Casting for the Cure

A group of Swiss investigators has reported on a new conceptualization of the effects of behavioral conditioning in allergic rhinitis in the fourth 2008 issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics.

Allergic symptoms can be induced by behavioral conditioning. However, the conditionability of antiallergic effects has not yet been studied. Thus, in this study the Authors investigated whether the effects of a histamine 1 (H1) receptor antagonist are inducible in patients suffering from house-dust mite allergy using a behavioral conditioning procedure. During the association phase, 30 patients with allergic house-dust mite rhinitis received a novel-tasting drink once daily, followed by a standard dose of the H1 receptor antagonist, desloratadine, on 5 consecutive days. After 9 days of drug washout, the evocation trial commenced: 10 patients received water together with an identically looking placebo pill (water group), 11 patients were re-exposed to the novel-tasting drink and received a placebo pill [conditioned stimulus (CS); CS group] and 9 patients received water and desloratadine (drug group). During the association phase, desloratadine treatment decreased the subjective total symptom scores, attenuated the effects of the skin prick test for histamine and reduced basophil activation ex vivo in all groups. During the evocation trial, the water group, in which subjects were not re-exposed to the gustatory stimulus, showed a reduction in subjective total symptom scores and skin prick test results, but no inhibition of basophil activation. In contrast, re-exposure to the novel-tasting drink decreased basophil activation, the skin prick test result and the subjective symptom score in the CS group to a degree that was similar to the effects of desloratadine in the drug group.

Food may not be the major cause of hyperactivity in children. Genetics, brain function and parental actions such as smoking may be just as important.

A review of scientific evidence found only a minority of children were actually affected by what they eat. A combination of food, genetics and environmental toxins are more likely to be involved, with no single factor to blame.

Foods which might affect behaviour, in particular table sugar were studied. No adverse effects were seen in children who had a sugary drink versus a drink with artificial sweetener. Parents often believe their children’s diet is making them hyperactive and think changes in the food provided is the answer to the problem. However changing your child’s diet is not likely to settle their over active behaviour.

ADHD (attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder) has a strong genetic link, with half the children born of parents with diagnosed ADHD likely to develop the disorder themselves. Chemical imbalances in the brain are also involved and studies have found that children with the condition have on average 4% smaller brains. Genes may interact with environmental toxins such as alcohol in the womb, lead, and parental smoking to cause later problems with attention span.

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Video games that energize players and induce a positive mood could also enhance creativity, according to media researchers. However, the study also finds that players who were not highly energized and had a negative mood, registered the highest creativity.

“You need defocused attention for being creative,” said S. Shyam Sundar, professor of film, video and media studies at Penn State. “When you have low arousal and are negative, you tend to focus on detail and become more analytical.”

Sundar and Elizabeth Hutton, a Penn State graduate student, are trying to understand the value of video games as a vehicle for sparking positive social traits, such as creativity. Fun and games aside, video games are viewed as a serious communication technology. Schools, corporations and even the government are increasingly employing it as a tool in enhancing learning and decision-making.

“Video games are not just for entertainment alone,” says Sundar. “We are trying to figure out how they can aid in education as well.”

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