Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats: Possible Animal Model of Sleep-Related Movement Disorders

Clinical experience suggests that restless legs syndrome (RLS), periodic leg movement (PLM), and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may co-occur in both children and adults. The purpose of the present study was to provide an electrocorticography and electromyography evaluation of the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) to investigate the potential of this rat strain as an animal model of RLS–PLM. Initial work focused on evaluating sleep patterns and limb movements during sleep in SHR, having normotensive Wistar rats (NWR) as control, followed by comparison of two treatments (pharmacological–dopaminergic agonist treatment and nonpharmacological–chronic physical exercise), known to be clinically beneficial for sleep-related movement disorders. The captured data strengthen the association between SHR and RLS–PLM, revealing a significant reduction on sleep efficiency and slow wave sleep and an increase on wakefulness and limb movements for the SHR group during the dark period, as compared to the NWR group, effects that have characteristics that are strikingly consistent with RLS–PLM. The pharmacological and nonpharmacological manipulations validated these results. The present findings suggest that the SHR may be a useful putative animal model to study sleep-related movement disorders mechanisms.     

Movement and Meaning

Movement analysis receives a new and useful examination in this paper. The fact (hat all of us always “read” each other's movement behavior as a matter of course is taken for granted. Our verbal language is rife with allusions to bodily behavior, suggesting that there really is such a thing as a language of the body. But one and the same movement can represent many differing aspects of behavior and is heavily dependent on its context. What we experience nonverbally vis-à-vis another person is the executive function of body language like, for instance, “wringing one's hands” or having “shaky knees.” Usually, people will convey nonverbally how they feel about the situation they find themselves in while the other—the recipient of the message—will convey understanding equally nonverbally. Thus, it is always (he representation of something that we experience—an embodiment of intent, not language itself. It therefore becomes necessary to distinguish between the implementation and movement itself. These abstractions become helpful in the understanding of many phenomena during treatment situations as demonstrated here.     

Diagnosis of Mood Disorders

This article provides an overview of mood disorders according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.) criteria and other relevant information. Differential diagnosis is facilitated through discussion of differences and similarities among mental disorders, age and gender-related patterns of mood disorders, and useful diagnostic tools.     

妊娠期睡眠障碍研究进展

妊娠期睡眠障碍指在妊娠期发生的睡眠形态和行为的紊乱,它已经成为影响孕妇生理、心理等问题的重要危险因素.本文主要从妊娠期睡眠障碍的概念、发生率、引起妊娠期睡眠障碍的原因、睡眠障碍对母亲、胎儿和妊娠结局的影响及睡眠障碍的干预措施等几个方面进行了综述.     

Prevention of Mental Disorders

Given the high prevalence and enormous burden of mental disorders and the efficacy of CBT in reducing symptom severity of a number of acute disorders, it is reasonable to use these same CBT strategies at an earlier stage to prevent the full expression of emotional problems. In comparison to treatment outcome research, work in prevention of mental disorders is in its infancy. Ongoing and recent prevention trials for 4 Axis I problems are introduced and the challenges of doing this work will be addressed. The goal within each one of the articles is to provide concrete guidelines and examples of the clinical work done in each trial to facilitate therapeutic efforts for individual practitioners.     

Anxiety Disorders in Children and Adolescents with Autistic Spectrum Disorders: A Meta-Analysis

There is considerable evidence that children and adolescents with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) are at increased risk of anxiety and anxiety disorders. However, it is less clear which of the specific DSM-IV anxiety disorders occur most in this population. The present study used meta-analytic techniques to help clarify this issue. A systematic review of the literature identified 31 studies involving 2,121 young people (aged <18 years) with ASD, and where the presence of anxiety disorder was assessed using standardized questionnaires or diagnostic interviews. Across studies, 39.6% of young people with ASD had at least one comorbid DSM-IV anxiety disorder, the most frequent being specific phobia (29.8%) followed by OCD (17.4%) and social anxiety disorder (16.6%). Associations were found between the specific anxiety disorders and ASD subtype, age, IQ, and assessment method (questionnaire versus interview). Implications for the identification and treatment of anxiety in young people with ASD are discussed.     

Processing Demands During Movement

Subjects made a speeded stylus movement along a track to a stop and simultaneously performed a simple reaction-time task designed to assess the processing demands of the movement task. Movement task variables were: (a) number of alternative ending positions — either one or two — with the choice executed during movement, and (b) presentation time for the endpoint signals in the two-choice conditions, either prior to movement initiation (immediate) or during movement execution (delay). Processing demands were higher during all movement conditions than in a control condition that did not require movement. Processing demands during execution of the one-and two-choice movement with immediate signals did not differ. However, processing demands during the two-choice movements with delayed signals were higher than demands during the two-choice movement with immediate signals.     

Movement parallax during locomotion

A hypothesis concerning the nature of movement parallax during locomotion is presented. According to the hypothesis, movement parallax constitutes a basic perceptual-motor mechanism able to produce veridical information as to spatial relations in three-dimensional space. Two experiments are reported verifying the hypothesis in that information due to movement parallax unequivocally dominated both the effects of proximal relative size and spatial anisotropy.     

The Holistic Health Movement

This article provides a conceptual framework for understanding the holistic health field so counselors may consider its implications in addressing a new service area. Counselors can also use the framework as a model for their own self-development. Gross contrasts holistic health with traditional approaches to healing. Holistic health has unique emphases on ‘'positive wellness,’ environmental concerns, self-responsibility, and such practices as meditation, fitness, nourishment, vitality, and spirituality.     

Movement speed in children

Two experiments were conducted to investigate movement speed in children of 6, 8, 10, and 12 yr of age. Different information loads were presented to the children on a serial task (Experiment 1), and on a discrete task (Experiment 2). On both tasks there was a linear relationship between movement time and information load. Reaction time was relatively unaffected by and increase in the difficulty of the required movement. By employing the formula, capacity = (Index of Difficulty) / (movement time), there was an increase in capacity by age with very little overlap between the ages. Strategies on the serial task were discussed and comparisons with adult subjects were made.     

Interventions for Children's Anxiety Disorders

ABSTRACT

Anxiety problems represent common types of childhood disorders that can range from simple to complex, and are characterized as comprising cognitive, behavioral, physiological, and affective components. Current diagnostic nomenclature describes three types of childhood anxiety disorders: separation anxiety disorder, overanxious disorder, and avoidant anxiety disorder. Also, test anxiety may be manifested in school-aged children, in which concerns about performance contribute to lowered achievement. This article describes the nature of childhood anxiety disorders and test anxiety, and discusses interventions that may be effective in remediation efforts.