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Kiiroja L, Stewart SH, Gadbois S. Can scent-detection dogs detect the stress associated with trauma cue exposure in people with trauma histories? A proof-of-concept study. FRONTIERS IN ALLERGY 2024; 5:1352840. [PMID: 38606088 PMCID: PMC11006987 DOI: 10.3389/falgy.2024.1352840] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2023] [Accepted: 02/02/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an impairing mental health condition with high prevalence among military and general populations alike. PTSD service dogs are a complementary and alternative intervention needing scientific validation. We investigated whether dogs can detect putative stress-related volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the breath of people with trauma histories (54% with PTSD) exposed to personalized trauma cues. Methods Breath samples were collected from 26 humans over 40 experimental sessions during a calm (control breath sample) and stressed state induced by trauma cue exposure (target breath sample). Two scent detection canines were presented with the samples in a two alternative forced choice (2AFC) discrimination and yes/no detection task. The 2AFC task assessed the dogs' ability to discriminate between the two states within the breath samples of one individual. The detection task determined their ability to generalize the target odour across different individuals and different stressful events of one individual. Signal Detection Theory was applied to assess dogs' sensitivity, specificity, precision, and response bias. Results The dogs performed at ∼90% accuracy across all sample sets in the discrimination experiment, and at 74% and 81% accuracy, respectively, in the detection experiment. Further analysis of dog olfactory performance in relation to human donor self-reported emotional responses to trauma cue exposure suggested the dogs may have been detecting distinct endocrine stress markers. One dog's performance correlated with the human donors' self-reported fear responses and the other dog's performance correlated with the human donors' self-reported shame responses. Based on these correlations between dog performance and donor self-report measures, we speculate that the VOCs each dog was detecting likely originated from the sympathetico-adreno-medullary axis (SAM; adrenaline, noradrenaline) in the case of the first dog and the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA; glucocorticoids) in the case of the second dog. Conclusion Our proof-of-concept study is the first to demonstrate that some dogs can detect putative VOCs emitted by people with trauma histories when experiencing distress theoretically associated with the intrusion and arousal/reactivity symptoms of PTSD. Results have potential to improve the effectiveness and training protocol of PTSD service dogs with a focus on enhancing their alert function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Kiiroja
- Canine Olfaction Lab, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
| | - Sherry H. Stewart
- Canine Olfaction Lab, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
- Mood, Anxiety, and Addictions Comorbidity (MAAC) Lab, Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
| | - Simon Gadbois
- Canine Olfaction Lab, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
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Makale MT, Abbasi S, Nybo C, Keifer J, Christman L, Fairchild JK, Yesavage J, Blum K, Gold MS, Baron D, Cadet JL, Elman I, Dennen CA, Murphy KT. Personalized repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (prtms®) for post-traumatic stress disorder (ptsd) in military combat veterans. Heliyon 2023; 9:e18943. [PMID: 37609394 PMCID: PMC10440537 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e18943] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2022] [Revised: 07/31/2023] [Accepted: 08/03/2023] [Indexed: 08/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Emerging data suggest that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) arises from disrupted brain default mode network (DMN) activity manifested by dysregulated encephalogram (EEG) alpha oscillations. Hence, we pursued the treatment of combat veterans with PTSD (n = 185) using an expanded form of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) termed personalized-rTMS (PrTMS). In this treatment methodology spectral EEG based guidance is used to iteratively optimize symptom resolution via (1) stimulation of multiple motor sensory and frontal cortical sites at reduced power, and (2) adjustments of cortical treatment loci and stimulus frequency during treatment progression based on a proprietary frequency algorithm (PeakLogic, Inc. San Diego) identifying stimulation frequency in the DMN elements of the alpha oscillatory band. Following 4 - 6 weeks of PrTMS® therapy in addition to routine PTSD therapy, veterans exhibited significant clinical improvement accompanied by increased cortical alpha center frequency and alpha oscillatory synchronization. Full resolution of PTSD symptoms was attained in over 50% of patients. These data support DMN involvement in PTSD pathophysiology and suggest a role in therapeutic outcomes. Prospective, sham controlled PrTMS® trials may be warranted to validate our clinical findings and to examine the contribution of DMN targeting for novel preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic strategies tailored to the unique needs of individual patients with both combat and non-combat PTSD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Milan T. Makale
