Search

Desensitization, the reduction of cognitive, emotional, and/or behavioral responses to a stimulus, is an automatic and unconscious phenomenon often experienced in everyday life. Exposure to violent media, especially violent video games, may cause desensitization to real-life violence. Desensitization to violence blocks empathy which is needed to trigger the moral reasoning process that triggers prosocial responding. Representative research was reviewed to examine links between exposure to violent video games and desensitization to violence in children and adolescents. It was concluded that exposure to violent video games increases the risk of desensitization to violence, which in turn may increase aggression and decrease prosocial behavior. Parents should be counseled to discuss the differences between real and screen violence, to encourage nonviolent problem-solving, and to provide empathy-building experiences for their children.

The article provides up-to-date scientific data on the clinical phenotype of depression in children and adolescents that were exposed to significant psychological trauma as a result of hostilities, terrorism, natural disasters, abuse, physical and sexual violence. The review presents the latest data on the prevalence of depression due to various traumatic factors, comorbidity of mental and neurological disorders, possible mechanisms of their relationship, treatment recommendations. Post-traumatic depressions (PTD) are widespread in children and adolescents and negatively affect the quality of life and significantly increase the risk of suicide and self-harming behavior. The presence of depression worsens the prognosis of post-traumatic stress disorder, the treatment response. Several psychotherapeutic interventions, including cognitive-behavioral therapy and eye-movement desensitization, are effective in the treatment of PTD. Psychopharmacological drugs, in particular antidepressants and mood stabilizers, have limited proven efficacy in PTD in pediatric practice. The use of these drugs in comorbid mental and neurological conditions has a higher level of evidence. Conclusions. Depression in children and adolescents due to psychological trauma remains an understudied topic. Future research should focus on the efficacy of pharmacological approaches to the treatment of posttraumatic depression and comorbid mental and neurological disorders, which is especially important for countries with low access to specialized psychotherapeutic care., У статті наведені сучасні наукові дані щодо клінічного фенотипу депресій у дітей та підлітків, які зазнали значущої психологічної травматизації в результаті воєнних дій, тероризму, природних катастроф, жорстокого поводження, фізичного та сексуального насильства. Обговорюються дані щодо поширеності депресій, зумовлених різними травматичними чинниками, коморбідності з психічними та неврологічними розладами, розглянуті можливі механізми їх взаємозв’язку, терапевтичні рекомендації. Посттравматичні депресії (ПТД) поширені серед дітей та підлітків, негативно впливають на якість життя та суттєво збільшують ризик суїциду та самоушкоджуючої поведінки. Наявність депресії погіршує прогноз перебігу посттравматичного стресового розладу, ефективність його терапії. Окремі психотерапевтичні втручання, зокрема когнітивно-поведінкова терапія та десенсибілізація рухами очей, є ефективними методами терапії ПТД. Психофармакологічні лікарські засоби (ПЛЗ), зокрема антидепресанти та стабілізатори настрою, мають обмежену доведену ефективність при ПТД у педіатричній практиці. Більший рівень доказовості має застосування цих ПЛЗ при коморбідних психічних та неврологічних розладах. Висновки. Депресія у дітей та підлітків внаслідок психологічної травматизації залишається недостатньо дослідженим розладом психіки. Майбутні дослідження мають бути направлені на вивчення ефективності фармакотерапевтичних підходів до лікування посттравматичної депресії та коморбідних психічних та неврологічних розладів, що є особливо важливим для країн з низьким доступом до спеціалізованої психотерапевтичної допомоги.

Condom education, an important part of comprehensive sexuality education, involves lessons on negotiating, motivating and demonstrating condom use. Expanding condom-related knowledge and skill reduces risks of unwanted pregnancy, HIV and sexually transmitted infections. Condom education for adolescents has been a controversial subject among parents, teachers, health professionals and the general public. Mothers are key stakeholders in efforts to implement such programmes. Therefore, this study explored factors associated with their attitudes towards the condom education for children aged 12-14 years. We used secondary data from the Myanmar Demographic and Health Survey. The sample includes mothers (N = 7011) who had at least one living child and responded to the question "Should children aged 12-14 be taught about condom use to prevent AIDS?" The answers yes, no and unsure were used as proxy for their attitudes. In total, 41.5% of the mothers agreed with the condom education. Mothers, who had an adolescent child, belonged to an ethnic minority, rural residents, low-educated, poor knowledge of HIV and condoms were less supportive of the condom education. These findings highlight the need for rural mothers in Myanmar to be given awareness about adolescent sexual and reproductive health focusing on HIV/AIDS and condom desensitization.

This article describes and examines a method of spatial suppression of extremely strong interfering signals (ISs) capable of complete desensitization and even damage of victim receivers’ input circuits. This method not only protects victim receivers but also allows them to reliably receive desired signals in the presence of such ISs, using adaptive hybrid nulling whose first stage is performed at the receivers’ analog inputs and the second stage is carried out in the receivers’ digital portions.

Purpose There is inadequate health care for patients with developmental disabilities (DD), due to a number of systemic issues. This case study describes the establishment of a medical-dental clinic in Montréal, Québec for adults with DD. The purpose of this paper is to describe the model of interdisciplinary care based on best practices, as an example to encourage a growing community of trained health professionals to serve this population. Design/methodology/approach Interviews with all the clinic staff and leadership were conducted on-site at the clinic, followed by document review and discussions with an embedded researcher in the organization. Findings The clinic was established through a series of events that led to public and government interest to act, the timely emergence of major donors, and bringing together several dedicated individuals and organizations. The core team engaged in consultation with clinics, followed by extensive billing analyses and iterative process mapping as a learning organization. Prior to patient visits, the clinic conducted detailed intake processes to adequately plan for each patient interaction. Desensitization visits were undertaken to improve patient tolerance for examination and treatment. The continual collection of data fed into an evaluation framework to facilitate continuous improvement and articulate a model for replication. Originality/value To the best of the authors knowledge, there is not a clinic of this nature serving this population in Canada. This work can serve to inform the efforts of other care providers looking to create a medical – dental home for this population.

