Papers by Helena Maria Tannhauser Barros
Journal of Pharmacological Methods, Dec 1, 1991
Revista Brasileira de Psiquiatria, Dec 1, 2006
Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale is an instrument used to evaluate the severity of social phobia. I... more Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale is an instrument used to evaluate the severity of social phobia. It has been widely used in different contexts and cultures, presenting variable psychometric properties. The objective of this article is to investigate the internal consistency and the factor structure of this scale. Method: In a sample of 300 alcoholic patients hospitalized in 3 mental clinics in Southern Brazil, 74 of them were social phobics (24.6%). The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV-Axis I Disorders-Patient Edition, a semi-structured clinical interview based on DSM-IV, was used to check for the diagnosis of social phobia. The internal consistency was measured by Cronbach's alpha. Data were subjected to a factor analysis with the principal component method of parameter estimation. Questionnaire items loading at 0.35 or above were considered in the final factor solution. Results: The coefficient of internal consistency was 0.95. All items showed corrected item-total correlation coefficient above 0.15, considered the minimum requested index. The factor analysis resulted in 5 dimensions which corresponded to 52.9% of the total variance. The five factors extracted were: factor I-speaking in a group, factor II-activity in public, factor III-social interaction with unknown person, factor IV-attitude of disagreement or disapproval and factor V-social interaction in leisure activity. Conclusions: The scale proved to be reliable and structurally valid instrument for use in a population of alcoholic patients. The possibility of screening for social phobia through the use of the instrument may be helpful in identifying probable cases of the disorder among alcoholics.
Journal of Addiction Research and Therapy, Jun 22, 2013
Introduction: Boredom is state of cognitive and emotional discomfort that has been associated wit... more Introduction: Boredom is state of cognitive and emotional discomfort that has been associated with a variety of addictive behaviors. While boredom has been shown to increase the likelihood of subjective cravings for substance use, research has found that explicit self-report of cravings is insufficient to predict relapse. It has been suggested that attentional bias, the implicit allocation of spatial attention to substance related cues, is a positive predictor of risk for relapse. Aim: To investigate the effect of state boredom on attentional bias to alcohol related cues in light and heavy drinkers. To examine the relationship between alcohol consumption and both state and trait boredom. Method: A boredom induction task and a control task were given to a random sample of 60 light and heavy drinkers from ages 18-30 prior to completion of a visual-probe attentional bias task. All participants completed a State Boredom Measure, the Boredom Proneness Scale (BPS), the Lifetime Drinking History (LDH) and the Timeline Followback (TLFB) for alcohol consumption. Results: Heavy drinkers were found to have significantly higher attentional bias scores than light drinkers in the boredom induction group. Boredom proneness was positively correlated with alcohol consumption over the lifetime, while high state boredom scores were positively correlated with alcohol intake over the past three months. Conclusion: The state of boredom in a population of social drinkers is a predictor of increased implicit attention to alcohol related stimuli. Boredom is an important factor for consideration when assessing risk for alcohol relapse.
Cadernos De Saude Publica, Nov 1, 2009
Psychiatry Research-neuroimaging, Sep 1, 2021
It is known that among those seeking to cease consumption of alcohol, there can be as high as a 5... more It is known that among those seeking to cease consumption of alcohol, there can be as high as a 50% relapse rate in the first 12 months. Different tools for treatments have been developed, such as telehealth, with the aim of helping this population. As a result of this demand, technology has gained strength in recent years. A new point of view about the treatment will broaden our knowledge far beyond just efficacy. It seems that understanding the mechanisms that lead to treatment success is as important as knowing its effectiveness. Therefore, the present study examined the relationships between Brief Motivational Intervention by telephone (BMI), motivational stage, outcome, and coping strategies using path analysis. In the post-evaluation, variables such as BMI (randomized individuals), motivational stage and decreased consumption of alcohol reached statistical significance (p<.001), suggesting that BMI might improve motivational stage and reduced consumption of alcohol. In terms of coping, the results also indicate that positive thinking might be a variable of interest when planning to decrease alcohol consumption. More research is needed to recognize the potential of new technology in the health area and to uncover the innumerable possibilities of using these tools as a strategy to help alcohol users.
