Examining Military Population And Trauma Type As Moderators Of Treatment Outcome For First-Line Psychotherapies For PTSD: A Meta-Analysis

There is conflicting evidence as to whether military populations (i.e., veteran and active-duty military service members) demonstrate a poorer response to psychotherapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) compared to civilians. Existing research may be complicated by the fact that treatment outcomes differences could be due to the type of trauma exposure (e.g., combat) or population differences (e.g., military culture). This meta-analysis evaluated PTSD treatment outcomes as a function of trauma type (combat v. assault v. mixed) and population (military v. civilian). Unlike previous meta-analyses, we focused exclusively on manualized, first-line psychotherapies for PTSD as defined by expert treatment guidelines. Treatment outcomes were large across trauma types and population; yet differences were observed between trauma and population subgroups. Military populations demonstrated poorer treatment outcomes compared to civilians. The combat and assault trauma subgroups had worse treatment outcomes compared to the mixed trauma subgroup, but differences were not observed between assault and combat subgroups. Higher attrition rates predicted poorer treatment outcomes, but did not vary between military populations and civilians. Overall, manualized, first-line psychotherapies for PTSD should continue to be used for civilians and military populations with various trauma types. However, greater emphasis should be placed on enhancing PTSD psychotherapies for military populations and on treatment retention across populations based on findings from this meta-analysis

Exploring dynamic lighting, colour and form with smart textiles

This paper addresses an ongoing research, aiming at the development of smart textiles that transform the incident light that passes through them – light transmittance – to design dynamic light without acting upon the light source. A colour and shape change prototype was developed with the objective of studying textile changes in time; to explore temperature as a dynamic variable through electrical activation of the smart materials and conductive threads integrated in the textile substrate; and to analyse the relation between textile chromic and morphologic behaviour in interaction with light. Based on the experiments conducted, results have highlighted some considerations of the dynamic parameters involved in the behaviour of thermo-responsive textiles and demonstrated design possibilities to create interactive lighting scenarios.This work is supported by FEDER funds through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness Factors – COMPETE and National Funds through FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology within the scope of the projects SFRH/BD/87196/2012, POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007136 and UID/CTM/00264. The authors also like to acknowledge Smart Textiles Design Lab for the support on the prototype development.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Non-locality and quasiclassical reality in Kent's formulation of relativistic quantum theory

We report Adrian Kent's proposed framework for a realist, one-world, Lorentz-invariant formulation of quantum theory. The idea is to postulate a final boundary condition: in effect, a late-time distribution of mass-energy recording how photons scattered off macroscopic objects. Nature selects this final boundary condition with the orthodox late-time Born probability; and this defines the probability space of events, to give a realist quantum theory. We emphasize two topics. First, we consider this formulation's verdicts about traditional locality conditions, such as Outcome Independence and Parameter Independence. Second, we discuss a possible amendment to Kent's proposal that, roughly speaking, allows for the emergence of a quasiclassical history even when mass-energy is shielded or delayed from appearing in the final boundary condition.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Journal of Physics: Conference Serie

Emergence of qualia from brain activity or from an interaction of proto-consciousness with the brain: which one is the weirder? Available evidence and a research agenda

This contribution to the science of consciousness aims at comparing how two different theories can explain the emergence of different qualia experiences, meta-awareness, meta-cognition, the placebo effect, out-of-body experiences, cognitive therapy and meditation-induced brain changes, etc. The first theory postulates that qualia experiences derive from specific neural patterns, the second one, that qualia experiences derive from the interaction of a proto-consciousness with the brain\u2019s neural activity. From this comparison it will be possible to judge which one seems to better explain the different qualia experiences and to offer a more promising research agenda

Conducting Psychopathology Prevention Research in the RDoC Era.

The Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) initiative promoted by the National Institute of Mental Health emphasizes a dimensional approach to psychopathology that is agnostic to DSM diagnosis. The RDoC project offers exciting possibilities for advancing research aimed at preventing psychopathology. However, prevention has historically been defined using diagnostic status, requiring the field to redefine what constitutes prevention using an RDoC approach. This article outlines new criteria for prevention in the RDoC context and provides guidance for implementing these criteria. We also describe the role of prevention-mechanism trials that examine whether preventive interventions change proximal etiological mechanisms known to be associated with psychopathology. We hope that these modified criteria and recommendations will stimulate new possibilities for prevention research that will advance the field

The impact of aversive context on early threat detection in trauma exposed individuals and associations with post-traumatic stress symptoms.

IntroductionProlonged attentional bias to threat (AB) is associated with posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). However, it is unclear whether this relationship extends to early threat detection (elicited by masked stimuli) and/or varies if AB is measured during an aversive context.MethodsTwo trauma-exposed samples of either intervention-seekers (N = 50) or community members (N = 98) completed a masked dot-probe task to measure early AB to angry faces in safe vs. aversive contexts (i.e., during threat of aversive noises).ResultsLinear mixed effects models showed that an aversive context increased the orienting responses in both samples; however, PTSS did not moderate these effects in either sample.LimitationsSample size and heterogeneity of trauma-type may have impacted effect of PTSS on AB.ConclusionThese results highlight the importance of assessing AB in varying contexts and examining generalizability across populations. Given prior research, the results also suggest that increased AB in PTSS may only be present for later attentional processes rather than early threat detection, at least with behavioral methods

Characteristics of veterans and military service members who endorse causing harm, injury, or death to others in the military.

ObjectiveThe purpose of the present research was to examine the demographic and mental health characteristics of veterans and service members who endorsed having caused harm, injury, or death to another person on deployment, while taking these individuals' total number of other lifetime traumas into account.MethodData for the present study were collected as part of the standard clinical evaluation for 228 treatment-seeking veterans and service members.ResultsThose who reported having caused harm, injury, or death to another person on deployment (22.4%) were more likely to be male, to have served in the Marines, to have served post 9/11, and to endorse other traumas commonly reported on deployment than those who did not endorse causing harm, injury, or death. Those who endorsed causing harm on deployment were less likely to have served in the Air Force, and to have experienced sexual assault than those who did not cause harm. Causing harm, injury, or death was associated with higher levels of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), drug use, and expressive anger at the bivariate level, but was no longer associated with mental health problems after accounting for the number of other lifetime traumas.ConclusionsExamining the role of causing harm in isolation may lead to false conclusions. Clinicians and researchers should assess for veterans' and service members' entire trauma histories. (PsycINFO Database Recor