Acoustically evoked brain stem potential in Wilson disease

By 48 patients with Wilson's disease the brainstem acoustic evoked potentials were stated. There were 35 pathological findings (73%), 13 were normal (27%). The waves, determined by the middle and upper brainstem (Pons and Mesencephalon) showed most of all pathological changes. Those patients with forms of Wilson's disease called Pseudoskelerose and Pseudoparkinson showed the most pathological findings. But one could watch these findings by about 30% of patients in preclinical stage. This method can possibly be used for early detection of disorders of brainstem functions and in the same way it can be used for control of treatment by patients in preclinical stage.     

Vulnerable workers in insecure jobs: A critical meta-synthesis of qualitative findings

Job insecurity is a widespread workplace stressor that has been extensively investigated using quantitative approaches. With the use of a critical organisational psychology framework, we conducted a meta-synthesis of 20 qualitative studies to investigate the experience of job insecurity among vulnerable employee groups (i.e., women and immigrants). The qualitative meta-synthesis results suggest that there are meaningful differences. Specifically, whereas women were more concerned with and exposed to deteriorating working conditions, men experienced job insecurity as a threat to their identity. Among immigrants, the experience of job insecurity is viewed as largely intersecting with the legal system, impacting their ability to remain in their country and making them feel powerless. Thematic evidence also emerged regarding individual actions that participants use to attain security in contrast to corporate strategies that enhance job insecurity. We contribute to the critical organisational psychology literature by discussing how these results test common academic theories and neoliberal assumptions pervasive within the job insecurity literature: We highlight how organisations manufacture job insecurity, question the existence of harmonious social exchanges, discuss the use of job insecurity as a form of worker control, consider the role of the legal context in aiding worker exploitation and argue for an intersectional view of job insecurity.     

When the poor give more than the rich: The role of resource evaluability on relative giving

Five experiments examined the role of resource evaluability on giving. We systematically varied participants' resources they and another potential donor received and whether they could donate to a recipient either by themselves or with the other donor. Participants in the relative advantage condition received more resources than the other donor, and those in the relative disadvantage condition received fewer resources than the other donor. The presence of the other donor made participants' resources evaluable and shaped giving: Relatively disadvantaged participants were proportionally more generous than advantaged participants but only when they could evaluate their resources. Neither the mere presence of others nor reputational concerns could explain the results. Exploratory mediation and moderation analyses further showed that relatively disadvantaged participants give proportionally more the higher and the more equal they perceive their status to the advantaged donor. This shows that the generosity of those who have less does depend on how they evaluate their status compared to other donors. Our results provide insights into the question of why and when resource asymmetries between donors result in prosocial giving and can influence fundraising strategies of charitable organizations.     

Episodic memory effects of gamma frequency precuneus transcranial magnetic stimulation in Alzheimer's disease: A randomized multiple baseline study

Episodic memory decline is the prominent neuropsychological feature of typical Alzheimer's Disease (AD), for which current treatments have a limited clinical response. Recently, gamma entrainment therapy has been used as a non-invasive treatment in AD, providing evidence that it may have the potential to alleviate brain pathology and improve cognitive function in AD patients. At the same time, the precuneus (PC) has been recognized as a key area involved in AD related memory deficits and as a key node of the Default Mode Network. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a 40 Hz Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) intervention, delivered bilaterally to the precuneus for 10 days, in improving the patients' episodic memory performance. Secondary outcome variables investigated included general cognitive function, semantic and spatial memory, as well as attention and executive function. A concurrent multiple baseline design across five cases was employed. Four patients completed the study. Visual analysis combined with effect size indices were used to evaluate changes across phases. An increase in the average level of immediate recalled words was observed in three out of four patients. Effect size indices indicated significant improvement of attention skills in two patients. No treatment effect was observed for semantic and visual memory, or for executive function. An immediate treatment effect was observed in all patients' general cognitive function as assessed with the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale (mean reduction of 5 points), which was maintained and improved further three months post-treatment. The neuropsychological evaluations indicated improved performance three months post-treatment in immediate and delayed recall, attention, phonological verbal fluency, anxiety, and neuropsychiatric symptoms. This study provides preliminary evidence for the efficacy of a novel non-pharmacological treatment using gamma-band TMS in addressing cognitive dysfunction in AD.