Intersexualität oder Störung der Geschlechtsentwicklung

Intersexuality is suspected when a person either lacks the gender-typical attributes or they are too pronounced or if the attributes of both genders are present in one individual. Intersexuality is an umbrella term for a multitude of diagnoses having different causes, different disease patterns and different developments. Some of them are described in this article, such as the adrenogenital syndrome showing virilisation phenomena with a 46,XX chromosome set or reduced virilisation with a 46,XY chromosome set in the case of an androgen insensitivity syndrome, disturbances of androgenic biosynthesis or gonadal dysgenesis mostly with a feminine gender role. Examples of treatment situations from the psychotherapeutic practice are presented.     

Comparisons of second-generation holocaust survivors, immigrants, and nonimmigrants on measures of mental health

To determine whether a "children-of-holocaust-survivors syndrome" could more parsimoniously be explained as an "immigration effect," we performed a comparative study on a sample of 25 children of holocaust survivors, 25 children of immigrants, and 25 children of American-born parents. Subjects were matched on age and educational level and were assessed with four measures of mental health. Contrary to the findings of some researchers whose data supported such a syndrome, our data indicate no significant differences between children of holocaust survivors and the children of other immigrants. These data are suggestive of an immigration effect that is common to the children of immigrants and not limited to the children of holocaust survivors, rather than a survivors syndrome. The children of American-born parents showed greater alienation, less religiosity, and a tendency toward feelings of less guilt than the other two groups. Our data underscore the need to control immigrant status in multiple samples and studies before definitive conclusions can be drawn in this area.     

急性心理应激对多囊卵巢综合征患者的影响

为了了解PCOS患者易患抑郁症、肥胖、代谢综合征、心血管疾病、糖尿病的原因。通过对28例PCOS患者和28例体重指数、年龄匹配的健康对照组回应公众演讲压力进行分析,在回应公众演讲压力时,PCOS组和对照组均有比较显著的焦虑程度、ACTH、皮质醇、心率和血压升高（P均〈0．01）;但PCOS患者焦虑程度、ACTH、皮质醇...     

Memory coding in individuals with Down syndrome

Previous research has identified a deficit in phonological short-term memory in individuals with Down syndrome.

The present work aimed to analyze how a group of 30 individuals with Down syndrome performed in a picture span task compared with 30 typically developing children of the same mental age. The task involved four conditions (i.e., dissimilar, phonologically similar, visually similar, and long-name items) chosen to analyze the strategy used by individuals with Down syndrome to code visually presented nameable items.

Individuals with Down syndrome performed less well than typically developing children. Both groups showed the visual similarity effect.

Taken together, our results confirm that individuals with Down syndrome have a verbal working memory deficit, even when nameable items are presented visually. Mental age appears to be an important determinant of memory coding stage in individuals with Down syndrome.     

保守治疗与切开减压疗法治疗骨筋膜间室综合征的费用比较

比较针刺加外敷祛风消肿酊保守疗法与切开减压治疗四肢骨筋膜间室综合征治疗费用.采用回顾性研究,将符合 ＆lt;中医骨伤科病证诊断疗效标准 ＆gt;（ZY/T001.9-94）诊断标准要求的患者分为试验组10例,对照组10例.试验组采用针刺加外敷祛风消肿酊保守治疗.对照组采用手术切开减压疗法治疗.采用自拟的疗效评定标准在治疗2周后评定2组的治疗费用.结果治疗2周后,试验组和对照组患者全部愈合.试验组平均费用361.7元;对照组平均费用2 058.1元.保守疗法在其他条件相同的情况下,少用1 694.00元,即少用82.3%.因此,治疗四肢骨筋膜间室综合征在保证疗效的前提下,解决看病贵的首选方法是保守疗法.     

