regarding CIH interventions for PTSD. NCT02366403 Pre-results.
Publisher: Hindawi Limited
Date: 2017
DOI: 10.1155/2017/6083629
Abstract: Neuroimaging facilitates the assessment of complementary medicines (CMs) by providing a noninvasive insight into their mechanisms of action in the human brain. This is important for identifying the potential treatment options for target disease cohorts with complex pathophysiologies. The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate study characteristics, intervention efficacy, and the structural and functional neuroimaging methods used in research assessing nutritional and herbal medicines for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia. Six databases were searched for articles reporting on CMs, dementia, and neuroimaging methods. Data were extracted from 21/2,742 eligible full text articles and risk of bias was assessed. Nine studies examined people with Alzheimer’s disease, 7 MCI, 4 vascular dementia, and 1 all-cause dementia. Ten studies tested herbal medicines, 8 vitamins and supplements, and 3 nootropics. Ten studies used electroencephalography (EEG), 5 structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), 2 functional MRI (fMRI), 3 cerebral blood flow (CBF), 1 single photon emission tomography (SPECT), and 1 positron emission tomography (PET). Four studies had a low risk of bias, with the majority consistently demonstrating inadequate reporting on randomisation, allocation concealment, blinding, and power calculations. A narrative synthesis approach was assumed due to heterogeneity in study methods, interventions, target cohorts, and quality. Eleven key recommendations are suggested to advance future work in this area.
Publisher: Hindawi Limited
Date: 14-08-2023
DOI: 10.1155/2023/7001667
Abstract: Background. Sleep disturbances are a prominent feature of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and poorer sleep quality is associated with higher PTSD severity. This highlights the importance of monitoring sleep outcomes alongside PTSD symptoms in treatments targeting PTSD. Yet few studies monitor both sleep and PTSD outcomes, unless sleep is the primary treatment target. Furthermore, inconsistencies remain about the effects of first-line, evidence-based PTSD treatments on sleep. Methods. Here, we explored changes in sleep in secondary analyses from a randomised controlled trial that originally assessed the noninferiority of a breathing-based yoga practice (Sudarshan kriya yoga SKY) to a first-line PTSD treatment (cognitive processing therapy (CPT)) for clinically significant PTSD symptoms among US veterans (intent-to-treat N = 85 per protocol N = 59 ). Sleep was assessed via subjective (self-reported sleep diary), PTSD symptom severity items (self-reported and clinician-administered insomnia/nightmare sleep items), and objective (wrist actigraphy) measures. Results. Following treatment, subjective sleep diary measures of quality, latency, and wake duration showed small effect size ( d = .24 − .39 ) improvements, with no significant differences between treatment groups. Significant improvements were also observed in PTSD sleep symptoms, though CPT ( d = .34 ) more reliably reduced nightmares while SKY (d = .44-.45) more reliably reduced insomnia. In contrast, there were no significant treatment-related effects for any of the actigraphy-measured sleep indices. Conclusions. To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate sleep as an outcome of CPT or SKY for PTSD, across a combination of subjective diary, PTSD symptom severity, and objective actigraphic measures. Findings lend support to a growing body of evidence that trauma-focused psychotherapy for PTSD improves sleep and suggest that yoga-based interventions may also be beneficial for sleep among in iduals with emotional or mental health disorders like PTSD. This trial is registered with NCT02366403.
Publisher: Hindawi Limited
Date: 2016
DOI: 10.1155/2016/4612953
Abstract: Currently, there are no effective pharmaceutical treatments to reduce cognitive decline or prevent dementia. At the same time, the global population is aging, and rates of dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are on the rise. As such, there is an increasing interest in complementary and alternative interventions to treat or reduce the risk of cognitive decline. Depression is one potentially modifiable risk factor for cognitive decline and dementia. Notably, exercise and yoga are two interventions known to both reduce symptoms of depression and improve cognitive function. The current review discusses the efficacy of exercise and yoga to ameliorate depression and thereby reduce the risk of cognitive decline and potentially prevent dementia. Potential mechanisms of change, treatment implications, and future directions are discussed.
