Olfactory dysfunction in man: anatomical and behavioral aspects

We reviewed studies examining the olfaction of patients with brain damage for the purpose of discerning correlations between disordered structure and function. Patient samples included those with neurological disorders and neurosurgical interventions and recording of spontaneous or elicited neuronal activity. Brain areas involved in olfaction include the olfactory bulbs, the orbitofrontal and medial temporal cortices, the thalamus, and the amygdala. Despite recent advances in olfactory anatomy, understanding of how these structures are related to olfactory detection, discrimination, and recognition continues to be limited. Inadequate localization of brain lesions and lack of comprehensive behavioral assessment have thus far prevented a detailed account of the organization of olfaction in the human brain.     

An automated behavioral measure of mind wandering during computerized reading

Mind wandering is a ubiquitous phenomenon in which attention shifts from task-related to task-unrelated thoughts. The last decade has witnessed an explosion of interest in mind wandering, but research has been stymied by a lack of objective measures, leading to a near-exclusive reliance on self-reports. We addressed this issue by developing an eye-gaze-based, machine-learned model of mind wandering during computerized reading. Data were collected in a study in which 132 participants reported self-caught mind wandering while reading excerpts from a book on a computer screen. A remote Tobii TX300 or T60 eyetracker recorded their gaze during reading. The data were used to train supervised classification models to discriminate between mind wandering and normal reading in a manner that would generalize to new participants. We found that at the point of maximal agreement between the model-based and self-reported mind-wandering means (smallest difference between the group-level means: M _model = .310, M _self = .319), the participant-level mind-wandering proportional distributions were similar and were significantly correlated (r = .400). The model-based estimates were internally consistent (r = .751) and predicted text comprehension more strongly than did self-reported mind wandering (r _model = ?.374, r _self = ?.208). Our results also indicate that a robust strategy of probabilistically predicting mind wandering in cases with poor or missing gaze data led to improved performance on all metrics, as compared to simply discarding these data. Our findings demonstrate that an automated objective measure might be available for laboratory studies of mind wandering during reading, providing an appealing alternative or complement to self-reports.     

Developmental aspects of auditory and visual scanning.

60 Ss from Grades 1 through 6 were administered an auditory and visual scanning procedure and 27 of those Ss were given arithmetic and reading achievement tests. Data indicated scanning ability increases linearly with grade in school and the relationship between the scanning measures also increases sharply with grade. Auditory scanning was related to academic achievement; visual scanning only approached significance with arithmetic achievement but was unrelated to reading achievement.     

Sex differences in behavioral and cognitive aspects of decision control

Sex differences in three components of decision control were examined in a series of studies utilizing 4-, 9-, and 14-year-old subjects. These components were actual decision control behavior, the cognitive understanding of the masculine or feminine nature of decision control, and the self-perception of decision control skills. At the behavioral level, boys controlled more decision outcomes than girls, especially at the oldest age grouping. In the area of self-perception, girls were less likely to perceive themselves as decision controllers compared to their male counterparts in the oldest age grouping. As far as general attitudes were concerned, neither boys nor girls equated decision control with masculinity. Results are discussed in terms of the socialization of powerlessness in women.     

Sex behavior of epileptic patients

Fifty female epileptic patients were questioned as to sexual behavior and attitude to pregnancy, and related matters. This investigation too confirmed a tendency towards lessened sexual activity among epileptic patients. As a group, the patients showed no deviation from nationwide average values in respect of attitudes and expecter behavior concerning pregnancy, sexuality, and desire for children. The demonstrable interdependence of clinical progress and social background is discussed for its value in counselind.     

A comparison of instruction formats for administering a computerized behavioral test

Shaping and fading techniques were employed to replace written instructions used in computerized behavioral tests. Apple Macintosh computers and HyperCard with Pascal extensions were chosen as the development environment to implement the new techniques. Initial Findings demonstrate the effectiveness and relative efficiency of shaping techniques to teach correct performance on the Symbol-Digit Test.     

The assessment of disability in epileptic patients

Report is given concerning 16 epileptics in whom annuity could be suspended. Types of seizures did not differ from those analysed in a formerly study of further invalid epileptics. On the contrary, the beginning of treatment was very soon after manifestation of disease, and the treatment was in the hand of neuropsychiatrists with mostly good or very good attention. Improvement could be obtained mainly by decrease of seizure frequency of freedom from seizures, and after few years invalidity could be annulled.     