Effects of diagnostic classification systems on clinical hypothesis-generation

In this study it was determined whether (a) classification as opposed to absence of classification has an effect on the quality of clinical hypotheses (b) the DSM-III-R and the CBCL have a different effect on the quality of clinical hypotheses, and (c) the potential difference between the DSM-III-R and the CBCL is moderated by the different number of syndromes identified by these systems. To investigate these questions, an experiment was conducted in which 86 clinicians generated hypotheses for six cases. The clinicians were divided into a DSM-III-R, a CBCL, and a control group. Of the six cases, two were classified by both classification systems as one syndrome, two were classified as one syndrome by the DSM-III-R but as two syndromes by the CBCL, and two were classified as two syndromes by the DSM-III-R but as one syndrome by the CBCL. The quality of the hypotheses was determined by means of four dependent variables selected from an overview of qualitative criteria: explanatory value, redundancy, possibility of operationalization, and specificity. No differences between the CBCL and the control groups were found. The DSM group performed better than the control group regarding explanatory value and redundancy. The DSM-III-R group also scored better than the CBCL group regarding explanatory value, particularly when the number of identified syndromes was two for the CBCL and one for the DSM-III-R.     

极地环境中的心理学研究

极端特殊的孤立与封闭环境向深入南极大陆的科考人员提出了极其严峻的挑战,同时也为心理学研究提供了一个天然实验室。对于南极科考人员而言,多数人越冬期间会在不同程度上经历和承受“越冬综合症”和“四分之三现象”,他们的积极心理经历和体验已经开始受到关注。文章重点介绍了有关南极科考人员可能出现的症状、适应特征、科考人员的人格特征以及站区文化对行为的影响等方面的研究结果,对现有研究存在的问题进行了初步探讨,提出了未来研究将会开展更广泛的国际化合作、聚焦环境、人格和行为三者的关系以及积极心理学在特殊环境中的重要作用等主题     

A Study of Perceptual Analysis in a High-Level Autistic Subject with Exceptional Graphic Abilities

We report here the case study of a patient (E.C.) with an Asperger syndrome, or autism with quasinormal intelligence, who shows an outstanding ability for three-dimensional drawing of inanimate objects (savant syndrome). An assessment of the subsystems proposed in recent models of object recognition evidenced intact perceptual analysis and identification. The initial (or primal sketch), viewer-centered (or 2-1/2-D). or object-centered (3-D) representations and the recognition and name levels were functional. In contrast. E.C.′s pattern of performance in three different types of tasks converge to suggest an anomaly in the hierarchical organization of the local and global parts of a figure: a local interference effect in incongruent hierarchical visual stimuli, a deficit in relating local parts to global form information in impossible figures, and an absence of feature-grouping in graphic recall. The results are discussed in relation to normal visual perception and to current accounts of the savant syndrome in autism.     

Which occupational risk factors are associated with burnout in nursing? A meta-analytic study

Numerous empirical studies have suggested a link between occupational factors and the burnout syndrome. The effect sizes of the association reported vary widely in nursing professionals. The objective of this research was to assess the influence of five occupational factors (job seniority, professional experience, job satisfaction, specialization and work shift) on the three burnout dimensions (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and personal accomplishment) in nursing. We conducted a meta-analysis with a total of 81 studies met to our inclusion criteria: 31 on job seniority; 29 on professional experience; 37 on job satisfaction; 4 on specialization; and 6 on work shift. The mean effect sizes found suggest that job satisfaction and, to a lesser extent, specialization were important factors influencing the burnout syndrome. The heterogeneity analysis showed that there was a great variability in all the estimates of the mean effect size. Various moderators were found to be significant in explaining the association between occupational factors and burnout. In conclusion, it is important to prevent the substantive moderators that are influencing these associations. The improved methodological variables explain most of the contradictory results found in previous research on this field.     

Defensive behaviors in rats following septal and septal--amygdala lesions

Rats with anterior septal lesions showed a pattern of consistent enhancement of defensive behaviors normally elicited by threatening conspecifics, with no enhancement of attack or general reactivity. Further division of this group indicated that damage to sites anterior and ventral to the septal area, sites previously implicated in the "septal syndrome," produces maximal effect on these behaviors. When amygdala lesions are combined with septal damage this enhanced defensive responding is almost completely eliminated. These results were interpreted as indicating that the septal syndrome represents hyperdefensiveness to conspecific threat stimuli rather than aggression or increased general reactivity, and that amygdaloid mechanisms are also involved in the regulation of conspecific defensive behaviors.     

