An idiographic approach to idiopathic environmental intolerance attributed to electromagnetic fields (IEI-EMF) part I. Environmental, psychosocial and clinical assessment of three individuals with severe IEI-EMF.

IEI-EMF refers to an environmental illness whose primary feature is the occurrence of symptoms that are attributed to exposure to weak electromagnetic fields (EMFs). There is a growing evidence that this condition is characterized by marked individual differences thus a within-subject approach might add important information beyond the widely used nomothetic method. A mixed qualitative/quantitative idiographic protocol with a threefold diagnostic approach was tested with the participation of three individuals with severe IEI-EMF. In this qualitative paper, the environmental, psychosocial, and clinical aspects are presented and discussed (results of ecological momentary assessment are discussed in Part II of this study). For two participants, psychopathological factors appeared to be strongly related to the condition. Psychological assessment indicated a severe pre-psychotic state with paranoid tendencies, supplemented with a strong attentional focus on bodily sensations and health status. The psychological profile of the third individual showed no obvious pathology. Overall, the findings suggest that the condition might have uniformly been triggered by serious psychosocial stress for all participants. Substantial aetiological differences among participants with severe IEI-EMF were revealed. The substantial heterogeneity in the psychological and psychopathological profiles associated with IEI-EMF warrants the use of idiographic multimodal assessments in order to better understand the different ways of aetiology and to facilitate person-taylored treatments.

Body focus and cardioceptive accuracy are not associated with physical performance and perceived fatigue in a sample of individuals with regular physical activity.

It is often assumed that distracting attention from unpleasant body sensations evoked by physical exertion can alleviate perceived fatigue and increase physical performance. Also, the higher acuity of perception of heartbeats was associated with less physical performance in one study with sedentary participants. The current study was designed to shed more light on these associations. In a within-subject experiment, 98 students characterized by regular physical activity completed the Schandry-task assessing cardioceptive accuracy and cycled for 15 min on a bicycle ergometer at a convenient pace, listening to their own breathing through a headset (internal attention condition) or to distracting noises (external attention condition). Physical performance (number of pedal turns), physical exertion (heart rate), and self-reported fatigue were assessed for both tasks. Frequentist and Bayesian analyses showed no impact of the direction of attention and cardioceptive accuracy on physical performance, exertion, and perceived fatigue. In fact, the lack of association between cardioceptive accuracy and performance and perceived fatigue was more probable than the alternative hypothesis. Impact of distraction and cardioceptive accuracy on subjective and objective characteristics of physical exercise in the aerobic domain may be different for physically active and sedentary individuals. Future research in this area should systematically explore the background of these differences.

Accuracy of reproduction of physical training load is not associated with resting heartbeat perception in healthy individuals.

Previous research demonstrated that individuals are able to reliably reproduce their heart rate under physical load, however, they are prone to underestimate it. It was also assumed that the ability to perceive heartbeats under resting conditions might play a role in the regulation of physical activity. In an experimental setting, 47 young individuals were asked to complete the Schandry task and reproduce three different exercise intensities with respect to heart rate on a treadmill. Resting heartbeat counting was moderately related to replication performance under slight physical load, but not under more intense conditions. In all exercise conditions, participants were prone to underestimate their actual heart rate. No significant gender difference was revealed. Actual and perceived performance were moderately associated at rest, but not under physical load. In conclusion, perception of heartbeats at rest is related to replication of heart rate during physical activity only at very weak physical load.

Modern health worries in patients with affective disorders. A pilot study.

Background - Modern health worries (MHWs) are asso-ciated with various indicators of negative affect, conspiracy theories, and paranormal beliefs in healthy individuals. Purpose - The current pilot study aimed to assess MHWs and indicators of negative affect in patients with affective disorders (N = 66), as well as the possible associations between MHWs and paranoid and schizophrenic tendencies. Results - Compared to somatic patients, psychiatric patients showed higher levels of MHWs, somatosensory amplification, health anxiety, and somatic symptoms. Medium level associations between MHWs and paranoid (r = 0.35, p < 0.01) and schizophrenic (r = 0.37, p < 0.01) tendencies were also revealed. Somatosensory amplification (ß = 0.452, p < 0.001) and paranoia (ß = 0.281, p < 0.01) significantly contributed to MHWs in multiple linear regression analysis (R2 = 0.323, p < 0.001). Discussion - High (i.e. pathological) levels of negative affect can impact a number of related characteristics. Non-pathological paranoid tendencies might contribute to MHWs. The identification of paranoid tendencies seems to be relevant for the treatment of psychiatric patients exhibiting MHWs. Conclusion - Patients with affective disorders are characterized by higher levels of modern health worries, health anxiety, and somatosensory amplification. Modern health worries are associated with paranoid tendencies.

