OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to train asthma patients to improve their ability to discriminate added resistive loads. METHODS: Training consisted of a task in which patients judged the relative difficulty of breathing through two circuits. Difficulty of breathing through the circuits was varied by addition of resistive loads. We assigned 45 patients randomly to one of three conditions: afeedback plus fading condition, a feedback condition, and a control condition. RESULTS: Feedback of accuracy of judgments coupled with fading resulted in reduction of difference threshold. Neither feedback alone nor a control condition in which patients were given experience in making judgments without feedback resulted in threshold change. CONCLUSIONS:Perception training with added resistive loads may help patients to detect an increase in air flow obstruction due to asthma before it becomes severe.
RCT Entities:
OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to train asthmapatients to improve their ability to discriminate added resistive loads. METHODS: Training consisted of a task in which patients judged the relative difficulty of breathing through two circuits. Difficulty of breathing through the circuits was varied by addition of resistive loads. We assigned 45 patients randomly to one of three conditions: a feedback plus fading condition, a feedback condition, and a control condition. RESULTS: Feedback of accuracy of judgments coupled with fading resulted in reduction of difference threshold. Neither feedback alone nor a control condition in which patients were given experience in making judgments without feedback resulted in threshold change. CONCLUSIONS: Perception training with added resistive loads may help patients to detect an increase in air flow obstruction due to asthma before it becomes severe.
Authors: Andrew Harver; Harry Kotses; Jennifer Ersek; Charles Thomas Humphries; William S Ashe; Hugh R Black Journal: Psychosom Med Date: 2013-09-27 Impact factor: 4.312