Serotonin syndrome associated with the use of escitalopram

Escitalopram is the newest selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) available for use in the United States. It has been approved for the treatment of major depression and generalized anxiety disorder. It is the S-enantiomer of the SSRI citalopram and is highly serotonin specific as it has minimal effect on the reuptake of dopamine or norepinephrine. It is also a well-tolerated medication, with a side-effect profile comparable to the other SSRIs. While a number of side effects have been seen during escitalopram therapy, such as insomnia, nausea, and increased sweating, there are no reported cases of serotonin syndrome associated with escitalopram therapy to date. We present the case of a 24-year-old woman who developed serotonin syndrome after an increase in her escitalopram to 30 mg/day. We will review the diagnostic criteria of serotonin syndrome and the clinical scenarios in which serotonin syndrome can develop. We will also discuss the proposed treatments and role that polypharmacology may play in the development of this clinical entity.     

Nature and nurture: Williams syndrome across cultures

This study is concerned with ways in which children with Williams syndrome (WS), a rare neurodevelopmental disorder arising from a hemizygous deletion in chromosome band 7q11.23 including the gene for elastin (ELN) and approximately 20 surrounding genes, are affected by social mores of vastly differing cultures: the United States and Japan. WS presents a compelling model for the investigation because its genetic phenotype is well defined and results in an uneven cognitive profile as well as a social phenotype typical of the syndrome including overt over-friendliness toward strangers. While a number of research groups have been studying the cognitive strengths and weaknesses of individuals with WS in various countries, there have not been studies to date that explore the social phenotype in WS across different cultures. This study examines the ways in which social behavior in WS, stemming from specific genetic underpinnings, might be mediated by cultural expectations. We conducted a cross-cultural study using an instrument that measures aspects of sociability commonly found among people with WS. Quantitative analyses revealed a significant effect of diagnostic category in that in both countries, children with WS were rated as significantly higher in global sociability and more likely to approach strangers than were their normal counterparts. There was also an effect of culture, in that regardless of category, WS and normal children in Japan were rated lower than their counterparts in the US. We suggest that the excessively social phenotype of children with Williams syndrome, although markedly present across cultures, appears to vary in its intensity by culture. This is an intriguing illustration of interactions between nature and nurture.     

Quand le syndrome de l’imposteur influence la recherche de feedback : étude des relations entre le syndrome de l’imposteur et les stratégies de recherche utilisées chez les employés

IntroductionThe impostor syndrome is a frequent phenomenon that can have deleterious consequences for the individual from a psychological point of view. It is a vicious circle in which the individual perceives feedback as a threat. This syndrome seems to impact the individual's feedback seeking strategies.ObjectivesThe aim of our study is to show that impostor syndrome will have an effect on the type of feedback seeking used by employees with their supervisor.MethodThrough an online questionnaire with 370 French-speaking employees, we assessed the impostor syndrome, the level of perceived experience, and the types of strategies used in seeking feedback from the superior.ResultsOur results show, after controlling for perceived experience and gender, that individuals with a strong imposter syndrome tend to seek feedback more often and in a less direct way (i.e., indirect, or observational).ConclusionThese results confirm the hypothesis of a link between the impostor syndrome and feedback seeking. The latter would be an element to be considered in the understanding of the impostor syndrome and its consequences.     

不同程度尿蛋白患者血清甲状腺激素水平变化及其临床意义

探讨不同程度蛋白尿患者血清甲状腺激素水平的变化及其临床意义。66例不同程度蛋白尿患者,肾病综合征组28例,非肾病综合征组38例,健康对照组60例。发现蛋白尿水平与甲状腺激素水平尤其是FT3水平关系密切。在肾病综合征患者,主要表现为FT3显著降低,提示肾病综合征是正常甲状腺病态综合征的一种。     

Touch and vision in normal and Down's syndrome babies

Two experiments are reported with young Down's syndrome and normal children matched for mental age, sex, and social class. In one, Down's syndrome children performed at chance level on two tactual--visual cross-modal tasks, and only the oldest succeeded with one of two visual--visual within-modal tasks. The modal children performed at above chance level on the visual--visual tasks, and on the tactual--visual tasks the oldest succeeded on two and the youngest on one of the tasks. These results suggest that Down's syndrome children may have some sort of difficulty involving tactual perception. The second experiment examined the effect of touch on visual behaviour. Down's syndrome children and their matched controls looked at pairs of shapes which sometimes could be touched and sometimes could not. In the former condition the Down's syndrome children touched less, and looking and touching was less coordinated than that of normal children. However, both groups made fewer but longer looks when they could touch the shapes. In the light of these results the role of tactual perception in Down's syndrome children is discussed.     

