How did therapy change me? – a meta-synthesis of patients’ experiences of change and mechanisms of change in individual psychotherapy

Formålet med denne metasyntesen var å undersøke hva pasienter opplevde bidro til deres endringsprosesser og hva de opplevde som endret ved deltakelse i individuell psykoterapi. Litteratursøk og kvalitetsvurdering av fagfellevurderte kvalitative undersøkelser frem til september 2020 ble gjennomført, som resulterte i 30 inkluderte artikler. Funnene understreker en terapeutisk relasjon bygget over tid og basert på tillit som sentral for utforskning av selvet og i å utvide pasienters selvforståelse. Denne fasiliterte forståelse for hva som er i behov av endring og gav retning til pasienters endringsprosesser, innenfor et samarbeidende terapeutisk miljø. Økt mental, emosjonell og fysisk stabilitet, i tillegg til økt selvaksept, økt aksept for erfaringer og for egen situasjon ble identifisert som sentrale utfall av psykoterapeutiske endringsprosesser, sett fra pasienters perspektiv. Sentrale bidrag til pasienters erfaringer av endring fra psykoterapi diskuteres i lys av eksisterende psykoterapiforskning, kliniske implikasjoner fremheves og metodologiske refleksjoner drøftes.Hovedoppgave psykologprogrammetPROPSY317PRPSY

Biphenyl-4,4′-dicarb­oxy­lic acid N,N-dimethyl­formamide monosolvate

Biphenyl-4,4′-dicarb­oxy­lic acid was recrystallized from N,N-dimethyl­formamide (DMF) yielding the title compound, C14H10O4·2C3H7NO. The acid mol­ecules are located on crystallographic centres of inversion and are hydrogen bonded to DMF mol­ecules. These hydrogen-bonded units form infinite chains although there is no inter­action between the methyl groups of neighboring DMF mol­ecules

Diagnosing Schizophrenia from Activity Records using Hidden Markov Model Parameters

The diagnosis of Schizophrenia is mainly based on qualitative characteristics. With the usage of portable devices which measure activity of humans, the diagnosis of Schizophrenia can be enriched through quantitative features. The goal of this work is to classify between schizophrenic and non-schizophrenic subjects based on their measured activity over a certain amount of time. To do so, the periods in which a subject was resting or active were identified by the application of a Hidden Markov model (HMM). The trained model parameters of the HMM, such as the mean or variance of activity during the state of rest or activity, are used as classification features for a logistic regression model. Our results indicate that the features from the HMM are significant in classifying between schizophrenic and non-schizophrenic subjects. Moreover, the features outperform the features derived through other methods in literature in terms of goodness-of-fit and classification performance.acceptedVersio

Reduced heart rate variability during mania in a repeated naturalistic observational study

BackgroundBipolar disorder (BD) is a chronic recurrent mood disorder associated with autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysfunction, indexed by heart rate variability (HRV). Changes in HRV between mood states are sparsely studied longitudinally. We aimed to compare HRV of hospitalized manic individuals with their own euthymic selves in a naturalistic observational study.Methods34 individuals were included, of which 16 were lost to follow-up. Ultimately 15 patients provided reliable heart rate data in both a manic and euthymic state, using photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor wristbands overnight. We calculated HRV measures Root Mean Square of Successive Differences (RMSSD), High-frequency (HF: 0.15–0.40 Hz), Low-frequency (LF: 0.40–0.15 Hz), Very low-frequency (VLF: 0.0033–0.04 Hz), Total power and Sample Entropy in 5-min night-time resting samples. We compared HRV measures by mood state within individuals using paired t-tests and linear regression to control for age and sex.ResultsHRV was lower in the manic state when compared to the euthymic state for all HRV metrics (p ≤ 0.02), with large to medium effect sizes (g = 1.24 to 0.65). HRV changes were not significantly affected by age or sex.ConclusionThis longitudinal study provides evidence of lower HRV in manic states compared to euthymia, indicating an association between ANS dysregulation and changes in bipolar mood state. This corroborates previous cross-sectional studies, although the association may be less clear or reversed in hypomanic states. Further investigation in larger longitudinal samples is warranted

HTAD: A Home-Tasks Activities Dataset with Wrist-Accelerometer and Audio Features

In this paper, we present HTAD: A Home Tasks Activities Dataset. The dataset contains wrist-accelerometer and audio data from people performing at-home tasks such as sweeping, brushing teeth, washing hands, or watching TV. These activities represent a subset of activities that are needed to be able to live independently. Being able to detect activities with wearable devices in real-time is important for the realization of assistive technologies with applications in different domains such as elderly care and mental health monitoring. Preliminary results show that using machine learning with the presented dataset leads to promising results, but also there is still improvement potential. By making this dataset public, researchers can test different machine learning algorithms for activity recognition, especially, sensor data fusion methodsacceptedVersio

Phenotypic and genetic characterization of Piscirickettsia salmonis from Chilean and Canadian salmonids