Congenital Zika Syndrome (CZS) is characterized by changes in cranial morphology associated with heterogeneous neurological manifestations and cognitive and behavioral impairments. In this syndrome, longitudinal neuroimaging could help clinicians to predict developmental trajectories of children and tailor treatment plans accordingly. However, regularly acquiring magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has several shortcomings besides cost, particularly those associated with childrens' clinical presentation as sensitivity to environmental stimuli. The indirect monitoring of local neural activity by non-invasive functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) technique can be a useful alternative for longitudinally accessing the brain function in children with CZS. In order to provide a common framework for advancing longitudinal neuroimaging assessment, we propose a principled guideline for fNIRS acquisition and analyses in children with neurodevelopmental disorders. Based on our experience on collecting fNIRS data in children with CZS we emphasize the methodological challenges, such as clinical characteristics of the sample, desensitization, movement artifacts and environment control, as well as suggestions for tackling such challenges. Finally, metrics based on fNIRS can be associated with established clinical metrics, thereby opening possibilities for exploring this tool as a long-term predictor when assessing the effectiveness of treatments aimed at children with severe neurodevelopmental disorders.

Does Eye Movement and Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy affect the accuracy of memories? This recurrent issue in recent memory research bears relevance to expert witness work in the courtroom. In this review, we will argue that several crucial aspects of EMDR may be detrimental to memory. First, research has shown that eye movements undermine the quality and quantity of memory. Specifically, eye movements have been shown to decrease the vividness and emotionality of autobiographical experiences and amplify spontaneous false memory levels. Second, a sizeable proportion of EMDR practitioners endorse the controversial idea of repressed memories and discuss the topic of repressed memory in therapy. Third, in the Dutch EMDR protocol, patients are instructed to select the target image by using flawed metaphors of memory (e.g., memory works as a video). Such instructions may create demand characteristics to the effect that people over-interpret imagery during therapy as veridical memories. Collectively, the corpus of research suggests that several components of EMDR therapy (i.e., performing eye movements, therapist beliefs and therapeutic instructions) may undermine the accuracy of memory, which can be risky if patients, later on, serve as witnesses in legal proceedings. ispartof: MEMORY vol:29 issue:9 pages:1254-1262 ispartof: location:England status: published

In Parkinson's disease, both motor and neuropsychiatric complications unfold as consequence of both incremental striatal dopaminergic denervation and intensifying long-term dopaminergic treatment. Together, this leads to 'dopaminergic sensitization' steadily increasing motor and behavioral responses to dopaminergic medication that result in the detrimental sequalae of long-term dopaminergic treatment. We review the clinical presentations of 'dopaminergic sensitization', including rebound off and dyskinesia in the motor domain, and neuropsychiatric fluctuations and behavioral addictions with impulse control disorders and dopamine dysregulation syndrome in the neuropsychiatric domain. We summarize state-of-the-art deep brain stimulation, and show that STN-DBS allows dopaminergic medication to be tapered, thus supporting dopaminergic desensitization. In this framework, we develop our integrated debatable viewpoint of "changing gears", i.e., we suggest rethinking earlier use of subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation, when the first clinical signs of dopaminergic motor or neuropsychiatric complications emerge over the steadily progressive disease course. In this sense, subthalamic deep brain stimulation may help reduce longitudinal motor and neuropsychiatric symptom expression - importantly, not by neuroprotection but by supporting dopaminergic desensitization through postoperative medication reduction. Therefore, we suggest considering STN-DBS early enough before patients encounter potentially irreversible psychosocial consequences of dopaminergic complications, but importantly not before a patient shows first clinical signs of dopaminergic complications. We propose to consider neuropsychiatric dopaminergic complications as a new inclusion criterion in addition to established motor criteria, but this concept will require validation in future clinical trials. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Background/purpose Oral health care provision in long-term care settings is often limited by specific behaviors exhibited by residents, which may be interpreted as a refusal of care. Such behaviors can be attributed to oral tactile hypersensitivity (TH), which is characterized by aberrations in the perception of oral stimuli. TH is also associated with a decline in ingestion and swallowing function. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a technique for mitigating TH (TMH) among institutionalized older persons. Materials and methods In this study, 18 institutionalized older persons (Mean age, 90.6 ± 4.5 years; 92.9% females) with TH were randomized to a control group or an intervention group. Pre- and post-intervention assessments were conducted for seven participants in each group. Routine oral care was provided by the facility's staff in both groups. TMH in the intervention group was performed by a dental hygienist over a 3-month period. Results In the intervention group, the number of areas with TH was significantly reduced (P = 0.027). No significant change was observed in the control group. Conclusion The results of this study suggest that TMH can effectively mitigate TH. Our findings provide clinicians with an additional treatment option for hypersensitivity in older patients. Additional long-term studies with larger sample sizes are required to confirm the effectiveness of this technique.

Purpose Auditory training is known to improve the speech-perception-in-noise (SPIN) skills in children with auditory processing disorders (APDs); however, conventional non–computer-based trainings are dreary and nonmotivating. This study intended to develop a computer-based noise desensitization training module in Indian English and test the efficacy of the same in children with APD having SPIN deficits. There are no such modules available at present to be used in Indian children. Method The module incorporated words-in-noise training, with monosyllables and trisyllables as target words in the presence of speech-shaped noise as well as multitalker babble at different signal-to-noise ratios ranging from +20 to −4 dB SNR. The study included 20 children with SPIN deficits diagnosed with APD and who were recruited randomly to the experimental group who received the training ( n = 10; M age = 11.1 years) and to the control group who did not receive any training ( n = 10; M age = 11.4 years). The outcome measures included behavioral measures and electrophysiological measures (auditory long latency responses for speech in quiet and noise). Results Compared to children in the control group, children in the experimental group exhibited improvements in the SPIN scores as well as temporal processing measures after training. Dichotic consonant–vowel tests and auditory memory and sequencing tests did not yield significant improvement post training. Also, auditory long latency responses in quiet and noise revealed significant reduction in the amplitudes after training. No significant difference was noted in the latencies of auditory long latency responses post training. Control group participants did not show any significant difference in any of the measures between the initial and follow-up evaluations. Conclusions The developed training module was successful in fetching improvements in behavioral and electrophysiological measures. It would be a great addition to the evidence-based rehabilitation support inventory for children with SPIN deficits in India. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.14551041

