Neuroanatomical and behavioral asymmetry in an adult compensated dyslexic

Individual differences in cortical anatomy are readily observable, but their functional significance for behaviors such as reading is not well understood. Here, we report a case of an apparent compensated dyslexic who had attained high achievement in visuospatial mathematics. Data from a detailed background interview, psychometric testing, divided visual field tasks measuring basic word recognition (word naming, nonword naming, and lexical decision), and more controlled word retrieval (verb, category, and rhyme generation), and measurements of his atypical brain structure are described. The findings suggested that enhanced "top-down" processing could provide the means to compensate for deficient "bottom-up" word decoding skills in this case. Relative to controls, this individual also evidenced unusually large asymmetries on several divided visual field lexical tasks, an extreme leftward asymmetry of the planum temporale, and a rare form of Sylvian fissure morphology (Steinmetz type 4, [Steinmetz, H., Ebeling, U., Huang, Y., & Kahn, T. (1990). Sulcus topography of the parietal opercular region: An anatomic and MR study. Brain and Language, 38, 515-533.]). We suggest that certain forms of brain organization may be associated with successful behavioral compensation for dyslexia, and that anatomical variations in the right hemisphere may be important contributors to individual differences in reading acquisition and achievement.     

One-year follow-up of pharmacotherapy-resistant patients with panic disorder treated with cognitive-behavior therapy: Outcome and predictors of remission

Non-response to pharmacotherapy for panic disorder (PD) is a well-documented problem. However, little information exists to guide next-step strategies for these non-responders. In addition to pharmacologic augmentation strategies, several studies support the efficacy of cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) for these patients, although data on long-term outcomes has been lacking. In this study, we provide one-year outcomes on a sample of 63 patients who completed group CBT for PD after failing to respond adequately to previous pharmacotherapy. Sustained significant benefit was found for all dimensional outcome scores, and nearly two-thirds of the sample met remission criteria. This occurred with reductions in medication use over the follow-up period. Negative predictors of remission status included comorbid dysthymia, social phobia, and generalized anxiety disorder. These results provide additional evidence for the efficacy of CBT for medication non-responders with PD.     

Habituation of the visual orienting response in young children1, 2

The eye tracks of 29 children (aged 2-7 years) were recorded by a reflection eye camera while they were looking ata4by 4 matrix of 16 white geometric shapes. When a circle suddenly changed to red, the children immediately looked at it for two-thirds of the presentation time, a reading which was 16 times the initial level before this novel color was introduced. With repeated presentations of the novel red circle display, progressively fewer fixations fell on the red circle. After 20 trials, this habituation was incomplete, and the red circle was still drawing six times the initial amount of looking found on the original white circle. Ss were apparently relatively slow to form a neural representation of the visual environment due to the wide range of choices in the original display. The age of the children had no monotonic effect on the high, and virtually equal, initial visual concentration, nor on the rate at which habituation occurred. An interesting contrast, therefore, appeared between these data and the marked age effects noted by others in the recognition of letter-like shapes. Unlike recognition tasks, orienting and habituation need a minimum of stimulus interpretation. Children, even as young as 2 years, have demonstrated a remarkable efficiency in these processes of orienting and habituation to novelty.