This study tested the hypothesis that coping through emotional approach, which involves actively processing and expressing emotions, enhances adjustment and health status for breast cancer patients. Patients (n = 92) completed measures within 20 weeks following medical treatment and 3 months later. Women who, at study entry, coped through expressing emotions surrounding cancer had fewer medical appointments for cancer-related morbidities, enhanced physical health and vigor, and decreased distress during the next 3 months compared with those low in emotional expression, with age, other coping strategy scores, and initial levels on dependent variables (except medical visits) controlled statistically. Expressive coping also was related to improved quality of life for those who perceived their social contexts as highly receptive. Coping through emotional processing was related to one index of greater distress over time. Analyses including dispositional hope suggested that expressive coping may serve as a successful vehicle for goal pursuit.

Experimentally induced emotional expression and benefit finding regarding early-stage breast cancer reduced medical visits for cancer-related morbidities. Effects on psychological outcomes varied as a function of cancer-related avoidance.

Patients with relapsing, primary progressive, and secondary progressive MS were administered the Tower of London and the Stroop Color-Word Interference Test, yielding several measures of executive function and speeded information processing. MS patients' performance was compared with healthy controls and with a clinical control group consisting of patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The MS patients performed the tests more slowly, but did not differ from either group of controls on measures of executive function. Slowing in the speed of information processing was characteristic of MS patients across two basic tasks differing in terms of controlled versus automatic processing and in terms of whether or not rapid responding was an explicit feature of successful performance. Although evident in all subtypes, this slowing was more pronounced in secondary progressive patients and somewhat less pronounced in primary progressive patients. Furthermore, the slowing was unrelated to patients' disability status or level of depression.

From a public health standpoint, identifying factors that contribute to risky sexual practices among substance-dependent individuals is critical, particularly in the context of HIV infection. This study examines the respective contributions of executive neurocognitive functions, sensation seeking, and HIV serostatus in predicting risky sexual practices among poly-substance users (with a history of dependence primarily for cocaine or cocaine0heroin). HIV1 (n 5 109) and HIV2 (n 5 154) substance-dependent individuals were assessed using three neurocognitive tasks of executive functions: Stroop reaction time, delayed non-matching to sample, and the Iowa Gambling Task. Sensation seeking was assessed using the Sensation Seeking Scale-V. Greater sensation seeking was associated with more risky sexual practices among HIV1 participants, particularly among those who performed best on the Iowa Gambling Task. Our findings indicate that continued risk behavior among HIV1 drug users may be driven by sensation seeking (a personality trait common among drug users); however, the impact of executive functions is less clear.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) can be detected in the brain (Radkowski et al., 2002) and investigators speculate that HCV has neuroinvasive properties (Forton et al., 2003) with direct effects on cerebral function. MRS studies show that the basal ganglia and white matter of individuals with HCV have abnormal choline/creatine ratios, indicating CNS inflammation or infection (Forton et al., 2003). Patients with HCV show defects in working memory and information processing speed (Forton et al., 2003; Hilsabeck et al., 2002), similar to patients with basal ganglia disorders and HIV (e.g., Heaton et al., 1995).