Some researchers have suggested that a depressed mood state is associated with alterations in responses to pain. The authors examined cognitive, behavioral, and affective responses of 75 randomly assigned participants to depressed, neutral, or elated mood state induction conditions and subjected them to the cold-pressor task. Because they were unsuccessful in inducing elated moods, the authors used only the data for the depressed and neutral states as they measured pain threshold, tolerance, and unpleasantness during the test. After the task, the authors measured sensory, affective, and evaluative responses to the cold-pressor pain, as well as the participants' catastrophizing ideation about the painful procedure. The depressed mood state group, compared with the neutral group, had significantly lower cold-pressor tolerance times and higher pain catastrophizing scores. These results support previous findings that a depressed mood state may be associated with alterations in some pain responses.
COVID-19 infection may involve the nervous system and has been associated with a number of neuropsychiatric complications, including impairment of cognition and dementia. Such complications are more likely to occur in (but are not limited to) patients with severe COVID-19 infections and those with concomitant risk factors. In this case report, the authors describe a normally functioning 51-year-old woman who developed cognitive impairment of a degree that rendered her unable to care for herself most likely related to a relatively nonsevere infection with COVID-19 about 2 months earlier. A detailed report of her deficits of different areas of cognitive functioning is provided. This report aims to make clinicians more aware of the potential for cognitive impairment in patients who have suffered from COVID-19, including those with infections that were not severe.
Research and assessment skills are important competencies for psychologists to possess regardless of their professional role. Participating in collaborative research during graduate training is an effective way for graduate students to gain a diversity of experiences in these areas. The current work describes the training opportunities in a collaborative research project examining mental health effects of the Gulf Oil Spill on Mississippi coastal residents. An additional function of this collaborative research project was to assess the mental health services provided in the context of the spill. The purpose of this article is to emphasize the opportunities that accompany exposure to methodological issues associated with collab orative research, as well as experience with public health administration (i.e., provision of psychological services). In addition, we emphasize the importance of having an understanding of the real-world implications of collected data (e.g., via presentations, publications, and agency reports). Suggestions are offered with respect to the incorporation of such experiences into graduate training curricula.
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