Structural and functional MRI- findings in children and adolescents with antisocial behavior

BACKGROUND: The developmental course of children with conduct disorder (CD) is heterogeneous. Especially children who exhibit symptoms early in their lifetimes are characterized by a negative outcome. Neurobiological aspects of CD have been investigated in these children but little is known about structural and functional brain aberrations. METHODS: We describe the developmental taxonomy of children with CD and focus on those with the early onset subtype. Structural MRI data of these children and antisocial adults are recapitulated. The impact of investigating neurobiological underpinnings of antisocial behavior and how this might contribute to future forensic and psychiatric assessments is discussed. RESULTS/ CONCLUSION: Children display similar structural aberrations of fronto-limbic structures to adults with antisocial behavior, and amygdala dysfunction might be closely related to dysregulated emotions. Though the investigation of biological factors in antisocial subjects has made great progress in recent years, today MRI is still a rather complex, expensive and indistinct method for forensic assessment.     

Fibromyalgie und Leistungseinschränkung

Interdisciplinary guidelines allowed for new quality standards in pain appraisal. Simultaneously, the scientific notion of fibromyalgia changed from a subjectively overvalued malaise to a central disturbance of coping with stress, which is neurobiologically determined. Therefore, in this article a psychosomatics-based guide is given for the socio-medical appraisal of fibromyalgia with reference to the new International Classification for Functioning and Disability (ICF) of the World Health Organization (WHO). As illustration a case study is presented.     

Young adults with severe congenital hypothyroidism: cognitive event related potentials (ERPs) and the significance of an early start of thyroxine treatment

Congenital hypothyroidism (CH) has devastating effects upon brain development if left untreated. Despite early start of thyroxine treatment, patients still show subtle cognitive deficits compared to controls. We aimed to study auditory event related potentials (ERPs) in young CH adults (N = 12) to verify previous reports of normal attention functions measured by P3 in CH children. We also include ERP components (P1, N1, P2) allowing assessment of a wider range of auditory processing functions. No significant change in P3 latency or amplitude was found in the CH group, but a more subtle change in amplitude topography. A later start of thyroxine treatment was related to increased P3 latency and reduced amplitude. Group differences were found in early ERP components tapping sensory processing, sensory gating and selective attention. The results suggest persisting abnormalities in auditory processing and selective attention that may have influenced cognitive development.     

Laurence Foss and Kenneth Rothenberg. The Second Medical Revolution. Form Biomedicine of Infomedicine

Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics -     

Disability and employment – overview and highlights

Due to the expected decline in the working-age population, especially in European countries, people with disabilities are now more often recognized as a valuable resource in the workforce and research into disability and employment is more important than ever. This paper outlines the state of affairs of research on disability and employment. We thereby focus on one particular group of people with disabilities, that is to say people with mental disabilities. We define disability according to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) of the World Health Organization, by that recognizing that disability results from the interaction of person and environment. Key issues, including the complexity of defining disability, the legal situation in Europe and North America concerning disability at work, and barriers and enablers to employment, are discussed. For each of the topics we show important findings in the existing literature and indicate where more in-depth research is needed. We finalize with a concrete research agenda on disability and employment and provide recommendations for practice.     

Assessing the dysregulation of the Behavioral Activation System: the Hypomanic Personality Scale and the BIS-BAS scales

We discuss the Hypomanic Personality Scale (Hyp; Eckblad & Chapman, 1986) and the Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS-BAS; Carver & White, 1994) and Behavioral Activation System (BAS; Gray, 1991) Scales as risk factors for bipolar disorders. The dysregulation of the BAS is considered to be central and results in higher variability in mood. Therefore, we examined how those scales are associated with mood fluctuations. A total of 59 participants completed a diary for at least 17 days. It included a modified Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (Meyer & Hautzinger, 2001) assessing depression and mania and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988). Hyp and BAS predicted levels of mania and of positive affect but also fluctuations of mania. Hyp also predicted instability of negative affect. Our data also suggest that mood variability is a trait-like feature. Both scales seem not to be perfect measures of the dysregulation factor. Future research should assess this dysregulation more directly.     

Movement after-effects in normal development

Summary Fifty-one blindfolded children between the ages of 5 and 13 years pointed straight ahead before and after 10 trials of pointing asymmetrically to the body midline. It was found that whereas the younger children showed after-effect shifts in the direction opposite to the side of assymetrical stimulation, the older children's after-effect shifts were on the same direction as the previous asymmetrical pointing position.     

Easier done than undone: asymmetry in the malleability of implicit preferences

Dual-process models imply that automatic attitudes should be less flexible than their self-reported counterparts; the relevant empirical record, however, is mixed. To advance the debate, the authors conducted 4 experiments investigating how readily automatic preferences for one imagined social group over another could be induced or reversed. Experiments 1 and 2 revealed that automatic preferences, like self-reported ones, could be readily induced by both abstract supposition and concrete learning. In contrast, Experiments 3 and 4 revealed that newly formed automatic preferences, unlike self-reported ones, could not be readily reversed by either abstract supposition or concrete learning. Thus, the relative inflexibility of implicit attitudes appears to entail, not immunity to sophisticated cognition, nor resistance to swift formation, but insensitivity to modification once formed.     

Prepared to eat: how immediate affective and motivational responses to food cues are influenced by food deprivation

Three studies examined how food deprivation influences the immediate valence of food stimuli as well as spontaneous motivational tendencies toward them. We assumed that immediate reactions towards food stimuli should be tuned to the basic needs of the organism. In Study 1, the immediate valence of food names as a function of need state was assessed using an Implicit Association Test (IAT) in a quasi‐experimental design. Food deprivation led to a more positive immediate valence of food items. In Study 2, these results were replicated using the Extrinsic Affective Simon Task. In Study 3, immediate motivational reactions toward pictorial food stimuli were assessed. As hypothesized, approach reactions were facilitated for participants tested before as compared to after lunch, even in a sample with eating disorders. We thus conclude that the immediate valence of edible objects partially reflects regulation in the service of need fulfillment. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.