- Department of Radiation Medicine and Applied Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Shaghayegh Abbasi
- Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Portland, Portland, OR, 97203, USA
| | - Chad Nybo
- CrossTx Inc., Bozeman, MT, 59715, USA
| | | | | | - J. Kaci Fairchild
- Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
- Sierra Pacific Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, VA Medical Center, Palo Alto, CA, 94304, USA
| | - Jerome Yesavage
- Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
| | - Kenneth Blum
- Division of Addiction Research & Education, Center for Sports, Exercise & Global Mental Health, Western University Health Sciences, Pomona, USA
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Addiction, Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary
- Department of Psychiatry, Wright University, Boonshoft School of Medicine, Dayton, OH, USA
- Department of Molecular Biology and Adelson School of Medicine, Ariel University, Ariel, Israel
| | - Mark S. Gold
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - David Baron
- Division of Addiction Research & Education, Center for Sports, Exercise & Global Mental Health, Western University Health Sciences, Pomona, USA
| | - Jean Lud Cadet
- Molecular Neuropsychiatry Research Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Igor Elman
- Cambridge Health Alliance, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Catherine A. Dennen
- Department of Family Medicine, Jefferson Health Northeast, Philadelphia, PA, USA
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Leighton SC, Nieforth LO, O’Haire ME. Assistance dogs for military veterans with PTSD: A systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-synthesis. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0274960. [PMID: 36129950 PMCID: PMC9491613 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0274960] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2022] [Accepted: 09/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Psychiatric assistance dogs for military veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) currently make up over 19% of assistance dog partnerships globally. We conducted a systematic review of the literature relating to these partnerships, with specific aims to (1) summarize their characteristics, (2) evaluate the quality of existing evidence, and (3) summarize outcomes. A total of 432 records were independently screened (Cohen’s kappa = 0.90). Of these, 41 articles (29 peer-reviewed publications and 12 unpublished dissertations) met inclusion criteria. Data extraction was conducted to address the research aims, including a meta-analysis (quantitative outcomes) and meta-synthesis (qualitative outcomes). All peer-reviewed publications on the topic of psychiatric assistance dogs for veterans with PTSD were published within the last five years. The majority of included articles were quantitative (53%), 41% were qualitative, and 6% employed mixed methods. Mean methodological rigor scores were 80% for peer reviewed articles and 71% for dissertations, where higher scores represent more rigorous methodology. Quantitative articles reported significant improvements in the domains of PTSD severity, mental health, and social health. Impacts on physical health and global quality of life appear inconclusive. Meta-analysis (9 articles) revealed that partnership with an assistance dog had a clinically meaningful, significant, and large effect on PTSD severity scores (g = −1.129; p<0.0001). Qualitative meta-synthesis identified two third order constructs: (1) Impact on the individual: mental & physical health and (2) Impact beyond the individual: building relationships & connection. This synthesis of increasingly prevalent research on assistance dogs for veterans with PTSD provides support for the impact of this complementary and integrative health intervention on PTSD symptom severity, and signs of meaningful improvements in adjacent domains including mental and social health. Gaps between quantitative and qualitative findings, along with the need to report greater demographic detail, highlight key opportunities for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah C. Leighton
- Center for the Human-Animal Bond, Department of Comparative Pathobiology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Leanne O. Nieforth
- College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Arizona, Oro Valley, AZ, United States of America
| | - Marguerite E. O’Haire
- College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Arizona, Oro Valley, AZ, United States of America
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