J., J., & Iacono, W. G. (2001). Assessing the validity of amnesia in dissociative identity disorder: A Dilemma for the DSM and the Courts. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 7(2), 311-344.
Abstract:
Amnesia, as a central descriptive and diagnostic feature of dissociative identity disorder (DID), has received little empirical study. The few published studies are generally consistent in finding that direct tests of memory (e.g., recall and recognition) produce reports of interidentity amnesia but less transparent indirect tests of memory tend to show evidence of memory transfer between identities. Such findings highlight the need for more objective measures of memory in DID and raise questions concerning the nature of amnesia in DID. At present, empirical research fails to unequivocally substantiate patients' claims of amnesia between identities, and reports of such amnesia should not be regarded as conclusive in legal proceedings. The authors propose that psychophysiological measures of memory may provide such an objective measure and can further illuminate the nature of the reported memory deficits in DID.
J., J., & Iacono, W. G. (1997). A comparison of methods for the analysis of event-related potentials in deception detection. Psychophysiology, 34(2), 234-240.
PMID: 9090275;Abstract:
We previously reported that a Bayesian-based event-related potential memory assessment procedure (Allen, lacono, and Danielson, 1992. Psychophysiology, 29, 504-522) was highly accurate at identifying previously learned material, regardless of an individual's motivational incentive to conceal information. When a bootstrapping procedure (Farwell and Donchin, 1991. Psychophysiology, 28, 531-5475) is applied to these same data, greater motivational incentives appear to increase the accuracy of the procedure. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to examine these two procedures and a new procedure. ROC curves indicated that all three methods produce extremely high rates of classification accuracy and that the sensitivity of the bootstrapping procedure to motivational incentive is due to the particular cut points selected. One or the other method may be preferred depending upon incentive to deceive, the cost of incorrect decisions, and the availability of extra psychophysiological data.
Allen, J. J., Schnyer, R. N., & Hitt, S. K. (1998). The efficacy of acupuncture in the treatment of major depression in women. Psychological Science, 9(5), 397-401.
Abstract:
The effectiveness of acupuncture as a treatment for major depression was examined in 38 women, randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups. Specific treatment involved acupuncture treatments for symptoms of depression; nonspecific treatment involved acupuncture for symptoms that were not clearly part of depression; a wait-list condition involved waiting without treatment for 8 weeks. The nonspecific and wait-list conditions were followed by specific treatment. Five women terminated treatment prematurely, 4 prior to the completion of the first 8 weeks. Following treatments specifically designed to address depression, 64% of the women (n = 33) experienced full remission. A comparison of the acute effect of the three 8-week treatment conditions (n = 34) showed that patients receiving specific acupuncture treatments improved significantly more than those receiving the placebo-like nonspecific acupuncture treatments, and marginally more than those in the wait-list condition. Results from this small sample suggest that acupuncture can provide significant symptom relief in depression, at rates comparable to those of psychotherapy or pharmacotherapy. Acupuncture may hold sufficient promise to warrant a larger scale clinical trial.
Mussel, P., Hewig, J., Allen, J. J., Coles, M. G., & Miltner, W. (2014). Smiling faces, sometimes they don't tell the truth: Facial expression in the ultimatum game impacts decision making and event-related potentials. Psychophysiology, 51, 358--363.
Accortt, E. E., & J., J. (2006). Frontal EEG asymmetry and premenstrual dysphoric symptomatology. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 115(1), 179-184.
PMID: 16492109;Abstract:
Resting frontal electroencephalographic (EEG) asymmetry has been hypothesized to tap a diathesis toward depression or other emotion-related psychopathology. Frontal EEG asymmetry was assessed in college women who reported high (n = 12) or low (n = 11) levels of premenstrual negative affect. Participants were assessed during both the follicular and the late luteal phases of the menstrual cycle. Women reporting low premenstrual dysphoric symptomatology exhibited greater relative left frontal activity at rest than did women high in premenstrual dysphoric symptomatology, an effect that was not qualified by phase of cycle. Although women with extreme levels of symptomatology were assessed, the question of whether such symptoms qualified for premenstrual dysphoric disorder criteria was not assessed. These results are consistent with a diathesis-stress model for premenstrual dysphoric symptomatology. Copyright 2006 by the American Psychological Association.
