Splitting visual space with attention

If a right-left spatial compatibility effect is observed, it can be maintained that the space has been segmented into right- and left-side parts. The present study aimed at showing a spatial compatibility effect (and, by implication, a right-left subdivision of space) solely attributable to the orienting of attention. Five groups of 8 normal subjects were required to give right-left discriminative responses to stimuli presented within one of six empty boxes arranged in a horizontal row. Reaction times and errors were recorded. The first two experiments showed that a right-left grouping of the boxes occurred regardless of whether subjects' fixation was kept at the intermediate position (Experiment 1) or at one extremity (Experiment 2) of the row. In Experiments 3 and 4, subjects' attention was not aligned with a fixed position but was moved, through peripheral cues, from trial to trial and positioned between different pairs of adjacent boxes. The results showed that the display was again subdivided into two regions and that the reference point for the right-left subdivision was the focus of attention. In Experiment 5, eye position was instrumentally monitored, and subjects' attention was directed by central cues. The results confirmed that the focusing of attention leads to a right-left partitioning of space, with the boundary at the locus of focal attention. In conclusion, we demonstrated, by employing a right-left spatial compatibility paradigm, that directing attention to a position in space brings about a right-left perceptual organization that predominates over that provided by the other egocentric reference axes.     

Comparative clinicogenetic study of schizophrenic psychoses

The author diagnoses 350 carefully selected schizophrenic subjects, their parents and their siblings during parallel studies using three different clinical classification systems and analyzes the results by multiple threshold analysis and the multifactorial inheritance model. The results suggest that, of the three classifications the author studied, Leonhard's and Sneshnewski's system yield relatively homogeneous subgroups; this indicates the future significance of these nosological systems for the planning of biopsychiatric research.     

Social structure features in three inbred strains of mice, C57Bl/6J, Balb/cj, and NIH: a comparative study

Some features of social living were investigated in three inbred strains of mice: C57Bl/6j, Balb/cj, and NIH. Five social behaviors--Aggression, Submission, Allogrooming, Social Rest and Rest Alone, as well as Wheel Running Activity--were recorded 2 h daily for a week, in 26 groups of seven male mice living in an enriched environment. Dominants and subordinates among strains shared some behavioral characteristics, but strain contributions upon social structure were also detected. Similarities among strains included the appearance of a single dominant mouse per group rated as the most aggressive, besides from being the animal presented with most Submissions. Allogrooming was more frequent among subordinates than among dominants and subordinates. Differences among strains were that agonistic behavior among subordinates was higher in the Balb/cj and NIH groups than in the C57Bl/6j mice. NIH mice were recorded in Rest Alone more often than mice from the other strains. C57Bl/6j dominants showed higher rates of Wheel Running Activity than subordinates.     

Some problems of genetic counseling in schizophrenic psychoses

The authors sum up the most important basic principles of diagnostics and genetics of the schizophrenic psychoses from the viewpoint of genetic counseling for the practising psychiatrist and medical geneticist. Regarding genetic counselling strategy, in addition to nosological considerations, they stress the importance of socio-cultural and social psychological factors and of the emotional atmosphere in the family, which should all be taken into account together. Because of the special situation of schizophrenic (and in general, psychiatric) patients and their families, they regard it as advisable to set up a separate psychiatric genetic counselling service.     

Equating the brightness of brief visual stimuli of unequal durations

The brightness of brief displays whose durations do not exceed a critical period of integration is known to covary with stimulus duration (Bloch’s law). There are cases in which the interdependence of duration and brightness introduces an unwanted confounding that must be avoided. Three methods for equating the brightness of brief stimuli displayed under computer control are described and evaluated, and an example of the outcome obtained with the most efficient procedure is reported.     

On the relationship between stimulus intensity and duration of visible persistence

Stimulus intensity and duration of visible persistence have been found to vary directly in some studies but inversely in others. Hawkins and Shulman (1979) have proposed that this inconsistency can be resolved by separating the studies that employed a decrement-threshold measure of persistence (Type I measure) from those that measured the total duration of persistence (Type II measure). They suggested that Type I measures yield an inverse relationship, whereas Type II measures yield a direct relationship between intensity and persistence. Hawkins and Shulman's model is incomplete in ways that are easily remedied. However, the model is totally contradicted by the experimental evidence. A new resolution of the inconsistent results is proposed in terms of retinal afterimages.     

学前和初小儿童智能筛查——图片词汇测试法

美国L.M.Dunn 1965年修改发表的皮勃迪图片词汇测试(PeabodyPicture Vocabulary Test简称PPVT)目前仍是美国智力不足协会(AAMD)所介绍的常用智能测试方法之一。本文参考PPVT制订出适合我国城市学前期与小学初期儿童的图片词汇测试;在上海市区进行标准化;制订了智龄量表、智商和百分位数量表。本测试再测信度r=0.945,二测试者间信度r=0.913。奇偶信度r=0.945,测试标准误σ=4.5。本方法与“学前儿童能力筛查五十项”,“画人试验”,“WPPSI”总智商、语言智商、操作智商,语文成绩,算术成绩的效度相关分别为:r=0.478,r=0.466,r=0.590,r=0.531,r=0.427,r=0.652,r=0.609。本测试制订以来已经数千人次应用,证明是一种简便易行,省时经济,准确性较好,且能进行集体测试的学前及小学初期儿童一般智能(generalintelligence)的筛查方法(Screening test)。