Anticonvulsive therapy and complications of pregnancy in epileptic patients

During observation of 92 pregnancies, epileptic seizures, pregnancy complications and complications regarding the newborns were noticed with 67 women having epilepsy and correlated by means of following therapeutic aspects: without anticonvulsive therapy, monotherapy, combined therapy. Most of the attacks suffered women that were treated by combined therapy. Pregnancy and birth complications appeared nearly to the same extent more with patients under mono- and combined therapy than with patients without therapeutic treatment. Most frequently we saw complications and malformations with regard to the children in that group of mothers that had been treated by an anticonvulsive combined therapy.     

So-called intermediate forms of epileptic attacks - etiopathogenic, clinico-electrocencephalographic and therapeutic aspects

Intermediate forms of epileptic attacks almost exclusively begin in child age. As a rule, the clinical picture shows partial attacks and electroencephalographically generalised activity. Epileptic predisposition and possibilities of exogenous damage are present in an equally high degree. In some cases, there are a large number of psychic pecularities, combination with tonoclonic attacks and therapy resistance. Sometimes asymmetry of the paroxysmal activity, focal peak potentials, varying findings in observation over a period of some years are found in the electroenzephalogram. Among our own patients there were 20 such intermediate forms among a total of 141 epileptics.     

bathhouse intercourse: structural and behavioral aspects of an erotic oasis

Drawing on participant observation data this article examines the social and sexual dynamics of gay bathhouses. Focusing on the setting as an erotic oasis, this research addresses one of the least studied forms of social settings, and presents a unique opportunity for insight into the sexualized aspects of gender and deviance. This article explores the pervasiveness and range of sexual activity among bathhouse patrons, the environmental features of bathhouses that facilitate sexual activities, and the ways that men construct and negotiate (usually anonymous) sexual interactions.     

Toward the clarification of classroom contexts: Pragmatic aspects of effective instruction

Recent research and theory devoted to developing the socio-historical context of educational innovation may be enhanced and invigorated by considering some overlooked theoretical precursors in the educational and child development literature. These sources converge on the centrality of communication in clarifying recent advances in both experimental and school-based research and development. Focusing on student sensitive communication, a basic developmental process called intellectualization is proposed to establish that there are social agent-intellectual system relations to be investigated just as with the social agent-personality relations intrinsic in the ubiquitous socialization process. Relevant background literature is identified, and exemplary recent research is noted.     

Pragmatic communication skills in patients with Parkinson's disease

BACKGROUND: Pragmatic communication abilities may depend on intact frontal lobe systems. Independent evidence suggests that some persons with Parkinson's disease (PD) are impaired on measures of frontal lobe function. HYPOTHESIS: We therefore hypothesized in Study 1 that pragmatic communication skills would be impaired in some persons with PD and would be linked to frontal dysfunction in these patients. In Study 2 we hypothesized that PD patients would be unaware of their pragmatic communication deficits. METHODS: In Study 1 we administered tests of pragmatic abilities and frontal lobe functioning to twenty-two persons with Parkinson's disease (PD) and 10 healthy controls. In Study 2 we obtained self-ratings of pragmatic abilities from 11 PD patients and then checked these self-ratings against ratings of these same abilities by the patient's spouses. RESULTS: We found in Study 1 that patients with PD were: (a) significantly impaired on measures of pragmatic communication abilities, especially in the areas of conversational appropriateness, turn-taking, prosodics and proxemics, and that this impairment was significantly related to measures of frontal lobe function. In study 2 we found that PD patients overestimated their own abilities relative to spousal ratings of those abilities and thus were unaware of the extent of their problems with pragmatic social communication skills. CONCLUSION: We conclude that pragmatic social communication skills are impaired in PD and that this impairment may be related to frontal lobe dysfunction.     

Practical aspects of the use of radio telemetry in the behavioral sciences

This is a practical guide for the technologically unsophisticated behavioral researcher who wishes to use voice radio telemetry (RTel). Points discussed include how to determine suitability of RTel for a project, selection of consultants, suitable locales for RTel, costs, ethical/legal issues, and operating procedures.     

Immediate and delayed memory tasks: A computerized behavioral measure of memory, attention, and impulsivity

The Immediate and Delayed Memory Task (IMT/DMT), a variant of the Continuous Performance Test (CPT), is a new software package designed to be a flexible research tool for the study of attention, memory, and impulsivity. This package allows researchers to determine the design to be used during a testing session and to manipulate many of the parameters. It features two components: the IMT and the DMT, both of which present sequential 2- to 7-digit stimuli with variable presentation rates and intertrial intervals. Subjects respond to identically matched stimuli presented consecutively, spanning a brief period of time (IMT), or to stimuli spanning a greater period of time (during which intervening stimuli to be ignored appear; DMT). Task complexity can be adjusted to suit applications for both children and adults. Preliminary studies have demonstrated that these laboratory tasks are sensitive to group differences, produce stable baselines of performance, and are sensitive to drug-induced performance decrements.