Here is a brief summary of completed projects findings so you can see how you've contributed to advancing our knowledge of brain diseases and mental health and we would once again like to thank all the volunteers that participated in these and other research studies!

Project title: Can the ‘jumping to conclusions’ reasoning bias be explained in terms of impulsivity or frontal/executive dysfunction? Investigator: Laura Lunt

Jumping to Conclusions (JTC), underpins the formation and maintenance of delusions in the majority of individuals with schizophrenia.  The JTC bias in individuals with delusions has been demonstrated in numerous studies utilising variants of a now classic paradigm, the ‘beads task.’  On this task individuals with delusions tend to make rapid and overconfident decisions based on less evidence than controls, that is they jump to conclusions. This study sought to better understand the cause of the JTC effect in schizophrenia by examining the executive demands of the JTC beads task in 3 groups: (1) undergone brain surgery , (2) those with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and (3) healthy volunteers. The main findings were that the ADHD and healthy volunteers performed similarly but differed from tthe brain surgery group although the reasons why the brain surgery group differed are not well known. More research needs to be done in this area.*

Project Title: Exercise behaviour in patients offered cardiac rehabilitation and healthy volunteers. Investigators: Andrea Papitsch-Clark and Jane Hutton

Cardiac rehabilitation programmes are currently offered to people with different types of heart problems - the positive effects of these programmes have been repeatedly documented and are widely recognised (Rees at al., 2004). However, a large number of patients who could benefit and are invited to these programmes do not attend. This study explored perceptions of heart problems and exercise, and also any factors which may predict whether someone will engage in a cardiac rehabilitation programme and exercise. Participants consisted of cardiac patients participating in a hospital-based cardiac rehabilitation programme, cardiac patients who declined the programme, and healthy volunteers. The main findings were that the perceptions of benefits and barriers associated with exercising, as well as actual exercise patterns – specifically, those who attended the rehabilitation programme showed more positive attitudes and engaged in more structured exercise, starting from before the onset of their heart problem. They did not differ in length of exercise but did in type of activity. The group of volunteers also showed more positive attitudes towards exercising and increased actual physical activity, compared to the group of people who did not take up the invitation to attend cardiac rehabilitation. We would once again like to thank everybody who participated in this study – it would not have been possible to complete this work otherwise. We would also again like to thank the King’s College Hospital Cardiac Rehabilitation Team for all their support of this study. In case of any questions, please contact andrea.papitsch-clark@thh.nhs.uk.

 

 

 

*For more information on these studies please contact the MindSearch administrator.