Effect of lingual vibrotactile stimulation on the averaged cortical evoked response

This study was designed to determine the feasibility of using lingual vibrotactile stimulation to elicit an averaged evoked response and to investigate the effects of two supra-threshold intensity levels of lingual vibrotactile stimulation on the electro-cortical activity of the brain. The evoked responses were analyzed according to the amplitude of N1-P2 (in microvolts). Analysis indicates that the tongue can successfully be used as a stimulus site in the elicitation of an evoked response. The amplitudes of the evoked response elicited by 2 micrometers sensation level and 5 micrometers sensation level on the tongue are essentially the same. The relative difference between these levels is not sufficient to produce significant differences in the amplitudes of their respective evoked responses.     

Duplex perception with musical stimuli

Duplex perception, a phenomenon previously demonstrated for speech stimuli, is demonstrated here for musical stimuli. In the first experiment, major and minor chords are produced by dichotic fusion of two simultaneous piano notes presented to one ear (perfect fifth) with a “natural” or “flat” single note presented to the opposite ear. Musically trained subjects perceive simultaneously both the single tone and a fused (major or minor) chord. The chords are labeled more consistently than the single notes, even though the fused chords differ solely in terms of the contralateral notes. In a second experiment, using pure tones in place of piano notes, other musically trained subjects individually exhibited categorical perception for either the fused chord or the single tones, but never for both types of stimuli. The duplex phenomenon is discussed in terms of its implications for its specific component modes of perception.     

The construction and validation of a juror bias scale

A questionnaire was constructed to measure individual differences in pretrial bias among jurors. The final Likert scale, called the Juror Bias Scale (JBS), contains 17 items—8 that reflect pretrial expectancies that defendants, in general, commit the crimes with which they are charged and 9 that reflect the value attached to conviction and punishment. The scale is internally consistent and test-retest reliable. Scores are uncorrelated with social desirability, moderately correlated with I-E control and belief in a just world, and more highly correlated with authoritarianism. In one validation experiment, student jurors were exposed to three trial presentations in a laboratory setting. Overall, subjects classified as prosecution biased were more conviction prone and adopted a less stringent standard of reasonable doubt. In a second study, community jurors watched one of two videotaped mock trials in a courtroom. Prosecution-biased subjects asserted a higher probability that the defendent committed the crime and rendered a higher percentage of guilty verdicts than defense-biased subjects for one of the two trials. JBS scores were unrelated to all demographic variables, but were significantly correlated with political views. The potential uses and limitations of the JBS are discussed.     

Clinical, electroencephalographic and computer tomographic studies of children with West and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome

The results of clinical, electroencephalographic and repeated computed tomographic examination of 14 children suffering from epileptic seizures in connection with the West and Lennox-Gastaud syndrome are analyzed and compared. Computed tomography yields little information regarding the etiology of such forms of epilepsy. Distinct clinical and electroencephalographic findings were accompanied by normal computed tomographic results in a large proportion of the cases. To avoid misinterpretation of computed tomographic findings and consequent prognostic errors in these epileptic cases it is necessary to take possible side effects of ACTH and corticosteroid treatment into account. At the climax of hormone treatment computed tomography revealed imposing changes in the form of generalized atrophy in 10 of the 14 children examined. These receded completely upon termination of hormone treatment.     

Quantitative amino acid determination in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid in endogenous depressions

The levels of 20 amino acids were measured in the plasma and cerbrospinal fluid of 41 patients with endogenic depressions. The plasma levels of 12 amino acids were found to be significantly lower in the patients than in the control group, but cerebrospinal fluid levels were significantly lower only in the case of taurine, glutamine, phenylalanine and aginine. Comparison of the same amino acid levels in treated and non-treated patients showed that serine and alpha-aminobutyric acid serum concentrations were higher in the nontreated patients. The tyrosine and phenylalanine levels in the cerebrospinal fluid of the patients who had received medicamentous treatment were higher than in the other group.