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 13-03-2023
DOI: 10.3389/FPSYT.2023.1079471
Abstract: The purpose of this systematic review was to examine the efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions for improving anxiety, social skills, and aggressive behaviors in children and young people (CYP) with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) summarize the results across clinic, home, and school contexts and evaluate the quality of these interventions for clinical practice. A search of the PsycINFO, Medline (Ovid), Web of Science, and Scopus databases was conducted in June 2021, and no date restrictions were applied. Inclusion criteria were quantitative or qualitative research implementing a mindfulness-based intervention for CYP aged 6–25 years with a diagnosis of ASD, Pervasive Development Disorder, or Asperger’s Syndrome. We identified 23 articles for inclusion including within subject pre- and post-testing, multiple baselines, and randomized control trials, among other research designs. Of these, a quality analysis conducted using an ASD research-specific risk of bias tool found over half (14) were of weak methodological quality, whereas only four and five were found to be of strong and adequate quality, respectively. While the results of this systematic review suggest promising evidence for the use of mindfulness-based interventions to improve anxiety, social skills, and aggressive behaviors in CYP with ASD, results should be interpreted with caution due to the limitations resulting from the overall weak quality of the studies. The review protocol was pre-registered on PROSPERO (CRD42021259125) and can be viewed at www.crd.york.ac.uk rospero/display_record.php?RecordID=259125
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2021
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2021
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 20-01-2023
DOI: 10.1186/S12877-023-03732-5
Abstract: Yoga is a mind-body practice that can elicit robust health and wellbeing effects for older adults. As a result, there is increased public and academic interest into the potential benefits of yoga for older people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia. Literature searches in five databases (CENTRAL, PubMed and EBSCOHost indexing CINAHL Plus, PsycINFO, Psychology and Behavioural Sciences Collection) were conducted from the databases’ date of inception through to 4 September 2020 to identify pre-post single and multigroup studies of yoga-based interventions involving people with MCI or dementia. Effects on cognitive, mental, and physical health were evaluated, as was safety and study quality. Database searches identified 1431 articles. Of these, 10 unique studies met inclusion criteria (total 421 participants). Four studies each implemented Kundalini yoga and chair yoga, while two employed Hatha yoga. Most programs ran for 12 weeks ( n = 5) and compared yoga to a control group ( n = 5). Most studies reported improved cognition, mood, and balance. However, these effects were marred by the high risk of bias identified in all articles. Four studies assessed safety, with one instance of dizziness reported. In this emerging field, these studies show that yoga may be safe and beneficial for the wellbeing of people with MCI or dementia. More high quality randomised controlled trials are needed to improve the evidence-base and overcome the limitations of existing studies.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 30-04-2015
DOI: 10.1017/BRIMP.2015.7
Abstract: Primary objective: Social cognition underlies social skills and can be disrupted in numerous developmental and acquired brain disorders during childhood and adolescence. Despite this, there are few tools to assess social cognition clinically in this age group. This study examined adolescent performance on The Awareness of Social Inference Test (TASIT), a valid measure of social cognition in adults. Design: Cross-sectional design examining performance on Parts 1, 2 and 3 of TASIT (and alternate forms) in Australian girls and boys with varying levels of English familiarity. Methods: 665 schoolchildren from private and government schools were administered TASIT subtests. Of these, 464 students aged 13–15 were selected to provide normative data. Scores from a further 97 provided information about the effects of lack of English familiarity. Results: The two Forms of TASIT were statistically equivalent for two of the three parts. Adolescents performed lower than adults, although the differences were not large. Some incremental effects were seen for chronological age. Gender effects were apparent on all subtests. Lack of English familiarity (i.e., English not spoken at home) reduced scores a further 6–13% relative to high English proficiency. Conclusions: TASIT appears to be suitable for adolescents. Norms are best aggregated across ages in adolescence and stratified according to gender.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2023
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 10-02-2017
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 06-10-2023
DOI: 10.1111/PAPT.12493
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 2022
DOI: 10.1177/2164957X221108376