Vaginoplasty in Male to Female Transsexuals Using Penile Skin and Urethral Flap

ABSTRACT.

Objectives: Vaginoplasty presents the main problem in male to female surgery. There are many operative techniques that can be used, but none is ideal. We present our one stage vaginoplasty in male to female sex reassignment surgery.

Patients and Methods: The principle of our technique is based on penile disassembly and usage of all penile entities for vaginoplasty except corpora cavernosa. We developed our disassembly technique on a very large number of severe hypospadias reconstruction and adrenogenital “conversions.” Penile skin flaps and urethral work are used in each of these. Our new vagina consists of two parts: a long vascularized urethral flap and a pedicled island tube skin flap created from the penile skin. The urethral flap is embedded into the skin tube. The tube, consisting of skin and urethral flap, is inverted, thus forming the new vagina. The new vagina is inserted into the previously prepared perineal cavity between the urethra, bladder, and rectum. The new vagina is fixed to the sacrospinous ligament. The labia minora and majora are formed from the remaining penile and scrotal skin.

Results: The follow-up ranged from 3 months to 6 years (mean 4.6 years). Good cosmetic and functional results were obtained in 77 out of 89 patients (87%).

Conclusions: The technique provides results that have the most normal anatomical and physiological characteristics, in comparison to other methods, since all penile entities are used (except corpora cavernosa) to form almost normal external female genitalia. Vaginoplasty using pedicled penile skin with a urethral flap could be a very good alternative to other methods of vaginoplasty.     

Thoughts on the neurobiological aspects of Parkinson syndrome

The Parkinson-syndrome is the most important syndrome under the extrapyramidal disease. The therapy with L-DOPA has a prominent place in the therapy of Parkinson disease since the introduction of oral effective drugs. Dopamin has an effect to the basalganglia as a neurotransmitter and perhaps an inhibition effect to specific synapses of brain. The inhibition or the optimal balance of the cholinergic systems is the effect of Dopamin and Noradrenalin. The therapy with low dosis of L-DOPA in combination with a decarboxylase-inhibitor will be prevent the side-effects of nerv-cells.     

A componential view of theory of mind: evidence from Williams syndrome

In this paper we argue that there are two distinct components of a theory of mind: a social-cognitive and a social-perceptual component. Evidence for this proposal is presented from various sources, including studies of children with Williams syndrome, a rare genetic neurodevelopmental disorder. Earlier work has demonstrated that people with Williams syndrome appear to be spared in the social-perceptual component of a theory of mind. In this paper we present evidence that they are not spared in the social-cognitive component of theory of mind. Three experiments with young children with Williams syndrome were conducted. In each experiment the children with Williams syndrome were compared to age-, IQ-, and language-matched children with Prader-Willi syndrome, and children with non-specific mental retardation. The experiments used different measures of theory of mind ability, including false belief (Experiment 1), explanation of action (Experiment 2), and recognition of emotional expressions (Experiment 3). In none of these experiments did the children with Williams syndrome evidence superior performance compared to the control groups. The results from this and other studies on Williams syndrome support the view that the social-cognitive and social-perceptual components of a theory of mind are dissociable. In Williams syndrome only the latter components, which are linked to distinct neurobiological substrates, are spared.     

Relationships between self-regulation and personality scores of persons with Down syndrome.

This study examined the associations of self-regulation (scores on self-assertion and self control) with personality traits for 76 persons with Down syndrome. Analysis shows self-assertion scores were correlated with scores for all personality traits. The correlations were significant with Emotionality and Playfulness for people with Down syndrome but not for those without Down syndrome (n=40). Self-control scores significantly correlated with scores on controlling and attachment for both groups. Emotionality was related to scores on self-control for students without Down syndrome but not for those with Down syndrome.     

ANALYZING THE INFLUENCE OF TIC‐RELATED TALK ON VOCAL AND MOTOR TICS IN CHILDREN WITH TOURETTE'S SYNDROME

This study examined the effect of tic‐related talk on the vocal and motor tics of 2 boys with Tourette's syndrome. Using ABAB withdrawal designs, the boys were alternately exposed to conditions with and without talk of their tics. For both boys, vocal tics markedly increased when talk pertained to tics and decreased when talk did not pertain to tics, but motor tic covariance was less consistent.