This study examines the application of relaxation as a technique of counseling guidance to reduce anxiety in facing semester exams at STKIP Andi Matappa. The objectives of this study were: (1) to find out how the description of the implementation of systematic desensitization behavioral counseling techniques in reducing anxiety in facing student semester exams at STKIP Andi Matappa, (2) knowing how to describe the level of anxiety facing student semester exams before and after giving behavioral counseling of desensitization techniques systematic at STKIP Andi Matappa, and (3) knowing whether there is an effect of the application of systematic desensitization technique behavioral counseling on anxiety facing student semester exams at STKIP Andi Matappa. The results showed: (1) The level of student anxiety in facing the semester exams at STKIP Andi Matappa during the implementation of systematic desensitization technique behavioral counseling was in the very high category. (2) The level of student anxiety in facing semester exams at STKIP Andi Matappa during the implementation of systematic desensitization technique behavioral counseling is in the high category. (3) there is an influence on the level of student anxiety in facing the semester exams at STKIP Andi Matappa at the time of implementing the systematic desensitization technique behavioral counseling is in the low category.

Drug addiction is considered as a global epidemic which drastically affects millions of people worldwide, damaging an individual’s physiological, social, and psychological facets. One of the constructs that has been determined as an essential factor in the development of a variety of addictive behaviors is self-regulation. It plays an important role in predicting, maintaining, and treating addiction. In this study, the efficacy of Desensitization of Triggers and Urge Reprocessing (DeTUR), an Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) addiction protocol, in improving self-regulation was tested among fourteen (14) in-house clients of two drug treatment and rehabilitation centers using sequential explanatory mixed method research design wherein Self-regulation Inventory-Short Version (SRI-S) and individual interviews were employed. Results explicitly proved that self-regulation scores obtained significantly differed before, after, and even the delivery of delayed posttest using the EMDR as an intervention. The study confirmed that EMDR enhances the clients’ self-regulations (Overall SRI) and the sub-areas: positive actions, controllability, expressions of feelings and needs, assertiveness, and well-being seeking. Themes generated using thematic analysis further established a basis for the efficacy of EMDR.Keywords: drug addiction, self-regulation, Eye-movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR), Desensitization of Triggers and Urge Reprocessing (DeTUR)

Although there is growing evidence that receiving positive emotional support (e.g., empathy) facilitates improved mental health outcomes among intimate partner violence (IPV) victims, there has been minimal exploration of factors that might undermine the likelihood of such supportive responses. The current study addressed this issue by examining whether exposure to sexualized music videos would affect IPV victim-directed empathic responding of third-party respondents. In a three-condition design, 243 female Fijian university students viewed sexualized, nonsexualized, or neutral music videos. They then read about a male-to-female IPV incident involving a university student victim who focused heavily on academic success and rated aspiration-related culpability and empathic responding for the victim. Relative to those who viewed neutral and nonsexualized videos, those who viewed the sexualized video reported less victim-directed empathy. Moreover, the impact of video type on empathy was mediated by aspiration-related culpability (i.e., the perception that the victim studied too much). The present research examined, in an understudied, patriarchal population (Fijian women) with an extremely high rate of IPV, how exposure to sexualized music videos can contribute to both greater blame and greater desensitization to the suffering of an IPV victim. The importance of studying third-party responders (bystanders) is that they may represent a fundamental resource for the victim, or by contrast, if they fail to respond empathically, they would be unsupportive to a victim. This provides some directions for facilitating social controls and decreasing social tolerance for harmful patriarchal beliefs and gender-based violence in the Pacific Region of the world.

PURPOSE Alarm fatigue among working nurses is a well-documented, high-priority safety issue. This article describes a study to learn whether alarm fatigue develops in undergraduate nursing student populations. METHODS This longitudinal quantitative study employed survey data from a single cohort of nursing students in the Southeastern US over a period of 18 months to assess nursing students' level of sensitivity to alarms, including the call bell, bathroom, fall and safety, I.V. infusion pumps, and telemetry alarms. RESULTS These data were significant for I.V. infusion pump alarms and indicated a general decrease in sensitivity over an 18-month period. Nursing students with previous healthcare experience also noted decreased sensitivity to bathroom call bells and fall and safety alarms. CONCLUSION Alarm fatigue was recognized among the surveyed nursing students. Nurse educators also identified a performance-based strategy to increase student awareness of alarm fatigue and evidence-based strategies to minimize desensitization to alarms in both education and practice.

This study intended to observe mental symptoms among physicians in Turkey during the COVID-19 pandemic and to investigate the factors leading to such symptoms. The study participants were contacted via their smartphones between April 23 and 27, 2020, and invited to fill out an online questionnaire which included questions from the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). The mean age of the 406 physicians who participated in the study was 42.9 ± 10.1 years, and 53.4% were men (n: 217). During the pandemic, 66.7% had decreased working hours. Lack of COVID-related training, difficulty obtaining personal protective equipment (PPE), working in a COVID unit, and current psychiatric disease were found to be among the predictors of emotional burnout. Female gender, lack of COVID training, difficulty obtaining PPE, working in a COVID unit, and current psychiatric disease predicted desensitization. Facilitating continuous and comprehensive support mechanisms aimed at protecting physicians’ mental health is of great importance during epidemics.

Aims Medical procedures and hospitalizations can be experienced as traumatic and can lead to post-traumatic stress reactions. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) shows promising results but very few long-term studies have been published. Therefore, our aim was to test the long-term (8 months post-treatment) effectiveness of EMDR in children and adolescents with medically related subthreshold post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Methods and results Seventy-four children (including 39 with congenital or acquired heart disease) aged 4–15 (M = 9.6 years) with subthreshold PTSD after previous hospitalization were included into a parallel group randomized controlled trial. Participants were randomized to EMDR (n = 37) or care-as-usual (CAU) (n = 37; medical care only). The primary outcome was PTSD symptoms of the child. Secondary outcomes were symptoms of depression and blood–injection–injury (BII) phobia, sleep problems, and health-related quality of life (HrQoL) of the child. Assessments of all outcomes were planned at baseline and 8 weeks and 8 months after the start of EMDR/CAU. We hypothesized that the EMDR group would show significantly more improvements on all outcomes over time. Both groups showed improvements over time on child’s symptoms of PTSD (only parent report), depression, BII phobia, sleep problems, and most HrQoL subscales. GEE analyses showed no significant differences between the EMDR group (nT2 = 33, nT3 = 30) and the CAU group (nT2 = 35, nT3 = 32) on the primary outcome. One superior effect of EMDR over time was found for reducing parent-reported BII phobia of the child. Conclusion EMDR did not perform better than CAU in reducing subthreshold PTSD up to 8 months post-treatment in previously hospitalized children. Possible explanations and clinical implications are discussed.

