Intrusive memories following disaster: Relationship with peritraumatic responses and later affect

Cognitive theories of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) suggest that intrusive memories result from disrupted information processing during traumatic memory encoding and are characterized by fear, helplessness, and horror at recall. Existing naturalistic studies are limited by the absence of direct comparisons between specific moments that do and do not correspond to intrusive memories. We tested predictions from cognitive theories of PTSD by comparing peritraumatic responses during moments experienced as intrusive memories versus distressing moments of the same traumatic event from the same individual not experienced as intrusive memories. A further comparison was with highly distressing moments experienced during the same event by individuals without intrusive memories. We utilized a psychometrically generated model to distinguish different peritraumatic reactions. Moments experienced as intrusive memories were characterized by higher peritraumatic distress, immobility, cognitive overload, and somatic dissociation when compared both to distressing moments from the same individual that did not intrude and to the most distressing memories of individuals without intrusions. Exploratory analyses indicated that at recall, intrusive memories were characterized by higher levels of primary traumatic emotions such as anxiety, fear, and helplessness in comparison with nonintrusive memories. Findings from this novel naturalistic design support predictions made by cognitive theories of PTSD and have implications for research and preventative interventions targeting intrusive memories. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)

Characterization of the stimulation output of four devices for focal muscle vibration

Different devices for mechano-acoustic muscle vibration became available on the market in the last ten years. Although the use of these vibrators is increasing in research and clinical settings, the features of their stimulation output were never described in literature. In this study we aimed to quantify and compare the stimulation output of the four most widespread pneumatic devices for focal muscle vibration available on the market. A piezoelectric pressure sensor was used to measure the pressure profile generated by the four selected devices in the following experimental conditions: i) measurement of the output changes associated with variations of the stimulation amplitude for three stimulation frequencies (100 Hz, 200 Hz, and 300 Hz); ii) measurement of the output changes during a 20-min long stimulation at constant frequency (300 Hz) and amplitude; iii) measurement of the output changes associated with the progressive activation of all stimulation channels at constant frequency (200 Hz) for different amplitudes. The maximum peak-to-peak amplitudes of the pressure waves were in the range 102 mbar - 369 mbar (below the maximum values declared by the different manufacturers). The shape of the pressure waves generated by the four devices was quasi-sinusoidal and asymmetric with respect to the atmospheric pressure. All output features had a remarkable intra- and inter-device variability. Further studies are required to support the technological improvement of the currently available devices and to focus the issues of vibration effectiveness, limitations, proper protocols, modalities of its application and assessment in neuromuscular training and rehabilitation

Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Victorian Institute of Sports Assessment for Gluteal Tendinopathy questionnaire in Italian and investigation of the association between tendinopathy-related disability and pain

Background The Victorian Institute of Sports Assessment for gluteal tendinopathy (VISA-G) questionnaire has recently been proposed as a condition-specific patient reported outcome measurement tool to assess the tendinopathy-related disability. Aim The aim was to evaluate the reliability of the Italian version of the VISA-G questionnaire and its construct validity and to investigate the association between tendinopathy-related disability and pain. Design It consists in a cross-sectional study. Setting The location of the study was a university laboratory. Population We evaluated patients with gluteal tendinopathy (N.=38) and healthy controls (N.=38). Methods Subjects were asked to fill the VISA-G questionnaire twice to evaluate its reliability. The construct validity was evaluated by comparing the VISA score with the Oswestry Disability Index score. Moreover, pain intensity, extent and location were also investigated. Results The VISA-G scores showed non-significant changes in the median values and the values of intraclass correlation coefficient showed very high correlation between the first and second administration (ICC>0.90 in both populations). No significant correlations were found between VISA-G score and either pain extent (R=-0.05, P=0.76), or resting pain intensity (R=-0.13, P=0.45), or palpation pain intensity (R= 0.01, P=0.97). Conversely, a high (and significant) negative correlation was obtained between VISA-G score and Oswestry Disability Index score (R=-0.80, P<0.0001). Conclusions These results indicated that the VISA-G Italian version presents excellent test-retest reliability. Clinical rehabilitation impact The evaluation of gluteal tendinopathy-related disability through VISA-G can be useful for the prognostic assessment and/or follow-up of tendinopathy patients in combination with the pain drawing assessment of pain extent

A qualitative study on the impacts of COVID-19 on the delivery of randomised controlled trials evaluating lay-delivered psychological interventions in five countries

COVID-19 is having substantial impacts on research conduct, including clinical trials. However, there is limited research investigating the impact of the pandemic on the conduct of clinical trials and barriers to the delivery of interventions. The current study contributes to filling this gap by investigating the impacts of COVID-19 and related mitigation strategies in the context of five randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of lay-delivered psychological interventions for Syrian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Turkey. We conducted semi-structured interviews with purposively selected researchers (N = 14) across all five countries. Data were analysed using codebook thematic analysis. The trial researchers highlighted how COVID-19 has had pervasive impacts across different components of the trial including recruitment, assessment, intervention delivery, and supervision. These impacts were considered to influence the external and internal scientific validity of these trials, as well as some aspects of trial administration such as budgeting and the workforce. Various mitigation strategies to adapt to constraints imposed by pandemic responses were described by researchers, such as shifting to a remote intervention delivery and evaluation or adding COVID-19 measures to better understand the impacts of COVID-19 on outcome data. The current piece provides an account of the impacts of COVID-19 on the conduct of trials of lay-delivered psychological interventions for refugees in five countries. Our findings will be valuable for researchers testing similar interventions during COVID-19 and other public health emergencies