Browsing by Author "Artinian, Vahan Luder"

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    Mercury Vapor Exposure from Dental Amalgams, and Its Relationship to Several Psychological, Motor and Cognitive Variables
    (2000) Artinian, Vahan Luder
    The present study investigated the relationship of dental amalgams to a set of psychological, cognitive and motor measures. The study comprised two parts, a survey-based research and an experiment part. The survey part involved three samples, a university sample and two different internet samples. It examined hypotheses concerning the relationship of amalgam with depression, social phobia, smoking and habit. Results showed that participants who had amalgam tended to score higher than participants who had no amalgams on measures of depression. Further, participants who had very high amalgam tended to score higher also in social phobia and smoking frequency. Gender differences were also noted. The results daggered among the three samples. These differences were explained in terms of sample characteristics such as age and gender. The experimental part of the study, which was based on a university sample, tested hypotheses concerning the relationship of dental amalgams to simple reaction time, memory span and finger tapping. Results indicated that subjects with high amalgam scores tended to do poorer in reaction-time, finger tapping and digit span forward. Gender differences were also obtained. It was concluded that dental amalgams should be considered as a possible contributor in the etiology of depression and social phobia and possibly to motor and cognitive deficits. It was also concluded that the present research is important in alerting clinical psychologists, all health professionals and the general public to the potential adverse effects of dental amalgam, on psychological functions in particular.