Neuroscience, 2019
Allopregnanolone is a neurosteroid implicated in mood disorders such as depression and anxiety. I... more Allopregnanolone is a neurosteroid implicated in mood disorders such as depression and anxiety. It acts as a GABA A receptor (GABA A R)-positive allosteric modulator and changes the expression of GABA A R subunits and of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in different brain regions. It has been demonstrated that such neurochemical changes may have an asymmetrical pattern regarding brain hemispheres. The aim of this study was to verify the behavioral and hemisphere-dependent neurochemical effects of the bilateral intraprefrontal cortex (intra-PFC) infusion of allopregnanolone in rats. Rats were exposed to the forced swim test and to the grooming microstructure test, followed by the right and left hemisphere-specific quantification of mRNA expression by Real-Time PCR of d and c2 GABA A R subunits and BDNF in the PFC and in the hippocampus. Though we did not observe any significant effects in the behavioral tests, intra-PFC allopregnanolone infusion bilaterally increased the mRNA expression of the d subunit in the same area and of BDNF in the hippocampus. Both mRNA expressions of the c2 subunit and BDNF were higher in the right than in the left PFC of control animals, and the hemisphere differences were not seen after allopregnanolone infusion. Overall hippocampal BDNF expression was also higher in the right hemisphere, but this asymmetry was not normalized by allopregnanolone. No asymmetries or changes were observed in the hippocampal mRNA expression of GABA A R subunits. These results point to a hemisphere-dependent regulation of GABA A R subunits and BDNF that can be modulated by intra-PFC allopregnanolone infusion, even in the absence of associated behavioral effects.
Psychopharmacology, Jul 1, 1987
Some clinical reports on antimanic, antidepressant and prophylactic effects of carbamazepine (CBZ... more Some clinical reports on antimanic, antidepressant and prophylactic effects of carbamazepine (CBZ) in manic-depressive illness have appeared since its initial use as an anticonvulsant drug. The present report deals with the effects of CBZ on two animal models of depression, namely the potentiation of amphetamine-induced anorexia, and the behavioral despair model. Carbamazepine (10, 20 or 40 mg/kg) neither modified the methamphetamine anorectic effect, nor induced anorexia when administered alone. Subacute and chronic administration of imipramine (4 or 15 mg/kg) decreased immobility of rats in the behavioral despair model. Subacute and chronic administration of CBZ (40 mg/kg) also decreased immobility, whereas the dose of 10 mg/kg CBZ was effective only after chronic treatment. It was concluded that CBZ is similar to atypical antidepressants, since it did not potentiate the amphetamineinduced behavioral effect, but did have an effect on the behavioral despair model of depression.
Clinical Therapeutics, Aug 1, 2015
Clinical Therapeutics e50 Volume 37 Number 8S (3 cases), oral lichen planus (1), keratosis lichen... more Clinical Therapeutics e50 Volume 37 Number 8S (3 cases), oral lichen planus (1), keratosis lichenoid (4) and pityriasis lichenoides (1). Six cases were associated with infliximab, 2 with adalimumab and 1 with etanercept. The median age of the patients was 49 years (min. 29-max. 73); 5 were men and 4 women. Eight reports described serious LR. The induction period was between 30 days and 2 years. The outcome after withdrawal of the suspect drug was recovery in 4 cases; not recovery in 2 cases and unknown in 3 cases. Five reports described previously unknown or poorly known drug-induced LR; in one case alternative explanations were excluded. Conclusions: The SPvS has received spontaneous reports of LR associated with TNF-α inhibitors. Despite the difficulty to exclude alternative causes, temporal sequence and improvement after drug withdrawal suggests a causal relationship. It would be appropriate to include LR in the product information.
Pharmacology, 1989
In order to investigate the influence of the route of administration on behavioural effects induc... more In order to investigate the influence of the route of administration on behavioural effects induced by apomorphine (APO), 6 increasing doses were administered by intraperitoneal and by subcutaneous route to male Wistar rats. Dose-response curves for stereotypy, rearing, sedation, grooming, yawning and penile erection were calculated. The occurrence of stereotypy precluded other behavioural manifestations. APO was more potent when administered subcutaneously, with potency ratios between the routes of 10.4 for stereotypy, 4.6 for sedation, 6.8 for grooming, 11.8 for yawning and 7.5 for penile erection.