Background Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may develop after exposure to a traumatic event. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an evidence-based psychological treatment for PTSD. It is yet unclear whether eye movements also reduce stress reactivity in PTSD patients. This study aims to test whether eye movements, as provided during Eye Movement Desensitization (EMD), are more effective in reducing stress reactivity in PTSD patients as compared to a retrieval-only control condition. Methods The study includes participants who meet criteria of PTSD of the public psychological services in Jakarta and Bandung, Indonesia. One hundred and ten participants are randomly assigned to either an (1) Eye Movement Desensitization group (n = 55) or (2) retrieval-only control group (n = 55). Participants are assessed at baseline (T0), post-treatment (T1), 1 month (T2), and at 3 months follow-up (T3). Participants are exposed to a script-driven imagery procedure at T0 and T1. The primary outcome is heart rate variability (HRV) stress reactivity during script-driven imagery. Secondary outcomes include heart rate (HR), pre-ejection period (PEP), saliva cortisol levels, PTSD symptoms, neurocognitive functioning, symptoms of anxiety and depression, perceived stress level, and quality of life. Discussion If the EMD intervention is effective in reducing stress reactivity outcomes, this would give us more insight into the underlying mechanisms of EMDR’s effectiveness in PTSD symptom reduction. Trial registration ISRCTN registry ISRCTN55239132. Registered on 19 December 2017.

The goal of the study was to investigate temporal dynamics of excessive violent game playing. We compared behavioral data and event-related potentials (ERPs) of excessive video game players (EVGPs, n = 21) and non-players (NPs, n = 21) using a classical learning, cued recall and recognition paradigm, featuring violent and non-violent words. During the recognition phase, EVGPs performed better for violent words, but worse for non-violent words compared to NPs. Also, EVGPs showed slower reaction times than NPs when responding to new violent words. We found significant group differences in parietal P300 and FN400 amplitudes. The EVGP group showed larger P300 amplitudes for violent words, and more negative FN400 amplitudes for new violent words compared to NPs. The results imply that EVGPs differ from NPs in their cognitive and ERP responses to violent and non-violent verbal stimuli. The cognitive processes of EVGPs are consistent with a model of attention and memory bias rather than with desensitization to violence.

This paper aims to map out the adaptive causal pathways of processes underlying capsaicin consumption and the desensitization process of the TRPV1 receptor as a feedback loop together with pain and pleasure perception. In order to map out these causal capsaicin pathways, adaptive causal network modeling was applied, which is a way of modeling biological, neural, mental and social processes from an adaptive causal modeling perspective.

Violent video game playing is a consistent risk factor for aggression, but research on its psychopathology and trait underpinnings are primarily based on community or university student samples, thus the ecological validity to adjudicated and juvenile justice system-involved youth lacks clarity. This is an important void in the literature because relative to youth in the general population, adjudicated and detained youth evince greater psychopathology, more severe delinquency and violence histories, and clinical psychopathic features. Negative binomial regression models using data from 252 youth in residential placements found that several psychopathic features are significantly associated with violent video gaming. The role of psychopathy operated differently across gender and arrest chronicity, and across models remorselessness emerged as an important correlate. Given the desensitization that can occur with violent video game play, it is of particular concern among delinquent youth with psychopathic personality features.

Las neurociencias han jugado un papel muy importante desde finales del siglo XX y los inicios del siglo XXI, en el estudio del comportamiento humano y el trauma psicológico, actualmente se cuenta con herramientas muy poderosas como las neuroimágenes para observar la actividad cerebral en tiempo real, estas permiten observar la actividad eléctrica y/o química de las áreas cerebrales que propician o no la regulación de la emocionalidad y el comportamiento. Se realizó una revisión y recolección de información de los últimos estudios realizados basándonos en fuentes confiables de consulta. La terapia EMDR es un modelo psicoterapéutico, fue descubierto y desarrollado por la doctora Francine Shapiro, en 1987. Consta de 8 fases: 1. Historia 2. Preparación 3. Evaluación 4. Desensibilización 5. Instalación 6. Chequeo corporal 7. Cierre y 8. Reevaluación (Shapiro, 2017). Incluye un protocolo de las tres vertientes: Pasado – Presente - Futuro. Recientemente se han publicado datos importantes de resultados de investigaciones en las que se evidencia el cambio en la activación de las áreas cerebrales antes, durante y después de la terapia EMDR. Propiciando el alivio del sufrimiento humano generado por trauma psicológico.

It has been proposed that exposure to violent video games (VVGs) resulted in alterations of social behaviors such as increased aggression. The most damaging reported effect of playing VVGs is neural desensitization to violent stimuli and this is a major concern given the reported number of players and time spent playing major video game titles. The aim of this study was to investigate the existence of neural desensitization that was reported at the P300 component of event-related potentials (ERPs) in response to violent stimuli. Eighty-seven participants were recruited and placed into one of two conditions based on their video gaming behavior (violent games players and nonplayers). ERPs were recorded from participants who passively viewed violent and neutral images selected from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS). The participants then played a VVG, postplaying ERPs were recorded while viewing the neutral and violent IAPS images. The mean amplitudes of the P300 were analyzed with respect to condition, time, and content. There was a significant effect of image but not of VVG player and nonplayer. The results were interpreted as evidence against the neural desensitization hypothesis. The findings of this study are consistent with imaging research and the implications for the reported negative effects of playing VVGs are discussed.

