FamiLee Life

Discovering What I Did Before Psychology

After I completed my undergraduate education, I was literally scrambling to find work. I had only months before actually crafted a resume and only received one job interview (which I did not get). Pathetic, I know. Then again, I could not blame anyone but myself given my lack of direction at the time. Fortunately, I had been working at a group home for austic boys while in college and I was able to keep this job for the summer after graduation.

During the summer, I began a frantic soul search and realized that what I wanted to become was a psychologist. So, I consulted with a professor or two and recognized the need to gain research experience before applying to grad schools. Luckily, I lived in Boston and there were lots of hospitals around town to seek employment. I landed an entry level research tech job that actually paid a decent wage, allowed me to stay in Boston, and opened many doors to come (though I had no idea at the time). It was as a sleep research technician at Brigham and Womans Hospital and I worked directly for a professor of endocrinology at Harvard Med School. My job was to help recruit subjects, screen them for eligibility, and run them through our double-blind study on cholesterol lowering medication and its effect on sleep and daytime performance.

Fast forward to today....

I am scanning the ISI Web of Knowledge which is an academic search engine of sorts. I decide to see what kind of research has been done using psychological instruments that I have developed over the years. Lo and behold...I come across a reference with my name attached to it.

Roth, T., Richardson, GR, Sullivan, JP, Lee, RM, Merlotti, L, & Roehrs, T. (1992). Comparative effects of Pravastatin and Lovastatin on nighttime sleep and daytime performance. Clinical Cardiology, 15 (6), 426-432.

Abstract: Pravastatin and lovastatin, two HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors with similar cholesterol-lowering effects, differ in their lipid solubility. The hydrophilic characteristics of pravastatin may explain why the drug has not been detected in cerebrospinal fluid. On the other hand, lovastatin, a lipophilic compound, has been detected in the cerebrospinal fluid. Previous reports have suggested that lovastatin administration may be associated with insomnia, which reflects an action in the central nervous system. The effects of the two drugs on nocturnal sleep and daytime performance in young, healthy men have been assessed in randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies. Computer-based performance tests were administered on two consecutive days before drug administration and at the end of a 3-week active drug or placebo treatment period. Results from both sites were combined for analysis. Neither pravastatin nor lovastatin significantly affected nocturnal sleep or daytime sleepiness in this study population, but lovastatin significantly affected daytime performance. In subjects treated with lovastatin, the results showed that two measures of performance, divided attention (p<0.05) and vigilance (p<0.01), worsened significantly from baseline as did global performance (p<0.01). Performance was not affected in the pravastatin and placebo groups. These results provide preliminary evidence of an adverse effect of lovastatin on daytime performance.

Finding this publication brought back lots of fond memories, carrying a beeper, watching people sleep, learning to use a computer, figuring out the ins and outs of research. It was an important turning point in my life. So, it's nice to see that I now also have a historical account of this time with this publication. Pretty cool.

Posted by richlee at October 12, 2006 05:45 PM