Abstract: Valued living is the extent to which an in idual’s behavior is consistent with what they believe is important or good. It is unknown whether many complementary and integrative treatments and psychotherapies for posttraumatic stress disorder enhance valued living, and for whom. Measure within- and between-group changes in valued living in Veterans who completed cognitive processing therapy (CPT) and sudarshan kriya yoga (SKY) for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) evaluate moderators of improvement. Participants with clinically significant symptoms of PTSD were assigned to CPT, a first line, evidence-based psychotherapy for PTSD or SKY, an emerging breath-based meditation with strong preliminary empirical support in a parallel-groups randomized controlled trial at a single Veterans Affairs healthcare center. The Valuing Questionnaire subscales for progress in valued living (VQ-P) and obstruction in valued living (VQ-O) were exploratory outcome measures. Assessors were blind to treatment assignment. 59 participants completed treatment (29 CPT, 30 SKY). Participants in the CPT group improved from baseline to end of treatment in both VQ-Progress ( d=0.55, p=0.02) and VQ–Obstruction ( d=-0.51, p=0.03), while the SKY group did not improve on either subscale ( d=0.08, p=0.69 d=0.00, p=1.00). However, differences between treatments were not statistically significant ( p=0.16, 0.11, respectively). Participants reporting less valued living and more depression symptoms at baseline reported greater improvements in valued living following treatment. CPT may have a positive effect on valued living. In iduals lower in valued living and with more depression may derive relatively more benefit.
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Date: 12-2016
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 23-03-2009
DOI: 10.1080/13803390802255635
Abstract: A number of psychiatric and neurological disorders are characterized by impairments in facial emotion recognition. Recognition of in idual emotions has implicated limbic, basal ganglionic, and frontal brain regions. Since these regions are also implicated in age-related decline and sex differences in emotion processing, an understanding of normative variation is important for assessing deficits in clinical groups. An internet-based test ("WebNeuro") was administered to 1,000 healthy participants (6 to 91 years, 53% female) to assess explicit identification of basic expressions of emotion (happiness, sadness, fear, anger, disgust, neutral). A subsequent implicit recognition condition was based on a priming protocol, in which explicit identification provided the "study" phase. Responses were most accurate for happiness and slowest for fear in the explicit condition, but least accurate for happiness and fastest for fear in the implicit condition. The effects of age, by contrast, showed a similar pattern for both explicit and implicit conditions, following a nonlinear distribution in which performance improved from childhood through adolescence and early adulthood and declined in later adulthood. Females were better than males at explicit identification of fear in particular. These findings are consistent with the priority of threat-related signals, but indicate opposing biases depending on whether emotion processing is conscious or nonconscious. The lifespan trends in emotion processing over 10 decades point to an interaction of brain-based (maturation, stability, and then atrophy of cortical and subcortical systems) and experiential contributing factors. These findings provide a robust normative platform for assessing clinical groups.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 23-03-2009
DOI: 10.1080/13803390802043619
Abstract: Both general and social cognition are important in providing endophenotypic markers and predicting real-world functional outcomes of clinical psychiatric disorders. However, to date, focus has been on general cognition, rather than on core domains of social/emotional cognition. This study sought to determine core domains of emotion processing for both explicit identification and implicit recognition and their relationships with core domains of general cognition. Age effects and sex differences were also investigated. A s le of 1,000 healthy in iduals (6 to 91 years, 53.5% female) undertook the WebNeuro tests of emotion identification and recognition and tests of general cognitive function. Factor analysis revealed seven core domains of emotion processing: speed of explicit emotion identification, speed of implicit emotion recognition, implicit emotion recognition accuracy, "threat" processing, sadness-disgust identification, "positive emotion" processing, and general "face perception." Seven corresponding core domains of general cognition were identified: information-processing speed, executive function, sustained attention/vigilance, verbal memory, working-memory capacity, inhibition/impulsivity, and sensorimotor function. Factors of emotion processing generally showed positive associations with those of general cognitive function, suggesting commonality in processing speed in particular. Moreover, age had a consistent nonlinear impact on both emotion processing and general cognitive factors, while sex differences were more specific. These findings contribute to a normative and standardized structure for assessment of emotional and general cognition in clinical groups.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 07-2013