Background: Autism is a neurological disorder which can be associated with impaired behavioural patterns, expressive and receptive communication difficulties and challenges with social interaction. When combined these challenges can make dental treatment difficult. Therefore, dentists need to be skilled in appropriate dental management strategies for children with autism who attend their clinics for treatment. Rationale: Previous literature reviews have identified the use of traditional behavioural management techniques, such as physical restraints and general anaesthesia. This study aims to update the existing reviews and report effective contemporary techniques. Aim of the review: This literature review aims to document and record current dental strategies and techniques in treating children with autism. Methods: A systematic literature search within PubMed and EBSCO Host using the search terms “Dental strategies” OR dental techniques OR Dental manag* OR dental treat* OR dentist AND autism AND Child* was carried out. The search yielded 10 articles, once exclusion and inclusion criteria were applied and each article was assessed using the qualitative and quantitative CASP tools. Results: Four main themes emerged from a thematic analysis of the 10 articles: 1) Desensitization strategies. 2) Educational strategies. 3) Behavioural approaches. 4) Anaesthesia interventions. Evidence showed that current dental strategies like inter- professional collaboration and some visual strategies using the electronic screen media were particularly effective in treating children with autism within the clinical setting. Conclusion: A range of strategies in providing dental treatment to children with autism were identified. These strategies include desensitization, by various techniques (e.g. visual strategies and social stories, desensitization appointments), educational strategies (e.g. inter-professional collaboration), behavioural strategies and local anaesthesia. However, there is limited evidence regarding the effectiveness of these techniques particularly local anaesthesia and communication supports. Future research is needed to ascertain the effectiveness of these techniques, both in their own right and comparatively with each other.

In this paper, a second-order adaptive network model is presented for the effects of supernormal stimuli. The model describes via the underlying mechanisms in the brain how responses on stimuli occur in absence of a supernormal stimulus. Moreover, it describes how these normal responses are lost after a supernormal stimulus occurs and due to that adaptive desensitization takes place. By simulated example scenarios, it was evaluated that the model describes the expected dynamics. By stationary point analysis correctness of the implemented model with respect to its design was verified.

In the United States, rape culture is a prevalent phenomenon that has contributed to desensitization to scenes in popular media that might have been considered unacceptable in the past. This paper ...

Study Design Pilot randomized controlled trial with parallel groups. Introduction Engaging individuals with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) awaiting carpal tunnel decompression surgery in a preoperative rehabilitation program may mitigate pain and sensorimotor impairments, enhance functional abilities before surgery, and improve postoperative outcomes. Purpose of the Study To assess the feasibility and the efficacy of a novel preoperative neuromobilization exercise program (NEP). Methods Thirty individuals with CTS were randomly allocated into a four-week home-based neuromobilization exercise group or a standard care group while awaiting surgery. Outcome measures included feasibility (ie, recruitment, attrition, adherence, satisfaction, and safety) and efficacy metrics (ie, median nerve integrity and neurodynamics, tip pinch grip, pain, and upper limb functional abilities) collected before (ie, at the baseline and about four weeks later) and four weeks after surgery. Results Thirty individuals with CTS were recruited (recruitment rate = 11.8%) and 25 completed the study (attrition rate = 16.7%). Adherence (94%) and satisfaction with the program (eg, enjoy the exercises and likeliness to repeat the NEP (≥4.2/5) were high and no serious adverse event was reported. NEP-related immediate pre- and post-surgery beneficial effects on pain interference were documented (P = .05, η2 = .10), whereas an overall increased neurodynamics (P = .04, η2 = .11) and decreased pain severity (P = .01, η2 = .21) were observed. Discussion Engaging in the proposed NEP has limited beneficial effect as a stand-alone intervention on pre- and post-surgery outcomes for individuals with CTS. Expanding the program’s content and attribute by adding other components including desensitization maneuvers and novel therapies promoting corticospinal plasticity is recommended. Conclusion A preoperative NEP completed by individuals with CTS awaiting surgery is feasible, acceptable, and safe. However, given the limited beneficial effectsof the program, revision of its content and attributes is recommended before proceeding to large-scale trials.

Purpose Misophonia is a sound tolerance disorder condition in certain sounds that trigger intense emotional or physiological responses. While some persons may experience misophonia, a few patients suffer from misophonia. However, there is a dearth of literature on audiological assessment and management of persons with misophonia. The purpose of this report is to discuss the assessment of misophonia and highlight the management option that helped a patient with misophonia. Method A case study of a 26-year-old woman with the complaint of decreased tolerance to specific sounds affecting quality of life is reported. Audiological assessment differentiated misophonia from hyperacusis. Management included retraining counseling as well as desensitization and habituation therapy based on the principles described by P. J. Jastreboff and Jastreboff (2014). A misophonia questionnaire was administered at regular intervals to monitor the effectiveness of therapy. Results A detailed case history and audiological evaluations including pure-tone audiogram and Johnson Hyperacusis Index revealed the presence of misophonia. The patient benefitted from intervention, and the scores of the misophonia questionnaire indicated a decrease in the severity of the problem. Conclusions It is important to differentially diagnose misophonia and hyperacusis in persons with sound tolerance disorders. Retraining counseling as well as desensitization and habituation therapy can help patients who suffer from misophonia.

Aim: To evaluate the efficacy of different possible and non-pharmacological techniques in eliminating the discomfort of local anaesthesia injection during dental procedures. Introduction: Dental anxiety and fear of needles are one of the most common problems seen by dental practitioners; several methods are currently used to lower the discomfort of local anaesthesia injection during dental procedures. The desensitization of injection sites is one of the recommended strategies. Among chemical anaesthetic topical agents that are effective but might have allergic side effects, using some non-pharmacological and safe techniques might be useful. Materials and Methods: Randomly chosen patients receiving LA underwent pre-injection intervention that included heat, cold and pressure. This was compared with a control of no pre-injection intervention. Pain score in ice and LA spray pre-injection intervention. It clearly shows that the pain levels in the LA spray technique are higher than those in the Ice technique. Results: Comparing the pain score of ice as a pre-injection intervention between males and females it was found that males have lower pain scores than females. Conclusion: This study shows a significant advantage of the non-pharmacological method over the pharmacological method. Hence further research could help standardize ice application pre-injection for a more nontoxic and natural method of reducing pain during an LA injection. It can also prove beneficial when LA does not work due to an acidic environment.

