Chapman, J. P., Chapman, L. J., & Allen, J. J. (1987). The measurement of foot preference. Neuropsychologia, 25(3), 579-584.
PMID: 3683814;Abstract:
Foot preference has been given only superficial attention in studies of hemispheric lateralization, although it has potential utility for predicting hemispheric dominance. This paper reports the development of a reliable (alpha = 0.89) 11-item behavioral inventory of foot preference. Since footedness and handedness are only partially related, both must be measured reliably to identify individuals who have a consistent right or left side preference. It has yet to be determined whether footedness or handedness has the stronger relationship to other aspects of cerebral lateralization and whether both measures together predict lateralization better than one of them alone. © 1987.
Manber, R., Schnyer, R. N., Lyell, D., Chambers, A. S., Caughey, A. B., Druzin, M., Carlyle, E., Celio, C., Gress, J. L., Huang, M. I., Kalista, T., Martin-Okada, R., & J., J. (2010). Acupuncture for depression during pregnancy: A randomized controlled trial. Obstetrics and Gynecology, 115(3), 511-520.
PMID: 20177281;Abstract:
Objective: To estimate the efficacy of acupuncture for depression during pregnancy in a randomized controlled trial. Methods: A total of 150 pregnant women who met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fourth Edition) criteria for major depressive disorder were randomized to receive either acupuncture specific for depression or one of two active controls: control acupuncture or massage. Treatments lasted 8 weeks (12 sessions). Junior acupuncturists, who were not told about treatment assignment, needled participants at points prescribed by senior acupuncturists. All treatments were standardized. The primary outcome was the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, administered by masked raters at baseline and after 4 and 8 weeks of treatment. Continuous data were analyzed using mixed effects models and by intent to treat. Results: Fifty-two women were randomized to acupuncture specific for depression, 49 to control acupuncture, and 49 to massage. Women who received acupuncture specific for depression experienced a greater rate of decrease in symptom severity (P.05) compared with the combined controls (Cohen's d=0.39, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.01-0.77) or control acupuncture alone (P.05; Cohen's d=0.46, 95% CI 0.01-0.92). They also had significantly greater response rate (63.0%) than the combined controls (44.3%; P.05; number needed to treat, 5.3; 95% CI 2.8-75.0) and control acupuncture alone (37.5%; P.05: number needed to treat, 3.9; 95% CI 2.2-19.8). Symptom reduction and response rates did not differ significantly between controls (control acupuncture, 37.5%; massage, 50.0%). Conclusion: The short acupuncture protocol demonstrated symptom reduction and a response rate comparable to those observed in standard depression treatments of similar length and could be a viable treatment option for depression during pregnancy. © 2010 by The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Accortt, E. E., Stewart, J. L., Coan, J. A., Manber, R., & Allen, J. J. (2011). Prefrontal brain asymmetry and pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder symptomatology. Journal of Affective Disorders, 128(1-2), 178-183.
PMID: 20833433;PMCID: PMC2994967;Abstract:
Background: Pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), a dysphoric form of pre-menstrual syndrome, is included as a diagnosis for further study in the DSM-IV-TR (APA, 2000). The present study investigated whether a marker of risk for major depressive disorder (MDD), prefrontal brain asymmetry, also characterizes women with PMDD. Methods: In a sample of 25 college women with PMDD symptomatology and 25 matched controls, resting frontal electroencephalographic (EEG) activity was assessed on four occasions within a two-week span. Results: Across several frontal sites women with PMDD had relatively less left than right prefrontal brain activity, consistent with a diathesis-stress model for menstrual-related dysphoria. Conclusions: The findings suggest an overlap in the risk profile for MDD and PMDD. © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Sanguinetti, J., Allen, J. J., & Peterson, M. A. (2014). A repetition paradigm with figure-ground stimuli reveals that both semantic and shape representations can be accessed outside of awareness. Psychological Science, 25, 256--264.
Allen, J., Coan, J. A., & Allen, J. J. (2003). Frontal EEG asymmetry and the behavioral activation and inhibition systems. Psychophysiology, 40(1).
Two studies have examined whether there exists a relationship between resting frontal alpha asymmetry and the Behavioral Inhibition and Activation Scales (C. S. Carver & T. L. White, 1994), which are based on Gray's Behavioral Inhibition and Behavioral Activation Systems. Findings suggest that greater relative left frontal activity characterizes individuals higher in self-reported behavioral activation sensitivity (E. Harmon-Jones & J. J. B. Allen, 1997; S. K. Sutton & R. J. Davidson, 1997), and, in one instance, lower behavioral inhibition sensitivity (S. K. Sutton & R. J. Davidson, 1997). In the present study, relatively greater left frontal activity correlated positively with behavioral activation scores. No significant relationship between resting frontal alpha asymmetry and the behavioral inhibition score emerged. These data suggest that relatively greater left frontal activity is indeed an index of approach oriented, appetitive motivational tendencies, whereas the relationship between relative right frontal activity and the behavioral inhibition system is likely to be complex and not accounted for by behavioral withdrawal alone.