Revista CEFAC, Apr 1, 2015
Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior, Oct 1, 2017
Alcohol use disorder is an alarming health problem, and the withdrawal symptoms increase the risk... more Alcohol use disorder is an alarming health problem, and the withdrawal symptoms increase the risk of relapse. We have hypothesized that taurine, a multitarget substance acting as a gamma-aminobutyric acid A receptor (GABA A R) positive modulator and a partial inhibitor of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) glutamate receptors, may reduce the withdrawal symptoms or modify behaviors when combined with alcohol. Therefore, we investigated the effects of taurine on behavior in the open field test (OFT), the GABA A R α 2 subunit and BDNF mRNA expression in the frontal cortex of rats after chronic alcohol treatment or upon withdrawal. Rats received alcohol 2 g/kg (alcohol and withdrawal groups) or water (control group) twice daily by oral gavage for 28 days. On day 29, the withdrawal rats received water instead of alcohol, and all groups were reallocated to receive 100 mg/kg taurine or vehicle intraperitoneally, once a day for 5 days. On day 33, the rats were exposed to OFT; 18 h later, they were euthanized, and the frontal cortex was dissected for GABA A R α 2 subunit detection and BDNF mRNA expression determination by real-time quantitative PCR. Taurine administration restored rearing behavior to the control levels in the withdrawal rats. Taurine also showed anxiolytic-like effects in control rats and did not change the behaviors in the chronic alcohol group. Chronic alcohol treatment or withdrawal did not change the GABA A R α 2 subunit or BDNF mRNA expression in the frontal cortex, but taurine decreased the α 2 subunit level in control rats and to the BDNF levels in the alcohol rat group. We conclude that taurine restored exploratory behavior after alcohol withdrawal but that this effect was not related to the GABA A R α 2 subunit or BDNF mRNA expression in the frontal cortex of the rats.
Jornal De Pediatria, May 1, 2019
Objectives: Programs for parents have been found to have a direct positive impact on reducing the... more Objectives: Programs for parents have been found to have a direct positive impact on reducing the consumption of psychoactive substances by adolescents, as well as having an indirect impact on reducing risk factors and increasing protective factors. The present study aimed to verify if a telehealth prevention program based on a brief motivational intervention helps to reduce parental risk practices and increase parental protective practices for drug use in comparison with psychoeducation. Methods: A pilot randomized controlled trial was performed at the National Service of Guidance and Information on Drug Use (Ligue 132), from September 2014 to December 2015, with the parents of adolescents (n = 26). The outcome measures were parental style, risk, and protective parental practices. Results: The brief motivational intervention was found to be more effective than psychoeducation in reducing the negligent behavior of parents. Furthermore, when comparing pre-and post-intervention data, the brief motivational intervention helped to change parental style and the large majority of parental practices: increasing positive monitoring, as well as decreasing physical abuse, relaxed discipline, inconsistent punishment, and negative monitoring. Conclusions: These results demonstrate that the telehealth intervention is effective in modifying the parental practices known to help in preventing drug use. Studies with more number of subjects are required so that the results can be substantiated and generalized.
Alcohol, Feb 1, 2020
This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the ad... more This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior, 2003
The effects of drugs of abuse might depend on several environmental factors, among them the indiv... more The effects of drugs of abuse might depend on several environmental factors, among them the individual&#39;s feeding habits. It was our objective to study the influence of the diet on cocaine acute behavioral effects and during the first 5 days of withdrawal after prolonged treatment. Rats were fed a balanced diet, high-protein diet, high-carbohydrate diet or high-fat diet from weaning to adulthood. Adult rats were injected with 15 mg/kg cocaine 24, 5 and 1 h before the forced swimming retest or the drug was administered daily during 15 days and the animals were evaluated in the forced swimming test on five daily occasions after drug withdrawal. Diets alone did not induce significant behavioral differences in locomotion, immobility, swimming, climbing or head shakes. Acute cocaine reduced immobility during the forced swimming test and increased locomotion demonstrating a nonspecific antiimmobility effect related to hyperactivity. Acute cocaine reduced head shakes of rats fed high-protein and high-carbohydrate diets. After cocaine withdrawal, head shakes were decreased for rats fed any of the diets and rats were more immobile if fed a high-fat diet and were less immobile if fed a high-protein or high-carbohydrate diet. In conclusion, differences in the amounts of macronutrients in the diet may cause different behavioral outcomes after acute cocaine and during cocaine withdrawal.