DOI: 10.1080/13803395.2013.809700
Abstract: It has been argued that higher functioning in iduals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) have specific deficits in advanced but not simple theory of mind (ToM), yet the questionable ecological validity of some tasks reduces the strength of this assumption. The present study employed The Awareness of Social Inference Test (TASIT), which uses video vignettes to assess comprehension of subtle conversational inferences (sarcasm, lies/deception). Given the proposed relationships between advanced ToM and cognitive and affective empathy, these associations were also investigated. As expected, the high-functioning adults with ASDs demonstrated specific deficits in comprehending the beliefs, intentions, and meaning of nonliteral expressions. They also had significantly lower cognitive and affective empathy. Cognitive empathy was related to ToM and group membership whereas affective empathy was only related to group membership.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 13-09-2023
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2013
DOI: 10.1016/J.PHYSBEH.2012.10.008
Abstract: In iduals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) demonstrate atypical behavioural responses to affective stimuli, although the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Investigating automatic responses to these stimuli may help elucidate these mechanisms. 18 high-functioning adults with ASDs and 18 typically developing controls viewed 54 extreme pleasant (erotica), extreme unpleasant (mutilations), and non-social neutral images from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS). Two-thirds of images received an acoustic startle probe 3s post-picture onset. Facial electromyography (EMG) activity (orbicularis, zygomaticus, corrugator), skin conductance (SCR) and cardiac responses were recorded. The adults with ASDs demonstrated typical affective startle modulation and automatic facial EMG responses but atypical autonomic (SCRs and cardiac) responses, suggesting a failure to orient to, or a deliberate effort to disconnect from, socially relevant stimuli (erotica, mutilations). These results have implications for neural systems known to underlie affective processes, including the orbitofrontal cortex and amygdala.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 15-04-2022
DOI: 10.1186/S12888-022-03886-3
Abstract: Emotion regulation (ER) is a key process underlying posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), yet, little is known about how ER changes with PTSD treatment. Understanding these effects may shed light on treatment processes. We recently completed a non-inferiority design randomised controlled trial demonstrating that a breathing-based yoga practice (Sudarshan kriya yoga SKY) was not clinically inferior to cognitive processing therapy (CPT) across symptoms of PTSD, depression, or negative affect. Here, in secondary exploratory analyses (intent-to-treat N = 85 per protocol N = 59), we examined whether self-reported ER (Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale DERS) and physiological ER (heart rate variability HRV) improved with treatment for clinically significant PTSD symptoms among US Veterans. DERS-Total and all six subscales improved with small-to-moderate effect sizes ( d = .24–.66) following CPT or SKY, with no differences between treatment groups. Following SKY (but not CPT), HR max–min (average difference between maximum and minimum beats per minute), LF/HF (low-to-high frequency) ratio, and normalised HF-HRV (high frequency power) improved (moved towards a healthier profile d = .42–.55). To our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate that a breathing-based yoga (SKY) improved both voluntary/intentional and automatic hysiological ER. In contrast, trauma-focused therapy (CPT) only reliably improved self-reported ER. Findings have implications for PTSD treatment and interventions for emotional disorders more broadly. Secondary analyses of ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02366403 .
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 23-10-2019
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2021
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2013
DOI: 10.1016/J.IJPSYCHO.2012.11.005
Abstract: Neural structures involved in social cognition (e.g., amygdala, orbitofrontal cortex) have been implicated in judgements of trustworthiness. These regions are also functionally atypical in in iduals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Studies investigating judgements of trustworthiness in ASDs have suggested possible disruptions in the allocation of significance to social stimuli. Concurrent measures of autonomic responses provide further insight into these deficits, given their role in the direction of attention and allocation of significance. Thirty high-functioning adults with ASDs and 31 non-clinical controls viewed neutral images piloted as most "positive" and "negative." Skin conductance (SCR, SCL) and evoked cardiac deceleration (ECD) were recorded. Adults with ASDs did not differ from controls in ratings of trustworthiness. However, they displayed atypical SCRs, providing further support for a disruption in the allocation of emotional significance.
Location: United States of America
No related grants have been discovered for Danielle Mathersul.