Post-concussive visually induced dizziness (VID), in which symptoms are provoked by exposure to complex visual motion, is associated with protracted recovery. Although vestibular rehabilitation therapy (VRT) is recommended to treat post-concussive dizziness, there is sparse literature reporting on specific VRT interventions treating VID.A consecutive series of 26 individuals referred for VRT post-concussion were retrospectively assessed for inclusion in this case series. Each participant underwent a combination of conventional VRT and a technology-enhanced visual desensitization home exercise program (HEP). Self-report and objective measures were recorded from initial and discharge therapy evaluations. Twenty-three individuals (mean age 23.1 ± 12.4) with post-concussive dizziness (mean 109 ± 56 days post-injury) and no evidence for peripheral vestibular dysfunction were included. Treatment duration averaged 6.9 ± 2.5 weeks.There were significant improvements in post-intervention on subjective and objective measures of dizziness and gait (The combination therapy intervention improved outcome measures consistent with VRT treatment outcomes in both concussion and non-traumatic vestibular conditions. Individuals referred for VRT post-concussion warrant assessment for VID and may benefit from the addition of technology-enhanced visual desensitization.

Noise hypersensitivity is a poorly understood symptom of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). For some, problem behaviors co-occur with the aversive noise. Limited literature exists on treating noise hypersensitivity; however, noise hypersensitivity may be related to a specific phobia. This case study utilizes modified Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to address anxiety, avoidance, and problem behaviors evoked by noise in a teen with ASD and mild Intellectual Disability (ID). Using multi-method assessment and individualized treatment, problem behaviors reduced, and independent coping strategies use occurred. Successful desensitization supports the efficacy of modified CBT as a treatment for noise-related anxiety and problem behaviors in individuals with ASD and ID. Outcomes are discussed considering intervention difficulties for noise hypersensitivity in a complex and diverse population.

Premier HealthCare, a member of the YAI Network, specializes in outpatient healthcare services (such as primary care, dentistry, psychiatry, rehabilitation, psychotherapy, psychological testing, and nutrition) for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in New York City. This is one of the most in need, yet underserved, groups of medical and dental patients. Many people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have difficulty understanding the significance of healthcare procedures and become overwhelmed by the unfamiliar environment and sensory input of medical and dental practices. They may also have difficulty with communication and socialization, which can exacerbate anxiety and challenging behaviors such as self-stimulation, self-injury, aggression, and tantrums. Additionally, this heightened level of stress can potentially translate into disruptive behaviors or physical reactions to avoid treatment. These challenges combined with a lack of healthcare professionals trained and experienced in working with people with ASD can result in ineffective preventative care and high-cost procedures. At Premier HealthCare, a desensitization program was initiated to increase functional participation in medical and dental exams and decrease use of physical restraints or general anesthesia for people with ASD. An interdisciplinary team of occupational therapists, behavior analysts, doctors, nurses, and dentists collaborate to address how to make medical and dental procedures more tolerable for patients with special needs using a protocol comprising of four main stages: evaluation, treatment, generalization, and maintenance. They work with caregivers to provide person-centered individualized care, ultimately leading to decreased anxiety, fear, and aggressive behaviors; increased participation; and better health outcomes for people with autism.

Minority youth, because of structural, ecological, and societal inequalities, are at heightened risk of reporting depression and experiencing negative sanctions associated with delinquency. Sociological theories suggest that greater exposure to ecological risk factors at the peer, family, school and community levels are associated with elevated rates of youth depression and delinquency. Desensitization theory posits that repeated exposures to ongoing stressors result in a numbing of psychological and behavioral responses. Thus, it remains unclear whether racial/ethnic differences exist with regards to how contextual stressors correlate with depression and delinquency. Using a sample of 616 Black, 687 Latinx, and 1,318 White youth, this study explores racial/ethnic differences across four ecological risk factors of risky peers, low family warmth, poor school engagement, and community violence as they relate to youth delinquency and depression. Data were collected through in-school survey of youth from 16 public schools surrounding a major city in the Midwest. Significant racial/ethnic differences provided partial support for the desensitization theory. Among Black youth, the magnitude of relationships between ecological risk factors and delinquency was significantly weaker for three of the four predictors and for all four predictors of depression in comparison to White youth. Among Latinx youth, the magnitude of relationships between ecological risk factors was significantly weaker for depression, but not delinquency, in comparison to White youth. Results indicate that ecological risk factors may have differential associations to youth depression and delinquency, which may call for culturally tailored intervention approaches.

The fear of the dentist, dental anxiety and dental phobia continue to concern the medical world, seeking to elucidate the causes, calculate the prevalence and its implications on the oral health of the population, as well as identify the most effective methods to combat it. The survey included 208 patients, who were treated and investigated, in the period 2018-2019. The questionnaire consisted of 15 questions, structured in 3 sections: socio-demographic data, oral hygiene habits and past experience, during dental treatment, with analysis of dental anxiety, using modified MDAS. The mean value of MDAS in the study group was 11.7 ± 4. Most of the respondents (80%) had medium or low dental anxiety. High levels of anxiety were observed in 20% of patients, including 12% with dental phobia. A statistically significant correlation was found between the mean values of the MDAS and sex (p = 0.030), age (p

Studies about Islamist inspired terror attacks in the Western world have identified a recently declining impact on public opinion. What explains this development? I argue that the wider audience of terrorist attacks has become desensitized. Cognitive desensitization occurs when citizens increasingly expect an attack, reducing the likelihood of attitudinal change. Emotional desensitization occurs when audiences lose sensitivity to attacks, tempering emotional arousal. To assess the implications of desensitization, I analyze a survey conducted around the Berlin Christmas market attack in 2016 and account for baseline information of the surveyed individuals, an approach not used before due to data limitations. I find that attitudes like trust in government, national identification and views of Islam remain unchanged. Sadness and anger are heightened in the immediate aftermath of the attack. The wider German audience may thus have expected an attack, but still be emotionally sensitive to it in the short term. These findings are relevant as political leaders have justified important policy changes in fields like migration and even war-making with reference to supposed shifts in public opinion after attacks.