Behavioural Pharmacology, Aug 1, 1999
Epilepsia, Oct 1, 1986
Carbamazepine has been shown to enhance dopaminergic agonist behavioral effects, but not to displ... more Carbamazepine has been shown to enhance dopaminergic agonist behavioral effects, but not to displace [3H]spiroperidol binding. To verify if carbamazepine acts presynaptically on dopaminergic neurons, reuptake and release of [3H]dopamine were measured in rat striatal slices in vitro. It was observed that carbamazepine blocked 20% of the reuptake of [3H]dopamine, while cocaine blocked 82% of the reuptake, compared with control. Carbamazepine released 62% and tyramine released 92% of the accumulated [3H]dopamine, compared with control. It was concluded that carbamazepine acts presynaptically on striatal neurons, mainly through enhancement of dopamine release. This finding can be related to some behavioral effects described for carbamazepine; however, the importance of its effects in epileptic and manic-depressive patients remains to be clarified.
Objetivo: Verificar a existência de associação entre vitimização e uso de álcool entre meninos e ... more Objetivo: Verificar a existência de associação entre vitimização e uso de álcool entre meninos e meninas de Porto Alegre (RS). Métodos: Foi realizado um estudo transversal. Participaram estudantes de escolas públicas com idade entre 10 e 19 anos, da 5ª série do ensino fundamental até a 3ª série do ensino médio, compondo amostra por conglomerados em dois estágios, definidas pelas características socioeconômicas do bairro da escola e pela turma. A coleta de dados foi realizada por questionário padronizado de forma anônima e voluntária. Resultados: O álcool foi utilizado por 54% dos meninos adolescentes (14-19) e 17% dos adolescentes (10-13), por 58% das meninas adolescentes mais velhas e 19% das adolescentes mais novas. Cinqüenta e sete por cento dos estudantes sofreram vitimização severa, e 53% sofreram vitimização moderada. Quando as amostras separadas por sexos foram avaliadas, observou-se que meninos e meninas que faziam uso de álcool relataram 2,6 e 1,8, respectivamente, mais vitimização grave, ao passo que o uso de álcool entre meninos e meninas se associou a 3,1 e 2,5 mais prevalência de vitimização moderada, respectivamente. Para os episódios de embriaguez, observou-se que adolescentes se embriagaram mais que pré-adolescentes e que as exposições à violência mostraram associação aumentada para embriaguez. Um percentual de 32% de meninos (razão de prevalência, RP = 4,4; IC95% 2,6-7,3) e 22% de meninas (RP = 2,2; IC95% 1,2-4,1) vítimas de violência severa relatou embriaguez pelo menos uma vez. Conclusões: Adolescentes de ambos os sexos que consomem mais bebidas alcoólicas têm maior risco de sofrerem violência comunitária.
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Cadernos De Saude Publica, Oct 1, 2014
Coping skills correlate directly with the success of alcohol abstinence. Brazil previously lacked... more Coping skills correlate directly with the success of alcohol abstinence. Brazil previously lacked an instrument to identify alcohol users' specific coping skills. The current study therefore aimed to perform the translation, cross-cultural adaptation, and content validation of the Coping Behaviours Inventory (CBI). Procedures included translation and back-translation, cross-cultural adaptation, content evaluation, and a pilot study. The final Portuguese version was administered by telephone to 40 alcohol users seeking help through a telephone hotline called VI-VAVOZ. The retranslated version was close to the original. As for content validation, most of the items proved satisfactory and acceptable. The theoretical dimension showed a mean kappa index of 0.666 between evaluators, which was considered a substantial level of agreement. The results were satisfactory and acceptable, demonstrating that the inventory is appropriate for investigating coping skills in Brazilian alcohol users.
DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals), Dec 1, 2010
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Papers by Helena Maria Tannhauser Barros