Object alternation and orbitofrontal system dysfunction in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease

Previous performance on measures of frontal system function have suggested prominent orbitofrontal system damage in Alzheimer's disease, but not in Parkinson's dementia. Object alternation (OA), a task sensitive to orbitofrontal system dysfunction in non-human animals, was therefore administered to determine whether this measure would distinguish Alzheimer's from Parkinson's dementia. OA was significantly impaired in Alzheimer's disease compared to Parkinson's dementia, even though both groups were equated for severity of dementia. Although the patients with Parkinson's dementia also showed impairment on OA compared to normals, an error analysis revealed that the performance of the Alzheimer's patients, but not the Parkinson's patients, was characterized by abnormal response perseveration. The marked perseverative deficit in Alzheimer's disease may reflect orbitofrontal system dysfunction whereas the milder, and qualitatively different, deficits in Parkinson's disease may reflect dorsolateral frontal system involvement.     

The titration of death: a new sin

..."Titration of death" is the phrase I have used, in private musings and discussions, to express the undertaking of causing or permitting death to occur within carefully delimited parameters. It is, I think, a new form of sin. I distinguish it from a similar enterprise, in principle benign, that we might call "titration of dying," which attempts to manage the dying process. The focus of attention of titration of dying is the experience of the patient prior to death, with little or no concern given to the condition of the cadaver following death. Titration of death, on the other hand, is primarily concerned with producing, at the close of the process, a cadaver that is usable in some manner; and titration of death, per se, has only incidental concern with the dying process.     

Personality organization and language behavior: The imprint of psychological differentiation on language behavior in varying communication conditions

The language behavior of field-independent (F-D) clinically normal, verbally resourceful femal college students was examined in three different communication conditions: Dialogue, Warm (vissually supportive) monologue, and Cold (visually nonsupportive and stressful) Monologue. F-I and F-D Ss produced similar amounts of the different types of language behavior evaluated in each of the three communicative conditions. However, they differed with respect to verbal output and length of sentence "packaging" unit in Monologue conditions. F-D Ss talked considerably less but at the same time produced different types of grammatically more elaborate language behavior in Warm and Cold Monologue compared to their Dialogue language behavior. F-I Ss talked considerably more but also showed a type of language autonomy. The pattern of language behavior which characterized F-I speech in Dialogue remained the same in both Monologue conditions.     

Autonomy and Interdependence in Japanese and American Mother–Toddler Dyads

This study investigated two hypotheses: (a) Japanese mother-toddler dyads will work together more interdependently than American mother-toddler dyads; (b) American toddlers will act more autonomously than Japanese toddlers. The hypotheses were investigated using videotapes of 10-minute shape-fitting interactions of 12 Caucasian American and 12 Japanese national mothers visiting the United States and their 24- to 31-month-olds (matched by mean age, gender and birth order). A significant MANOVA and subsequent stepdown analyses revealed: (a) that Japanese mothers more frequently assisted their toddlers in fitting a shape before the toddlers had tried to fit the shape on their own (interdependence); (b) that American toddlers did not attempt to fit more shapes on their own (autonomy); and (c) that more American toddlers left the task than did Japanese toddlers (autonomy). The results indicate greater interdependent task-engagement among Japanese mother-toddler dyads. Greater autonomy on the part of American dyads was evident not in how they did the task, but rather in toddlers choosing to leave the assigned task. Discussion focuses on the implications of these nationality differences for understanding possible differences in early socialization.     

Violating confidentiality to warn of a risk of HIV infection: Ethical work in progress

The old literature on whether medical confidentiality may be breached to warn a spouse of a risk of contracting syphilis from his/her partner — a deep and rich literature — has become relevant once again in the context of HIV infection and AIDS. This paper examines the reasoning and method employed in: the Catholic approach centered around the patient's (property) right to the secret; a (generic) model of justice, utilizing minimal principles of non-aggression and restitution; and an approach involving the elimination of unstable alternatives: the view that public health officials, but not the spouse, may/must be notified; and, that maintaining that the physician is at liberty to disclose but is not obliged to do so. The theory and method behind confidentiality turns out to be deeper than you might have anticipated.     

Social impact of attack on a president: Its public reverberations

Recent assassinations in U.S. history are reviewed and the medical and legal responses that follow such events are covered, as are conspiratorial theories. The question as to whether or not American assassins actually were conspirators is discussed and the reasons for the prevalence of conspiratorial theories are covered, as are the origins of these theories.     

Field and laboratory studies of littering

Four studies are reported. In the first, it was shown that littering rates vary substantially across areas of a large urban region and that the rate for a particular area is correlated with the amount of litter already present. It was also found that males litter more than females and young people more than old. In the second study, a laboratory experiment, a causal relationship between the amount of litter in an area and the likelihood it will be littered was demonstrated. A third study replicated this latter finding, but did not find a relationship between the amount of stress experienced by a subject and the likelihood that he or she would litter. In the fourth study, a field experiment, subjects who were approached and asked to sign a petition about clean streets littered less than control subjects.