Multichannel Investigation of Interoception: Sensitivity Is Not a Generalizable Feature.

Objective: The term interoception refers to the perception of bodily cues. In empirical studies, it is assessed using heartbeat detection or tracking tasks, often with the implicit assumption that cardioception reflects general interoceptive ability. Studies that applied a multichannel approach measured only a limited number of modalities. In the current study, six modalities were assessed to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between the different sensory channels of interoception. Methods: For 118 university students (53% male) gastric perception (water load test), heartbeat perception (Schandry task), proprioception (elbow joint), ischemic pain (tourniquet technique), balancing ability (one leg stand), and perception of bitter taste were measured. Pair-wise correlation analysis and exploratory factor analyses (principal component analysis (PCA) and maximum likelihood (ML) extraction with oblimin rotation) were then carried out with a three-factor solution to investigate the underlying associations. Results: Correlation analysis only revealed significant associations between variables belonging to the same sensory modality (gastric perception, pain, bitter taste). Similarly, the three factors that consistently emerged in the factor analyses represented the three aforementioned modalities. Discussion: Interoceptive sensitivity assessed by using one channel only cannot be generalized. Interoceptive modalities carrying crucial information for survival are not integrated with other channels.

No effect of a pulsed magnetic field on induced ischemic muscle pain. A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

Empirical evidence supporting the effectiveness of pulsed (electro)magnetic field (PEMF) therapy on chronic and acute pain is equivocal. In the current randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled experiment, impact of a commercially available whole-body PEMF mat on acute ischemic muscle pain induced in the forearm was studied with the participation of 70 healthy volunteers. The device emitted a pulsed magnetic field with a repetition frequency of 2.05Hz and a maximum flux density of 25.3µT (rms). The highest dB/dt was 48mT/s. No differences between the groups receiving actual and sham PEMF were found in terms of pain threshold, pain tolerance, heart rate, and perceived decrease of pain. However, participants' expectation concerning the effectiveness of the intervention improved pain tolerance and affected perceived change of pain. In conclusion, the used PEMF device had no specific effect on acute ischemic muscle pain, while the contribution of the placebo effect was considerable.

[Changes in the subjective perception of the quality of life. Retrospective study of patients treated at the Thalassa House]. / A szubjektív életminoség változása. A Thalassa Házban kezelt páciensek retrospektív vizsgálata.

INTRODUCTION: Quality of life and psychosocial functioning are considered important factors both in psychiatric and psychotherapeutic rehabilitation; similarly they are useful outcome measures in prospective studies. In this paper we present a retrospective study conducted with patients treated in Thalassa Haz Psychiatric and Psychotherapeutic Rehabilitation Center (TH). METHOD: 1. Non-systematic review of the literature concerning quality of life and social functioning measures 2. Patients discharged form TH between 01. 01. 2008 and 31. 12. 2008 were included in the study. A semi-structured, patient reported instrument was used to assess psychosocial functioning, including single questions and an open-ended questions. Statistical analysis and manual content analysis were performed. RESULTS: 208 patients were contacted, 84 completed questionnaires were sent back and analysed. Less than 31% of the patients were rehospitalized within six months with the same problem. Subjective evaluation showed that 72% of the patients suffer less from the problem, with which they were treated in TH. The majority reported positive effect on interpersonal relations (67%) and autonomy (70%) due to the treatment. There is a significant correlation between treatment satisfaction and duration of treatment. The content analysis revealed significant negative correlation between generalisational content frequencies and treatment satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: Psychosocial functioning improved after treatment in the TH. Correlation was identified between treatment satisfaction and satisfaction with life, thus quality of life and duration of treatment. Combination of objective and subjective methods, as well as content analysis are useful measures in the effectiveness studies of therapeutic communities.