Background. The study presents the phenotypic and genetic characterization of selected P. salmonis isolates from Atlantic salmon and rainbow trout suffering from SRS (salmonid rickettsial septicemia) in Chile and in Canada. The phenotypic characterization of the P. salmonis isolates were based on growth on different agar media (including a newly developed medium), different growth temperatures, antibiotics susceptibility and biochemical tests. Results. This is the first study differentiating Chilean P. salmonis isolates into two separate genetic groups. Genotyping, based on 16S rRNA-ITS and concatenated housekeeping genes grouped the selected isolates into two clades, constituted by the Chilean strains, while the Canadian isolates form a branch in the phylogenetic tree. The latter consisted of two isolates that were different in both genetic and phenotypic characteristics. The phylogenies and the MLST do not reflect the origin of the isolates with respect to host species. The isolates included were heterogeneous in phenotypic tests. Conclusions. The genotyping methods developed in this study provided a tool for separation of P. salmonis isolates into distinct clades. The SRS outbreaks in Chile are caused by minimum two different genetic groups of P. salmonis. This heterogeneity should be considered in future development of vaccines against this bacterium in Chile. Two different strains of P. salmonis, in regards to genetic and phenotypic characteristics, can occur in the same contemporary outbreak of SRS.publishedVersio

Complexity and variability analyses of motor activity distinguish mood states in Bipolar Disorder

Changes in motor activity are core symptoms of mood episodes in bipolar disorder. The manic state is characterized by increased variance, augmented complexity and irregular circadian rhythmicity when compared to healthy controls. No previous studies have compared mania to euthymia intra-individually in motor activity. The aim of this study was to characterize differences in motor activity when comparing manic patients to their euthymic selves. Motor activity was collected from 16 bipolar inpatients in mania and remission. 24-h recordings and 2-h time series in the morning and evening were analyzed for mean activity, variability and complexity. Lastly, the recordings were analyzed with the similarity graph algorithm and graph theory concepts such as edges, bridges, connected components and cliques. The similarity graph measures fluctuations in activity reasonably comparable to both variability and complexity measures. However, direct comparisons are difficult as most graph measures reveal variability in constricted time windows. Compared to sample entropy, the similarity graph is less sensitive to outliers. The little-understood estimate Bridges is possibly revealing underlying dynamics in the time series. When compared to euthymia, over the duration of approximately one circadian cycle, the manic state presented reduced variability, displayed by decreased standard deviation (p = 0.013) and augmented complexity shown by increased sample entropy (p = 0.025). During mania there were also fewer edges (p = 0.039) and more bridges (p = 0.026). Similar significant changes in variability and complexity were observed in the 2-h morning and evening sequences, mainly in the estimates of the similarity graph algorithm. Finally, augmented complexity was present in morning samples during mania, displayed by increased sample entropy (p = 0.015). In conclusion, the motor activity of mania is characterized by altered complexity and variability when compared within-subject to euthymia.publishedVersio

Objective assessment of motor activity in a clinical sample of adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and/or cyclothymic temperament

Background Most research on patterns of motor activity has been conducted on adults with mood disorders, but few studies have investigated comorbid attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or temperamental factors that may influence the clinical course and symptoms. Cyclothymic temperament (CT) is particularly associated with functional impairment. Clinical features define both disorders, but objective, biological markers for these disorders could give important insights with regard to pathophysiology and classification. Methods Seventy-six patients, requiring diagnostic evaluation of ADHD, mood or anxiety disorders were recruited. A comprehensive diagnostic evaluation, including the CT scale of the Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris and San Diego – Auto-questionnaire (TEMPS-A), neuropsychological tests and actigraphy, was performed. ADHD was diagnosed according to the DSM-IV criteria. There was a range of different conditions in this clinical sample, but here we report on the presence of CT and ADHD in relation to motor activity. Twenty-nine healthy controls were recruited. We analyzed motor activity time series using linear and nonlinear mathematical methods, with a special focus on active and inactive periods in the actigraphic recordings. Results Forty patients fulfilled the criteria for ADHD, with the remainder receiving other psychiatric diagnoses (clinical controls). Forty-two patients fulfilled the criteria for CT. Twenty-two patients fulfilled the criteria for ADHD and CT, 18 patients met the criteria for ADHD without CT, and 15 patients had neither. The ratio duration of active/inactive periods was significantly lower in patients with CT than in patients without CT, in both the total sample, and in the ADHD subsample. Conclusions CT is associated with objectively assessed changes in motor activity, implying that the systems regulating motor behavior in these patients are different from both healthy controls and clinical controls without CT. Findings suggest that actigraphy may supplement clinical assessments of CT and ADHD, and may provide an objective marker for CT.publishedVersio

Diurnal variation of motor activity in adult ADHD patients analyzed with methods from graph theory

Attention-deficit /hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental syndrome characterized by age-inappropriate levels of motor activity, impulsivity and attention. The aim of the present study was to study diurnal variation of motor activity in adult ADHD patients, compared to healthy controls and clinical controls with mood and anxiety disorders. Wrist-worn actigraphs were used to record motor activity in a sample of 81 patients and 30 healthy controls. Time series from registrations in the morning and evening were analyzed using measures of variability, complexity and a newly developed method, the similarity algorithm, based on transforming time series into graphs. In healthy controls the evening registrations showed higher variability and lower complexity compared to morning registrations, however this was evident only in the female controls. In the two patient groups the same measures were not significantly different, with one exception, the graph measure bridges. This was the measure that most clearly separated morning and evening registrations and was significantly different both in healthy controls and in patients with a diagnosis of ADHD. These findings suggest that actigraph registrations, combined with mathematical methods based on graph theory, may be used to elucidate the mechanisms responsible for the diurnal regulation of motor activity.publishedVersio