Old Bones
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Dr. Joseph Snow is currently staff scientist and neuropsychologist in the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program and Lab of Brain and Cognition of the National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Snow's responsibilities include evaluating the neuropsychological functioning of NIH patients either for clinical reasons or as part of NIH protocol driven research. He has co-authored many scholarly publications on a variety of topics in the field of neuropsychology and has served as an ad hoc reviewer for several scientific journals.Dr. Snow is a member of the International Neuropsychological Society.
As a result of my brief research into Dr. Snow, I see nothing that causes me alarm. He doesn't seem to have the mindset that physical illness is caused by psychiatric problems. Here are two examples of research he was involved in.
A NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF PHOBIAS IN PATIENTS WITH STIFF PERSON SYNDROME
http://www.smssupportgroup.co.uk/PDFs/SPS_Specific_Studies/Neuropsychological Assessment of Phobias in SPS.pdf
"Clinical experience in making DSM diagnoses cautions us in diagnosing anxiety disorders in SPS patients, given the reality of their physical disability and the unpredictable nature of their “freezing” and falling episodes. Although at the time of examinations, all patients were symptomatic, in spite of receiving treatment for their motor symptoms, the possibility that muscle relaxants or antianxiety agents had masked some of their fears and confounded the proper assessment of an anxiety disorder or neurocognitive dysfunction cannot be excluded. The absence of premorbid phobias, however, and the realization that the fear of falling is realistic strongly suggest that the anxiety in SPS patients is secondary to the primary neurologic disorder rather than due to a primary inherent phobia, as justified by the reduced GABA level. This conclusion is also supported by our clinical trial with IVIg, which demonstrated that when the physical signs of stiffness improved, so did the anxiety."
NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE
http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4615-1287-5_4#page-1 (little text available here)
https://books.google.ca/books?id=olkFf4BeDKoC&printsec=frontcover&dq=google books medical neuropsychology: second edition&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiW6rTnpY7LAhUO3GMKHaFxDsAQ6AEIJTAA#v=onepage&q=google books medical neuropsychology: second edition&f=false (text quoted found here)
“ . . . there has been relatively less investigation of the impact of cardiovascular disease on neuropsychological function prior to clinically evident cerebrovascular events. It has become increasingly apparent, however, that even very early manifestations of cardiovascular disease . . . are associated with subtly diminished neuropsychological function. . . . In this chapter, we discuss the impact of various dimensions of cardiovascular disease and several of its medical and surgical treatments on neuropsychological function.
Results of the numerous studies in this area generally reveal that hypertensives perform more poorly than normotensives across multiple domains of neuropsychological function. Some of the largest and most consistent effects are noted with the domains of learning and memory, attention, abstract reasoning and other executive functions. Compromised performance is also apparent on tests of visuospatial, perceptual and psychomotor abilities. To date, less support has been found for a relation between hypertension and performance on tests of general verbal intelligence or language abilities. Results of longitudinal studies indicate that deficits in neuropsychological performance persist or worsen over time. Indeed, chronic hypertension has predicted compromised cognitive function at follow-ups of up to 15 to 30 years. The impact of hypertension can range from small and subtle to seemingly large. . . . there is some suggestion that those hypertensives who are characterized by markers of high levels of sympathetic nervous system activity may perform particularly poorly on certain psychomotor tests. . . . For example, hypertension may be associated with subtle alterations in brain structure and function. . . .To summarize, hypertension has been associated with compromised performance involving many domains of neuropsychological function. . . .Subtle alterations in brain structure and function and other physiological factors are apparent in hypertensives and may account for their diminished cognitive function."
Although I am not a scientist, my lay-person's interpretation of the above two studies Doctor Snow was involved with placed the physical illnesses (Stiff Person Syndrome and Cardiovascular Disease) as impacting the neuropsychological problems, and not the reverse. This leads me to believe he belongs in @Valentijn 's "Looks Good" category.
As a result of my brief research into Dr. Snow, I see nothing that causes me alarm. He doesn't seem to have the mindset that physical illness is caused by psychiatric problems. Here are two examples of research he was involved in.
A NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF PHOBIAS IN PATIENTS WITH STIFF PERSON SYNDROME
http://www.smssupportgroup.co.uk/PDFs/SPS_Specific_Studies/Neuropsychological Assessment of Phobias in SPS.pdf
"Clinical experience in making DSM diagnoses cautions us in diagnosing anxiety disorders in SPS patients, given the reality of their physical disability and the unpredictable nature of their “freezing” and falling episodes. Although at the time of examinations, all patients were symptomatic, in spite of receiving treatment for their motor symptoms, the possibility that muscle relaxants or antianxiety agents had masked some of their fears and confounded the proper assessment of an anxiety disorder or neurocognitive dysfunction cannot be excluded. The absence of premorbid phobias, however, and the realization that the fear of falling is realistic strongly suggest that the anxiety in SPS patients is secondary to the primary neurologic disorder rather than due to a primary inherent phobia, as justified by the reduced GABA level. This conclusion is also supported by our clinical trial with IVIg, which demonstrated that when the physical signs of stiffness improved, so did the anxiety."
NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE
http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4615-1287-5_4#page-1 (little text available here)
https://books.google.ca/books?id=olkFf4BeDKoC&printsec=frontcover&dq=google books medical neuropsychology: second edition&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiW6rTnpY7LAhUO3GMKHaFxDsAQ6AEIJTAA#v=onepage&q=google books medical neuropsychology: second edition&f=false (text quoted found here)
“ . . . there has been relatively less investigation of the impact of cardiovascular disease on neuropsychological function prior to clinically evident cerebrovascular events. It has become increasingly apparent, however, that even very early manifestations of cardiovascular disease . . . are associated with subtly diminished neuropsychological function. . . . In this chapter, we discuss the impact of various dimensions of cardiovascular disease and several of its medical and surgical treatments on neuropsychological function.
Results of the numerous studies in this area generally reveal that hypertensives perform more poorly than normotensives across multiple domains of neuropsychological function. Some of the largest and most consistent effects are noted with the domains of learning and memory, attention, abstract reasoning and other executive functions. Compromised performance is also apparent on tests of visuospatial, perceptual and psychomotor abilities. To date, less support has been found for a relation between hypertension and performance on tests of general verbal intelligence or language abilities. Results of longitudinal studies indicate that deficits in neuropsychological performance persist or worsen over time. Indeed, chronic hypertension has predicted compromised cognitive function at follow-ups of up to 15 to 30 years. The impact of hypertension can range from small and subtle to seemingly large. . . . there is some suggestion that those hypertensives who are characterized by markers of high levels of sympathetic nervous system activity may perform particularly poorly on certain psychomotor tests. . . . For example, hypertension may be associated with subtle alterations in brain structure and function. . . .To summarize, hypertension has been associated with compromised performance involving many domains of neuropsychological function. . . .Subtle alterations in brain structure and function and other physiological factors are apparent in hypertensives and may account for their diminished cognitive function."
Although I am not a scientist, my lay-person's interpretation of the above two studies Doctor Snow was involved with placed the physical illnesses (Stiff Person Syndrome and Cardiovascular Disease) as impacting the neuropsychological problems, and not the reverse. This leads me to believe he belongs in @Valentijn 's "Looks Good" category.
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