Week 10 Flashcards
How to test for placebo in rats?
* ** for studying placebo-induced analgesia
* Use a conflict-reward assay where rodents ** in order to **
* Conditioned rats to expect morphine or PBS by ** during ** sessions in which the rats were subjected to **
* During a third session, **
* ** percent of the rats that had previously received morphine showed ** while this effect was eliminated with **
How to test for placebo in rats?
* Operant-based pain assay for studying placebo-induced analgesia
* Use a conflict-reward assay where rodents express their willingness to withstand thermal pain in order to obtain a sweet
reward
* Conditioned rats to expect morphine or PBS by injecting them with one or the other during 2 sessions in which the rats were subjected to mild thermal pain on their faces.
* During a third session, both groups were
given the saline injection,
* 30-40 percent of the rats that had previously received morphine showed placebo-induced analgesia while this effect was eliminated with naloxone
Is meditation in the same class as placebo??
* One month of integrated mind body meditation, a form of mindfulness meditation, has been shown to ** as measured by the Profile of Mood States
* Meditation also reduces the **, increases(**) activity, and changes the ** surrounding the ** as measured by ** in ** studies
* How might a purely mental exercise such as paying attention to the present moment work to produce these changes in behavior
and brain connectivity
Is meditation in the same class as placebo??
* One month of integrated mind body meditation, a form of mindfulness meditation, has been shown to reduce self-reported anxiety as measured by the Profile of Mood States
* Meditation also reduces the stress hormone cortisol, increases ventral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) activity, and changes the white matter pathways surrounding the ACC as measured by increased fractional anisotropy in diffusion tensor imaging studies
* How might a purely mental exercise such as paying attention to the present moment work to produce these changes in behavior
and brain connectivity
- Introduction – smoking behaviour
* Although it is harmful to every single organ system and smokers are aware of the increased risks, it is difficult for individuals to
stop smoking
* Additionally, one concern that some sociologists have is that smoking/nicotine (gateway drug) **
* Although smoking appears to be declining there are few options for those who continue smoking such as ** and ** - Self-control
* One rationale for persistent smokers has been **
* Self-control at an early age **
* Furthermore there is some evidence to suggest that lack of self- control may result from ** such as the ** and the **
- Introduction – smoking behaviour
* Although it is harmful to every single organ system and smokers are aware of the increased risks, it is difficult for individuals to
stop smoking
* Additionally, one concern that some sociologists have is that smoking/nicotine (gateway drug) lowers the barriers for other
addictive drugs in vulnerable teenagers
* Although smoking appears to be declining there are few options for those who continue smoking such as stress and cue-
induced forms of smoking addiction - Self-control
* One rationale for persistent smokers has been the lack of control of some individuals
* Self-control at an early age has been suggested to increase better outcomes of mental health
* Furthermore there is some evidence to suggest that lack of self- control may result from decreased functioning of some areas of the brain such as the ACC and the dlPFC
- Introduction – meditation and control
* There is both an increasing interest in mindfulness meditation and accruing evidence that engaging in this can increase **
* There is a great deal of inconsistency in the literature regarding **, lack of ** and lack of **
* Recent studies using **) has been shown to reduce **, improve **,
increase ** and ** (how cool is that?) after a few ** of training
- Introduction – meditation and control
* There is both an increasing interest in mindfulness meditation and accruing evidence that engaging in this can increase levels of self-control
* There is a great deal of inconsistency in the literature regarding the use of controls, lack of randomization and lack of biological
endpoints
* Recent studies using integrative-body meditation training (IBMT) has been shown to reduce stress, improve attention,
increase positive emotions and self-control (how cool is that?) after a few hours of training
- Methods and Results – biological
* fMRI analysis of resting state measures Fractional Amplitude of Low Frequency Fluctuation (fALFF) used to assess addiction, PTSD, attention, MCI, and early onset
Alzheimer’s Disease
* Whole brain fALFF taken 2 weeks prior to training where smokers had reduced activity in the ACC and dlPFC – this was interpreted as a reduction in the self-control of smokers
* 2 weeks after training had occurred there were improvements observed in these areas after IBMT but not after RT - Conclusions
* As mindfulness meditation involves training for self-control, it
has been shown to be particularly well suited for addictions
related to alcohol, smoking, opiates etc.
* All studies on mindfulness have to be taken with caution as there are caveats on randomization and controls
* No correlations in amount of smoking reduction and amount of increased fALFF
* Literature is mixed and results from this study regarding reduced PCC fits some but not all of the literature