An online questionnaire survey investigated (1) management and (2) treatment methods for firework fears in dogs employed by dog owners and their (perceived) effectiveness. A PCA on data from 1225 respondents revealed four management strategies (i.e. interventions during firework exposure): the principal components “Environmental modification” (e.g. providing a hiding place, keeping windows and blinds closed, and playing music), “Feed/Play” (providing the dog with chews, play and food during fireworks in general, as well as contingent on loud bangs), “Alternative” (use of calming nutraceuticals, pheromones, herbal products, homeopathic products, Bach flowers, and essential oils) and “Interaction” (allowing body contact, petting and talking to the dog when loud bangs occurred). To explore possible effects of these management methods on fear development, the components were correlated with a score for fear progression. Of the four components, only “Feed/Play” was statistically associated with an improvement in fear responses to fireworks. To evaluate the effectiveness of various treatment strategies, owners were asked to select from a range of options which interventions they had used and whether they considered them as effective. With prescription medication (N=202), improvements were noted by 69% of owners, with high success rates reported for the most frequently prescribed drugs, alprazolam (91%) and Sileo® (74%). While individual products were not evaluated, the reported success rates for the categories “pheromones” (N=316), “herbal products” (N=282), “nutraceuticals” (N=211), “essential oils” (N=183), “homeopathic remedies” (N=250) and “Bach flowers” (N=281) were all in the range of 27-35%, which is not higher than would be expected based on a placebo effect. Pressure vests were deemed as effective by 44% of respondents (N=300). Counterconditioning (providing desirable stimuli after the occurrence of noises) was the most successful training technique according to the owners (N=694), with a reported effectiveness of over 70%. Relaxation training (N=433) was reported to be almost as successful at 69%, while noise CDs (N=377) were effective in 55% of cases. Thus, counterconditioning, relaxation training and anxiolytic medication appear to be the most effective strategies in the treatment of firework fears in dogs. On this basis it is recommended that ad-hoc counterconditioning and relaxation training should complement the standard behavioral technique of desensitization/ counterconditioning with noise recordings.HighlightsAn online survey on treatment options for firework fears in dogs was performedFeeding or playing with dogs during fireworks was associated with fear improvementSuccess was highest for ad-hoc counterconditioning, relaxation training and medicationSuccess was similar for pheromones, nutraceuticals and other alternative productsSuccess rates for these alternative products are consistent with a placebo effect

Separation anxiety is one of the most commonly diagnosed behavioral disorders in domestic dogs and a principal reason for relinquishment of dogs to animal shelters. While pharmacologic and behavioral interventions can be effective in treating this disorder, they require a significant investment of time and effort on the part of the owner to be successful. Failures in compliance are frequent. In this case report, a mixed-breed dog presented with hyper-attachment to the owner and severe separation anxiety that was poorly responsive to pharmacologic and behavior-modification treatment. While continuing the pharmacologic treatment, the dog was provided a novel behavioral intervention. This intervention relied on a newly developed device consisting of machine learning–enabled computer vision and a positive reinforcement mechanism, which was used as part of a counter-conditioning and desensitization program in both the owner's presence and, subsequently, absence. This treatment was able to significantly reduce the signs of separation anxiety within 12 weeks of therapy, allowing the dog's owner to leave her apartment for 30 minutes without the dog showing any signs of separation anxiety. Interactive devices that present cognitive challenges requiring engagement may provide a valuable tool for addressing separation distress in dogs.

This research investigated the desensitization signs shown by the Lebanese audience to the violence portrayed on Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad. The research’s study was a qualitative case study of the theory of desensitization applied on two Lebanese participants, each watching respectively the series Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones. The participants were chosen based on the fact that one had never watched Breaking Bad and the second had never watched Game of Thrones. The participants were interviewed pre-series, and then throughout the exposure to several episodes. The descriptive experiment led to the results that after repeated exposure to Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad, the Lebanese viewer, even if already tolerant to on-screen violence, showed desensitization signs to the violence, drugs, incest and rape portrayed on-screen in the two series. Key words: Television series, desensitization, Lebanese audience.

Work-related upper extremity injuries result in significant functional and psychological symptoms. Early psychological intervention in an interdisciplinary setting is highly effective in promoting adjustment to these injuries. Patients can simultaneously heal physically and adjust emotionally through the use of imaginal exposure, cognitive reprocessing, and behavioral desensitization. This allows for reduction of social stigma, adjustment to altered functioning, and return to a productive lifestyle. The interdisciplinary team approach fosters credibility and acceptance of psychological interventions for this population.

Purpose of the study: This paper is a study on the novel A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. It is an analysis of Alex’s psychological condition and a study on the Ludovico experiment in relation to other popular experiments in psychology. The paper brings to light the dark and evil side of adolescence. Methodology: This study uses a psychological approach in analyzing the character of the protagonist Alex. Various psychological theories are applied in this paper to interpret this novel. Main Findings: Examining Alex’s depiction in the novel, he is presumed as a sociopath with a narcissistic personality disorder. The Ludovico experiment which stole the limelight in this novel is a behavioral modification technique, powered by negative reinforcement. Despite being a fictional experiment and a product of Burgess’s imagination, the Ludovico experiment is stemmed out of Ivan Pavlov’s classical conditioning. This experiment also complements Watson and Rayner’s ‘Little Albert’ experiment. The termination of Alex’s free will by the Ludovico experiment is reversed by the flooding method of desensitization. Applications of this study: The novel, A Clockwork Orange is brimming with psychological theories, hence a fascinating book to the psychologists. The protagonist Alex, continues to remain as a case-study amongst the scholars of psychology. Novelty/Originality of this study: The final chapter in the novel has various interpretations. The reversal of Alex’s condition is caused by the flooding method of desensitization. While the cause of reversal holds varied comprehension, the flooding method seems like the fitting one.

Hoppers respond not only to stimuli from the ground surfaces but also to cues generated by their own behaviors. This leads to desensitization because although the afferent and reafferent signals have distinct causes, they are carried by the same sensory channels. From a behavioral viewpoint, it may be necessary to distinguish between signals from the two causes especially when monitoring changes in the external environment separate from those due to self-movement. We were able to separate afferent sensory stimuli from self-generated, reafferent signals using an action-oriented perception system and dynamic programming approach. This effort addressed the question of how the nerve system selects which particular degree of freedom (DOF) to cancel reafferent input. We have proposed an internal one-DOF model characterizing the motor control system during hopping, allowing the generation of an estimated ground reaction signal to drive natural shock absorption of the leg.

