Results of neurophysiologic studies in ophthalmic migraine

The influence in 8 of our patients with ophthalmic migraine of photic driving with sine-like flashing lights on EEG background activity was checked and the visually evoked potentials following the application of diffused simple light stimuli were analyzed using the recovery cycle technique. The results indicate a slightly increased tonic activity of the structures of the mesencephalic formatio reticularis, such as may be produced by slight functional disturbances. Some vegetative secondary symptoms of migraine attacks and some of the changes in EEG observed in patients with ophthalmic migraine are explicable by such an abnormality.     

Behavior of visual evoked potentials (pattern reversal VECP) in smokers

Twenty six clinically healthy smokers were studied with transient pattern visual-evoked potentials. In comparison with a sample of "normal" subjects we found a difference of some parameters (P less than 0.05): the P2-latency and the interocular difference of latency on average were 6-7 ms respectively 2 ms larger. Thirteen subjects have had a prolonged P2-latency (P less than 0.05) and/or a difference in interocular latencies larger than 5 ms. These findings may suggest on subclinical disturbances of visual system and indicators of an special sensitivity of that person. The findings are possibly related to tobacco-alcohol amblyopia.     

Preserved spatial memory in old rats survives 10 months without training

Aged rats with extensive prior training on the radial maze retain the capacity for accurate spatial working memory (WM) for at least 3 months without practice. To investigate the temporal limits of this influence of prior experience we compared the reacquisition of spatial WM by a group of experienced 21.5-month-old rats to the original acquisition by naive 3-month-old rats. The aged rats had received 225 radial maze tests between 3 and 11 months of age. Despite 10 months without practice the old rats rapidly reacquired critical performance. Their reacquisition was markedly superior to original learning by the young rats, even when delays as long as 5 h were imposed between the rats' fourth and fifth choices during the daily tests in the eight-arm maze. Additional tests showed that neither young nor old rats employed a response strategy to maintain accurate spatial WM performance. Experience clearly confers long-lived protection against the otherwise deleterious effects of aging on spatial WM, but the mechanism by which this influence arises is unknown.     

Impact of a preventive social problem solving intervention on children's coping with middle-school stressors

Children receiving 1 year or 1/2 year of a preventive social problem solving program in elementary school were compared with each other and with a no-treatment group upon entry into middle school. One year of training was significantly related to reductions in the severity of a variety of middle-school stressors. Most importantly, a clear mediating role for social problem solving (SPS) skills was found. Children lacking in SPS skills were more likely to experience intense stressors; however, possessing the skills was not necessarily predictive of adjustment to stressors. The results are discussed in terms of the implications of this asymmetry and the strong support given to the value of social problem solving as a preventive intervention for children.     

Cue depreciation: when word fragment completion is undermined by prior exposure to lesser fragments

The ability to think of a previously studied item has often been shown to be impaired when, in one way or another, the extraitem context is changed from study to test. In a series of five experiments, such impairment is induced in a somewhat different way. A fragment (e.g. r-i--rop) of a just-studied word (raindrop) is shown to be less readily completed if it is presented bit by bit (r------p, r----r-p, r-i--r-p, r-i--rop) rather than all at once (Experiments 1, 3, 4, and 5). No such effect is found if the word has not been studied beforehand (Experiments 2, 3, 4, and 5). This pattern of results occurs even when fragments of studied and nonstudied words occur in the same test and under conditions in which subjects cannot tell whether a given fragment is of a studied or nonstudied word (Experiments 4 and 5). In addition, for words that have been studied beforehand, the impairment is shown to increase systematically with the number of steps involved in the presentation of the word fragment (Experiment 3) and also to persist when the time allowed for completion of the final version of the fragment is increased from 4 s to a full minute (Experiment 5).     

Catamnestic surveys on somato-psychosocial development in childhood and adolescence of patients with unipolar depressive and bipolar manic-depressive psychoses

The somatic and psychosocial development of 80 subjects with manifest affective-phasic psychoses is studied retrospectively and compared with that of an identically sized control group consisting of neuropsychiatrically healthy subjects. Statistically significant differences were found particularly in the answers to questions dealing with social situation and social adaptability. Achievement at school and vocational qualifications were lower among the parents of the patients than among those of the healthy subjects. Characteristic features of the patients' childhood and adolescence were transient depression, often for no apparent cause, and maladaption, and vocational wishes were fulfilled less often than among the controls. The patients experienced greater difficulty in settling in to a new group due to their contact difficulties.     

Acoustically evoked brain stem potential in Wilson disease

By 48 patients with Wilson's disease the brainstem acoustic evoked potentials were stated. There were 35 pathological findings (73%), 13 were normal (27%). The waves, determined by the middle and upper brainstem (Pons and Mesencephalon) showed most of all pathological changes. Those patients with forms of Wilson's disease called Pseudoskelerose and Pseudoparkinson showed the most pathological findings. But one could watch these findings by about 30% of patients in preclinical stage. This method can possibly be used for early detection of disorders of brainstem functions and in the same way it can be used for control of treatment by patients in preclinical stage.     

Telehealth parent training for a young child at risk for autism spectrum disorder

The global pandemic has highlighted the importance of telehealth to access behavioral interventions. Face-to-face parent training improves the development and behaviors of young children at risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We evaluated a telehealth parent training intervention for a child at risk for ASD. Two parents identified possible early ASD symptoms in their 30-month-old son (lack of imitation, pointing, and vocal manding). Both parents simultaneously received telehealth behavioral skills training on the Parent Intervention for Children at Risk for Autism program for 1 hour per week over 29 weeks. Multiple baseline designs across parent and child behaviors showed that both parents improved their parent teaching fidelity above 80% and the child improved on all trained behaviors. This study expands the utility of telehealth behavioral parent training to young children at risk for ASD to mitigate early symptoms of ASD.