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The origin and continuity of Phanerozoic lithostratigraphic terranes in southern and Baja California remain an unsolved issue in Cordilleran tectonics. We present data from eight detrital zircon samples collected across the southern extent of the Peninsular Ranges that help constrain the provenance of detritus and the depositional ages of these basement units. Detrital zircon signatures from units in the eastern Peninsular Ranges correlate with Palaeozoic passive margin assemblages in the southwestern North American Cordillera. Units in the central belt, which consists of Triassic–Jurassic metasedimentary turbidite assemblages that probably deformed in an accretionary prism setting, and Cretaceous metasedimentary and metavolcanic units that represent the remnants of a continental margin arc, were derived from both proximal and more distal sources. The westernmost units, which are locally structurally interleaved with the Triassic through Cretaceous units of the central belt, are Cretaceous deposits that represent a series of collapsed basin complexes located within and flanking the Cretaceous Alisitos volcanic island arc. Cretaceous intra-arc units show little influx of cratonal material until approximately 110 Ma, whereas coeval sediments on the northern and eastern flanks of the Alisitos arc contain abundant cratonal detritus. Intra-arc strata younger than approximately 110 Ma contain large amounts of Proterozoic and older detrital zircons. These data suggest that basins associated with the Alisitos arc were either too distant or somehow shielded from North American detritus before 110 Ma. In the case of the former, increased influx of continental detritus after 110 Ma would support a tectonic model in which the arc was separated from North America by an ocean basin and, as the arc approached the continent, associated depositional centres were close enough to receive input from continental sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Up to one-third of individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) do not benefit from evidence-based psychotherapy. We examined the efficacy of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) as a complementary treatment option. In a prospective, bicentric, assessor-blinded, randomized, and actively controlled clinical trial, 125 patients with OCD and residual symptoms after cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) were randomized to either an MBCT group (n = 61) or to a psychoeducational group (OCD-EP; n = 64) as an active control condition. At post-treatment, there was no significant benefit of MBCT over OCD-EP with the Yale-Brown-Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) as the primary outcome measure, but with the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory [OCI-R; F(1, 101) = 5.679, p = .036, effect size η 2 partial  = 0.053]. Moreover, the response rate and the improvement on secondary outcomes such as obsessive beliefs and quality of life was significantly larger in the MBCT group. Non-completion rates were below 10%. At the 6-month follow-up, OC symptoms were further improved in both groups; group differences were no longer significant. Our findings suggest that MBCT, compared to a psychoeducational program, leads to accelerated improvement of self-reported OC symptoms and secondary outcomes, but not of clinician-rated OC symptoms. In the midterm, both interventions yield similar and stable, but small improvements, suggesting that additional treatment options may be necessary.

Background: Studies evaluating the stability of alexithymia over long follow-up periods are rare. We examined the temporal stability of alexithymia in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) over 6 years and the association of alexithymia with the long-term outcome of OCD., Sampling and Methods: Of 42 patients with OCD, 34 (81%) could be reassessed 6 years after inpatient treatment. The 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale, Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale, and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale were used at pretreatment, posttreatment, and follow-up., Results: The 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale total scores and its factors 1 and 2 decreased significantly during follow-up, whereas factor 3 remained stable. High correlations of the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale total scores (r = 0.84, P < .001) and its 3 factors emerged between posttreatment and follow-up, suggesting relative stability over several years. Regression analyses (with and without controlling for depressive symptoms) showed that higher alexithymia scores did not predict a worse long-term outcome of OCD., Conclusions: Relative stability over such a very long follow-up period strongly supports the view that alexithymia is a stable psychologic characteristic in patients with OCD. The result that higher alexithymia scores were not associated with poorer long-term outcome of OCD might be explained with the decrease of alexithymia during treatment and follow-up. However, our sample size was small, and further research is clearly required to evaluate the impact of changes in alexithymia and its association with the course of OCD.

Background: Alexithymia as a predictor of treatment outcome in psychotherapy has often been discussed but rarely evaluated in prospective studies. The present study evaluated the absolute and relative stability of alexithymia in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and the predictive value of alexithymia for the outcome of treatment., Methods: We conducted a prospective study with 42 inpatients receiving intensive, multimodal cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). Patients were assessed for alexithymia at pre- and post-treatment with the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), for obsessive-compulsive symptoms and depression with the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) and the 21-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS)., Results: OCD and comorbid depression showed a highly significant symptom-reduction from pre- to post-treatment while no absolute changes in the TAS-20 total scores and its factors 1 and 3 occurred. Only factor 2 scores decreased significantly, but with a smaller effect size than the effect sizes for the changes in Y-BOCS and HDRS. Alexithymia scores at pre-treatment correlated significantly with alexithymia scores at the end of treatment, indicating its relative stability. In the linear regression analyses, no variables were identified that predicted significantly the outcome of treatment., Conclusions: Our findings support the view that alexithymia is a stable personality trait rather than a state-dependent phenomenon in obsessive-compulsive patients. Alexithymia scores do not predict response to multimodal CBT in OCD. It might be an effect of CBT that patients could at least partly regain or newly learn the capability to describe their feelings., (Copyright 2004 S. Karger AG, Basel)