Previous research showed mixed evidence on how violent video game exposure (VVGE) may affect empathy for pain in the brain. This study applied an event-related potential (ERPs) approach to improve understanding of how habitual and short-term violent game play may affect top-down and bottom-up empathy for pain brain responses. A total of 58 male participants with different levels of habitual VVGE performed a pain judgment task before and after 40 min of violent game play while their brain responses were recorded. Results showed that only late cognitive-evaluative ERP responses (P3, P625) were sensitive to the pictures’ painfulness, which were also affected by both habitual VVGE and short- term violent game play. As expected, participants with no habitual VVGE showed an ERP pain effect before game play: higher P3 and P625 amplitudes for painful versus nonpainful pictures. In contrast, a similar ERP pain effect was not observed in participants with high VVGE before game play, suggesting habitual desensitization. Short-term violent game play resulted in lower P3 and P625 amplitudes for painful pictures in the no VVGE group, indicating short-term desensitization. We discuss the observed VVGE desensitization effects in terms of top-down regulation of an empathetic response induced by painful stimuli. Though such adaptation could be beneficial in a violent game environment, possible long-term consequences associated with reduced empathic responsiveness in a social context should be further studied. In all, our findings contribute to the debate on the effects of VVGE on the brain by pro- viding first ERP evidence suggesting empathy for pain desensitization.

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are at risk for oral health disparities. With the dramatic rise in ASD prevalence to 1 in 54 children, it is likely that an increasing number of dental practitioners will encounter or be asked to treat children with ASD. This paper reviews explanations related to the increasing prevalence of ASD, provides reasons why children with ASD are at increased risk for poor oral health, and discusses unique interprofessional collaborations between dental practitioners and occupational therapists. Occupational therapists and dentists can work together to plan modifications to the dental environment or adapt dental protocols to reduce some of the barriers encountered by those with ASD, provide desensitization strategies before the clinic visit, or help a child with emotional regulation during clinical treatments.

Background and objectivesFor many psychotherapies, like Eye Movement and Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy, there is an ongoing discussion about the role of specific versus non-specific mechanisms in their effectiveness However, experimental research directly examining the potential role of non-specific mechanisms is scarce. Here, we address the role of a non-specific factor that is often put forward for EMDR, namely treatment effectiveness expectations, within a laboratory model of EMDR therapy.MethodsIn a lab-based (N = 96) and an online experiment (N = 173), we gave participants verbal instructions to manipulate their treatment expectations. Instructions emphasized EMDR's effectiveness or ineffectiveness. Then, participants were asked to recollect an unpleasant autobiographical memory with or without making eye-movements.ResultsIn line with previous studies, we found significant reductions of reported vividness and emotionality of negative autobiographical memories in the eye-movements condition. These reductions did not differ between the verbal suggestions conditions in both experiments, suggesting a limited effect of treatment effectiveness suggestions.LimitationsTreatment effectiveness expectations were not successfully manipulated by the suggestions manipulation. This suggests that treatment expectations may be more difficult to influence than anticipated, thus limiting the interpretation of our findings.ConclusionsThese findings tentatively corroborate the results of two earlier reports, suggesting that the effects of verbal suggestions about treatment effectiveness in a laboratory model of EMDR therapy may be limited.

Before the publication of particular datasets, in order to protect the private information while preserving the usability as much as possible, desensitization is required. Automatic identification and evaluation of sensitive attributes are prerequisites for targeted desensitization of datasets, sensitivity can also reflect the effect of desensitization in turn. However, existing desensitization systems all rely on predefined desensitization model with respect to manually given sensitivity levels, which is subjective and unable to be applied end-to-end. Besides, there is no way for the user to tell whether the desensitization is performed enough or superfluous. In this demonstration, we present an interactive system for sensitivity-aware desensitization towards tabular data (SaDes). It automatically evaluates the risks of re-identification for arbitrary columns according to record-linkage attack, and performs desensitization accordingly. The risks of re-identification for the desensitized data can be immediately evaluated such that the user can iteratively execute desensitization in order to achieve a better balance between the usability and privacy. To the best of our knowledge, SaDes is the first system that provides automatic sensitivity evaluation and interactive desensitization in a back-to-back manner.

Multi-modal Motion-assisted Memory Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (3MDR), an interactive, virtual-reality assisted, exposure-based intervention for PTSD, has shown promising results for treatment-resistant Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (TR-PTSD) among military members (MMs) and Veterans in Randomized Controlled Trials. Previous research has suggested that emotional regulation (ER) and emotional dysregulation (ED) may be factors which are correlated with symptom severity and maintenance of TR-PTSD. This embedded mixed-methods pilot study (n=9) sought to explore the impact of 3MDR on ER and ED of MMs and Veterans. Difficulties in Emotional Regulation Scale (DERS-18) data was collected at baseline, prior to each session, and at 1 week, 1 month and 3 months post-intervention and analyzed using a Wilcoxon signed-ranks test. Qualitative data collected from sessions, debriefs, and follow-up interviews were transcribed and descriptively analyzed. Results demonstrated statistically significant decreases in DERS-18 scores from pre-intervention to post-intervention at each timepoint. Qualitatively, participants perceived improvements in ER within specified DERS-18 domains. We describe how 3MDR’s unique and novel approach may address ED through cognitive-motor stimulation, narration, divergent thinking, reappraisal of aversive stimuli, dual-task processing, and reconsolidation of traumatic memories. Further investigation is underway to better understand the underlying neurobiological mechanisms by which 3MDR addresses ER and PTSD.

Exposure to different tones of movie violence has been shown to affect viewers in different ways. Particularly, exposure to violence designed to evoke a comedic reaction may cause an overall desensitization to violence, more so than violence of a serious nature. There is a significant gap in current literature regarding analysis of the nature of different tones of movie violence. This study seeks to explore said gap, particularly with regards to PG-13 rated movies. Eight PG-13 rated films were randomly selected from 1984 to 2019 and through a mixed-method approach, were each subjected to a content analysis. All eight of the films contained at least one instance of comedic violence, but the presence of serious violence was significantly more prevalent. Instances of comedic violence were all supported through stylistic and theoretical indications of comedy. This study finds that some of the most highly viewed films engage in the practice of making violence humorous, which has been found to have a negative effect on viewers. Future research should apply the method developed for this study on a broader scale and to different genres of film.