Browsing by Author "Smith, Andrew J."

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    Frontal lobe regulatory control mechanisms: Evidence for diminished frontal eye field capacity in hostile violence-prone men
    Harrison, Patti Kelly; Campbell, Ransom W.; Smith, Andrew J.; Mitchell, Gina A.; Walters, Robert P.; Harrison, David W. (2016-02-03)
    Background: The experiment was designed to test the relationship between self-reported hostility and the capacity of frontal eye field regulatory control over visual smooth pursuit eye movements. Previous research has demonstrated a relationship between hostility, violence-prone aggression, and poorly regulated sympathetic control including traditional measures of cardiovascular risk. Capacity Theory (see Harrison, 2015) specifically predicts diminished reflex regulation, dystonia, or spasticity with conditions which exceed the capacity of the frontal systems involved in the response. For visual smooth pursuit eye movements, the frontal eye fields regulate/inhibit ipsilateral visuomotor reflexes under directional control of the superior colliculi and pontine region. Moreover, directional eye movements reflecting intentional direction of visual smooth pursuit derive from premotor regions at each dorsolateral frontal eye field and with directional intent toward the contralateral hemispace (e.g., right frontal eye field directs intentional eye movements toward the left hemispace and inhibits saccadic movements toward the right hemispace). Material/Methods: We tested a total number of 48 college-age men evenly divided between two groups, twenty-four low-hostiles and twenty-four high-hostiles. All subjects were acquired from the undergraduate Psychology pool and the project was approved by the Human Subjects Committee and the Institutional Review Board. In order to continue in the experiment, subjects had to have scored within either the low (0-19) or high (29-50) range of self-reported hostility onthe Cook-Medley Hostility Scale (CMHS). Due to their relatively heightened cerebral lateralization, only men were used to ensure as much homogeneity as possible within the experiment, so as to draw conclusions based solely on independent variable differences. Hostile men were compared with low hostile men using the electrooculogram (EOG). Smooth pursuit errors were identified in the EOG record as phasic errors in the analogue record. Results: Hostile men produced significantly more smooth pursuit irregularities in comparison with low hostiles, consistent with the predictions of Capacity Theory, supporting the contention of diminished frontal eye field integrity in hostile, violence-prone men. Conclusions: These findings sit collectively among a systematic line of research with accumulating evidence implicating capacity limitations for frontal lobe regulatory control in hostile, violence-prone individuals. The broader research implication is suggestive for remediation and preventative techniques for the amelioration of confrontative and/or coercive stress using these brain systems. Moreover, the theory specifically is predictive of heightened sensitivity for the sensory and emotional analyzers residing at the other end of the longitudinal tracts and within posterior brain regions. Emotional sensitivity reflecting coercive threat analysis, feelings of external control by others, and sensitivity to the emotional array presented by others’ facial expressions, tone of voice, and by innuendo may ultimately be a social disability. This effect may be propagated further in any social interaction where others may evaluate the hostile, violence-prone individual as insensitive and callous, perhaps.
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    Moral injury and psychosocial functioning in healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic
    Weber, Marcela C.; Smith, Andrew J.; Jones, Russell T.; Holmes, Glen A.; Johnson, Alicia L.; Patrick, Rafael; Alexander, M. David; Miyazaki, Yasuo; Wright, Hannah; Ehman, Anandi C.; Langenecker, Scott; Benight, Charles C.; Pyne, Jeffrey M.; Harris, J. Irene; Usset, Timothy J.; Maguen, Shira; Griffin, Brandon J. (American Psychological Association, 2023-02)
    Studies of moral injury among nonmilitary samples are scarce despite repeated calls to examine the prevalence and outcomes of moral injury among civilian frontline workers. The purpose of this study was to describe the prevalence of moral injury and to examine its association with psychosocial functioning among health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. We surveyed health care workers (N = 480), assessing exposure to potentially morally injurious events (PMIEs) and psychosocial functioning. Data were analyzed using latent class analysis (LCA) to explore patterns of PMIE exposure (i.e., classes) and corresponding psychosocial functioning. The minimal exposure class, who denied PMIE exposure, accounted for 22% of health care workers. The moral injury-other class included those who had witnessed PMIEs for which others were responsible and felt betrayed (26%). The moral injury-self class comprised those who felt they transgressed their own values in addition to witnessing others’ transgressions and feeling betrayed (11%). The betrayal-only class included those who felt betrayed by government and community members but otherwise denied PMIE exposure (41%). Those assigned to the moral injury-self class were the most impaired on a psychosocial functioning composite, followed by those assigned to the moral injury-other and betrayal-only classes, and finally the minimal exposure class. Moral injury is prevalent and impairing for health care workers, which establishes a need for interventions with health care workers in organized care settings.