Inducing Effects of Illegal Drugs to Improve Mental Health by Self-Regulation Therapy: A Pilot Study

Background: This study consists of a brief psychological intervention, which uses Self- Regulation Therapy (SRT, procedure based on suggestion and classical conditioning), to improve coping with stress and emotionality by reproducing the positive effects of illegal drugs: cannabis, cocaine, ecstasy. Method: 15 volunteers (8 males, 7 females), with a mean age of 24.6 (SD = 4.4), underwent intervention to improve their coping with stress and emotionality using SRT. They carried out pre- and post-intervention scores for 10 days and during a 4-week follow-up. The employed instruments were: BSS (Barber Suggestibility Scale); COPE (Coping Skills Inventory), and PANAS (Positive and Negative Affect Schedule). Results: SRT was superior to non-intervention for the 4 coping strategies (h2 = 0.829, 0.453, 0.411 and 0.606) and for positive (h2 = 0.371) and negative emotionality (h2 = 0.419). An improvement in scores was evidenced in the follow-up scores compared to the pre-intervention measures. Conclusions: This study shows for the first time that it is possible to use illegal drugs, considered harmful to public health, to improve young people's coping capacity and emotionality by reproducing their positive effects with SRT

Invariant energy in short-term personality dynamics

Caselles, A.; Amigó, S.; Micó, JC. (2020). Invariant energy in short-term personality dynamics. 36-41. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/178203S364

A proposal for quantum short time personality dynamics

Micó, JC.; Amigó, S.; Caselles, A. (2020). A proposal for quantum short time personality dynamics. 102-108. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/178215S10210

Biology and personality: a mathematical approach to the body-mind problem

[EN] Purpose ¿ The purpose of this paper is to investigate the body-mind problem from a mathematical invariance principle in relation to personality dynamics in the psychological and the biological levels of description. Design/methodology/approach ¿ The relationship between the two mentioned levels of description is provided by two mathematical models as follows: the response model and the bridge model. The response model (an integro-differential equation) is capable to reproduce the personality dynamics as a consequence of a determined stimulus. The invariance principle asserts that the response model can reproduce personality dynamics at the two levels of description. The bridge model (a second-order partial differential equation) can be deduced as a consequence of this principle: it provides the co-evolution of the general factor of personality (GFP) (mind), the it is an immediate early gene (c-fos) and D3 dopamine receptor gene (DRD3) gens and the glutamate neurotransmitter (body). Findings ¿ An application case is presented by setting up two experimental designs: a previous pilot AB pseudo-experimental design (AB) pseudo-experimental design with one subject and a subsequent ABC experimental design (ABC) experimental design with another subject. The stimulus used is the stimulant drug methylphenidate. The response and bridge models are validated with the outcomes of these experiments. Originality/value ¿ The mathematical approach here presented is based on a holistic personality model developed in the past few years: the unique trait personality theory, which claims for a single personality trait to understand the overall human personality: the GFP. Keywords Integro-differential equation, Body-mind problem, Bridge model, General factor of personality, Response model, Second-order partial differential equation, c-fos, DRD3, Glutamate, Methylphenidate Paper type Research paperMicó, JC.; Amigó, S.; Caselles, A.; Romero, PD. (2021). Biology and personality: a mathematical approach to the body-mind problem. Kybernetes. 50(5):1566-1587. https://doi.org/10.1108/K-03-2020-0138S1566158750

Flexural characteristics of sunlight-aged polyester composites: influence of processing variables

[EN] This work presents the results of flexural tests carried out on samples aged for different periods of time in a UV-Visible light chamber. The processing variables studied were the type of reinforcing fabric, the resin type, and the cure conditions. The evolution of flexural characteristics with time exposure adjusts to a mathematical model that corresponds to a damped exponential curve. The aging degree varies between 16 and 41%, depending on the preparation of the composites and the mechanical characteristics of the material. The aged material featured losses of its mechanical properties, and more on toughness than on strength properties. The kind of unsaturated o-phthalic polyester resin used showed no influence on the loss of mechanical properties. High cure temperatures decreased the loss of toughness to a higher degree than that observed for the loss of strength. The configuration of the reinforced fabrics used also influenced the mechanical properties: a mixed taffeta-multiaxial reinforced configuration leads to a high loss index on toughness properties and modulus of the composite.Segovia-López, F.; Ferrer, C.; Salvador Moya, MD.; Amigó, V. (2002). Flexural characteristics of sunlight-aged polyester composites: influence of processing variables. Journal of Testing and Evaluation. 30(1):20-26. doi:10.1520/JTE12285JS202630

A genetic algorithm to calibrate dynamical systems : Confidence intervals for parameters and residuals

This paper presents a genetic algorithm to calibrate dynamical systems that is able to calculate confidence intervals for the parameters of the system. As an application case is used to calibrate the system that reproduces the dynamical response of the General Factor of Personality (GFP) to a given stimulus, particularly to a stimulant drug dose. The model is called in Literature as the response model and includes an integro-differential equation. The presented application case is a single case ABC experimental design where the stimulus is methylphenidate

The general factor of personality : history of an interdisciplinary venture

The General Factor of Personality (GFP) is a new psychological approach of the study of the human personality that is based on the idea that, as in the case of General Intelligence, there is a personality super-factor that agglutinates and represents all the other aspects of personality. Therefore, it can be considered as a system of personality subsystems, or a global and integrated system of all the different components from the personality

Learning to be a psychostimulants addict with self-regulation therapy

This article presents the results of a single-case experiment of alternative treatments in which a participant applied the Self-Regulation Therapy (SRT) to reproduce the effects of a stimulant drug, methylphenidate, and a sedative, alcohol. The SRT is a learning procedure based on classic conditioning and suggestion that reproduces the effect of drugs by remembering the effects they have. The participant reproduced the effects of both drugs during ten sessions held on 5 consecutive days. To record effects, adjective scales were used that measured Drug effect, High, Rush, Energy, Tension and the General Factor of Personality (GFP). The results indicated that the participant was capable of independently reproducing the effects of both the above-cited drugs, and that most of these effects were graphically represented as an inverted U-shape. This inverted U can be interpreted as a process in which effects of drugs become progressively more marked (sensitization) to become progressively less marked (tolerance). In this way, the inverted U represents the equivalent to a complete process of becoming addicted to a drug. The participant ?learnt to be an addict? without using drugs. The theoretical implications and therapeutic potential of this procedure are discussed

Advances in the general factor of personality dynamics

This paper presents a dynamical integro-differential equation to reproduce the dynamical response of the General Factor of Personality (GFP) to a stimulus dose, particularly to a stimulant drug dose. The model is called in the past authors publications as response model. We refer to it as the old response model, due to a new response model presented here that solves partially the problem of the model validation: how to forecast the GFP dynamical response from a previous model calibration. The application case presented is an individual ABC experimental design where the stimulus used is methylphenidate.