Some problems of Wilson's disease

The Leipzig Center for Wilson's Disease in the GDR is charged with the registration and diagnosis of all homozygous Wilson gene carriers, the clarification of all suspected cases, including the heterozygote test, and the co-ordination of long-term treatment. At present, there are 78 recorded Wilson gene carriers living. On the basis of our own comprehensive observations and investigations over prolonged periods of time, questions concerning pathogenesis, genetics, diagnosis and therapeutic measures, including their side-effects, are dealt with.     

Experimentally induced phonological paraphasias.

A motor aphasic patient had to repeat word lists that contained, among other things, words with the sequences r - r - l and l - l - r. These sequences were often repeated as l - r - l (anticipatory distant assimilation) and r - l - r (same type, but less frequently), respectively. These assimilations violate the cross-over constraint (or relevancy condition or adjacency principle) and thus represent another instance of a flagrant contradiction between pathological and normal (natural) phonological processes.     

TEACHING COIN EQUIVALENCE TO THE MENTALLY RETARDED1

A program was designed to teach coin equivalence to mentally retarded adolescents. Coin equivalence was defined as choosing several different combinations of coins to equal specified target values. A pretest-posttest matched-groups design was employed with an experimental group receiving the monetary training, and a no-training control group. A multiple baseline across coin-counting responses was also incorporated in the experimental group. Training was divided into six stages, each teaching one specific method of combining coins to equal 10 target values from 5¢ through 50¢. A three-component response chain was used, requiring (a) naming, (b) selecting and counting, and (c) depositing target monetary values into a coin machine. Experimental subjects improved significantly in coin equivalence performance and maintained their skill on follow up tests; control subjects did not.     

Third party instigation of aggression as a function of noncooperation and veto power

The purpose of the present study was to test the validity of three hypotheses previously offered to explain the attenuating effects of pacifistic noncooperation on instigative aggression. During part one of the experiment all subjects served as instigators; in the second part they actually set shocks for the target. Subjects instigated either a cooperative or noncooperative confederate, and either did or did not have veto power over the confederate's shock selections. Results of the study indicated that all hypotheses, norm-conformity, compliance, and maintenance of power, were viable for subgroups of subjects. Results were discussed in terms of individual differences and the temporarily inhibiting effects of passive resistance.     

Aortic isthmus stenosis from a neurological viewpoint

The etiology, pathogenesis, and clinical treatment of stenoses of the isthmus aortae are outlined. Following this, the particular case of a 41-year-old patient with typical stenosis of the isthmus of the aorta is reported. The course of disease required the need for a surgical operation, which had not initially been taken into consideration, to be reexamined. The patient, after performance on him of vascular restoration, is now on a part-time job. Using age as the sole circumstance indicating the inadvisability of performing a surgical operation in the case of stenosis of the isthmus aortae cannot any longer be considered justifiable.     

The effect of aversive consequences upon persistent behavior

It was hypothesized that if a behavior is freely engaged in with the expectancy that an aversive consequence will follow, the intrinsic motivation to perform that behavior will increase when the aversive consequence is no longer present. Subjects either worked on a list of anagrams while receiving electric shock on a VR schedule, while being threatened by electric shock, or in the absence of shock. The experimenter then left the subject alone for 10 minutes with a new list of anagrams. Subjects in the shock condition solved more anagrams on the posttest than subjects in the threat-of-shock and noshock conditions. Subjects in both the shock condition and the threat-of-shock condition reported that they spent more of their free time on the anagrams than subjects in the no-shock condition.