Beyond “somatization” and “psychologization”: Symptom-Level Variation in Depressed Han Chinese and Euro-Canadian Outpatients.
Beyond “somatization” and “psychologization”: symptom-level variation in depressed Han Chinese and Euro-Canadian outpatients.
Front Psychol. 2013; 4: 377
Dere J, Sun J, Zhao Y, Persson TJ, Zhu X, Yao S, Bagby RM, Ryder AG
The finding that people of Chinese heritage tend to emphasize somatic rather than psychological symptoms of depression has frequently been discussed in the culture and mental health literature since the 1970s. Recent studies have confirmed that Chinese samples report more somatic and fewer psychological depression symptoms compared to “Western” samples. The question remains, however, as to whether or not these effects are attributable to variation in all the constituent symptoms or to a subset. If the latter, there is the additional possibility that some symptoms might show a divergent pattern. Such findings would have implications for how cultural variations in symptom presentation are interpreted, and would also inform the cultural study of affective experiences more broadly. The current study addressed these issues in Chinese (n = 175) and Euro-Canadian (n = 107) psychiatric outpatients originally described by Ryder et al. (2008). Differential item functioning (DIF) was used to examine whether specific somatic and psychological symptoms diverged from the overall patterns of cultural variation. Chi-square analyses were used to examine atypical somatic symptoms (e.g., hypersomnia), previously neglected in this literature. No DIF was observed for the typical somatic symptoms, but Euro-Canadians reported greater levels of atypical somatic symptoms, and showed higher rates of atypical depression. DIF was observed for psychological symptoms-the Chinese reported high levels of “suppressed emotions” and “depressed mood,” relative to their overall psychological symptom reporting. Chinese outpatients also spontaneously reported “depressed mood” at similar levels as the Euro-Canadians, contrary to prevailing ideas about Chinese unwillingness to discuss depression. Overall, the findings provide a more nuanced picture of how culture shapes symptom presentation and point toward future studies designed to unpack cultural variation in narrower subsets of depressive symptoms. HubMed – addiction
[Is obesity an addiction?].
Psychother Psychosom Med Psychol. 2013 Jul; 63(7): 255-6
de Zwaan M
The K(+) channel GIRK2 is both necessary and sufficient for peripheral opioid-mediated analgesia.
EMBO Mol Med. 2013 Jul 1;
Nockemann D, Rouault M, Labuz D, Hublitz P, McKnelly K, Reis FC, Stein C, Heppenstall PA
The use of opioid agonists acting outside the central nervous system (CNS) is a promising therapeutic strategy for pain control that avoids deleterious central side effects such as apnea and addiction. In human clinical trials and rat models of inflammatory pain, peripherally restricted opioids have repeatedly shown powerful analgesic effects; in some mouse models however, their actions remain unclear. Here, we investigated opioid receptor coupling to K(+) channels as a mechanism to explain such discrepancies. We found that GIRK channels, major effectors for opioid signalling in the CNS, are absent from mouse peripheral sensory neurons but present in human and rat. In vivo transgenic expression of GIRK channels in mouse nociceptors established peripheral opioid signalling and local analgesia. We further identified a regulatory element in the rat GIRK2 gene that accounts for differential expression in rodents. Thus, GIRK channels are indispensable for peripheral opioid analgesia, and their absence in mice has profound consequences for GPCR signalling in peripheral sensory neurons. HubMed – addiction
Angry Birds Addiction.. REHAB NEEDED POSSIBLY! – So I’m addicted to angry birds, i know I’m not alone, its completely ridiculous.. so i decided to rant 😀 enjoy!