Blaine Ditto
Blaine Ditto
Professor
Stewart Biological Sciences Bldg.
Room W8/2E, 398-6097
blaine at psych.mcgill.ca
Prof. Ditto’s research focuses on stress-related increases and decreases in blood pressure, their psychological and autonomic causes, and effects on health problems such as high blood pressure, heart disease, and vasovagal reactions. One area of particular interest is vasovagal reactions to blood donation as they are strongly related to fear, have an important influence on the medical system by affecting blood supplies, and are theoretically important in showing that stress can lead to large decreases as well as increases in blood pressure.
France, C.R., Ditto, B., France, J.L., & Himawan, L.K. (2008). Psychometric properties of the Blood Donation Reactions Inventory: a subjective measure of presyncopal reactions to blood donation. Transfusion, 48, 1820-1826.
Barone S., Bacon, S.L., Campbell, T.S., Labrecque, M., Ditto, B., & Lavoie, K.L. (2008) The association between anxiety sensitivity and atopy in adult asthmatics. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 31, 331-339.
Campbell, T.S., Key, B.L., Ireland, A.D., Bacon, S.L., & Ditto, B. (2008). Early socioeconomic status is associated with adult nighttime blood pressure dipping. Psychosomatic Medicine, 70, 276-281.
Lewkowski, M.D., Young. S.N., Ghosh, S., & Ditto, B. (2008). Effects of opioid blockade on the modulation of pain and mood by sweet taste and blood pressure in young adults. Pain, 135, 75-81.
Ditto, B., France, C.R., Albert, M., & Byrne, N. (2007). Dismantling Applied Tension: Mechanisms of a treatment to reduce blood donation-related symptoms. Transfusion, 47, 2217-2222.
Ditto, B., D’Antono, B., Dupuis, G., & Burelle, D. (2007). Chest pain is inversely associated with blood pressure during exercise among individuals being assessed for coronary heart disease. Psychophysiology, 44, 183-188.
Campbell, T.S., Lavoie, K.L., Bacon, S.L., Scharf, D., Aboussafy, D., & Ditto, B. (2006). Asthma, self-efficacy, high frequency heart rate variability, and airflow obstruction during negative affect in daily life. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 62, 109-114.
Ditto, B., Eclache, M., & Goldman, N. (2006). Short-term autonomic and cardiovascular effects of mindfulness body scan meditation. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 32, 227-234.
Ditto, B., & France, C.R. (2006). Vasovagal symptoms mediate the relationship between pre-donation anxiety and subsequent blood donation in female volunteers. Transfusion, 46, 1006-1010.
Updated: March 1, 2010
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