An instrument for the measurement of absolute dissociative electron attachment cross sections was constructed and applied to two prototype molecules, acetylene (C2H2) and deuterated acetylene (C2D2). The isotope effect at the first dissociative electron attachment band at 3 eV was determined--the cross section for C2D-/C2D2 is 14.4 times smaller than that for C2H-/C2H2. The results play a centr...

Although dissociation by definition affects cognition, few studies have used neuropsychological measures to examine dissociative phenomena. This study compared 33 high and 32 low dissociators based on the Dissociative Experiences Scale, on self-report and neuropsychological measures of executive function, including the Dysexecutive Questionnaire, Iowa Gambling Task, Operation Span task, and Wis...

An extensive cross section database for the electron-impact inelastic processes of vibrationally excited molecules of hydrogen and its isotopes is presented. The following inelastic processes are covered: electronic excitation (dissociative and nondissociative), direct ionization (dissociative and nondissociative), excitationradiative decay vibrational excitation and dissociation, and dissociat...

Patients with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (pseudoseizures) have been diagnosed as having conversion disorder or dissociative disorder. Pseudoseizure patients frequently report a history of physical and sexual abuse, and traumatic experience is considered part of the mechanism for producing dissociation. Pseudoseizures may be a manifestation of dissociative disorder, especially when a his...

OBJECTIVE This study relates trauma-induced dissociative amnesia reported in World War I (WW I) studies of war trauma to contemporary findings of dissociative amnesia in victims of childhood sexual abuse. METHOD Key diagnostic studies of post-traumatic amnesia in WW I combatants are surveyed. These cover phenomenology and the psychological dynamics of dissociation vis-à-vis repression. RESU...

Background: We sought to determine hippocampal volumes in a sample of inpatients in a Trauma Program specializing in posttraumatic stress disorder and dissociative disorders. Methods: We measured whole brain and left and right hippocampal volumes on MRI in a sample of 20 inpatients in a Trauma Program and 20 controls. Results: There were no differences between the two groups. Nineteen inpatient...

The psychological literature reveals a comorbidity between dissociative and obsessive-compulsive disorders. The exact nature ofthis relationship, however, remains unknown (Steinberg, 1993). This paper offers one explanation by linking the manifestation of dissociative and obsessive-compulsive symptoms to rigidity in the spontaneous organiwtion and integration of cognitive/perceptual experience....

Dedication I would like to dedicate this thesis to my mother Susann and my father Ned, for pushing me to be better and for never giving up on me.

While many studies have demonstrated relationships between trauma and dissociation, relatively little is known about other factors that may increase children's risk for developing dissociative symptoms. Drawing on betrayal trauma theory and Discrete Behavioral States frameworks, the current study examined the contributions of maternal factors (including mothers' dissociation, betrayal trauma ex...