Thermographic studies with fluid crystals in peripheral nerve damage

Common peripheral neurogenic lesion in various locations and of different origins were examined thermographically and the results were compared with those obtained by clinical and electromyographic methods. Lesions in the regions of the N. ulnaris and N. medianus can, except in the case of carpal tunnel syndrome, be identified without difficulty by thermography. The results obtained in the case of paresis of the radialis are non-specific, and thermographic examination of radicular lesions are also sometimes ambiguous. Damage in the plexus-brachialis and root region yield impressive results which, however, are not particularly useful.     

Readiness for professional psychotherapy

Statistics dealing with transfers to, and attendance at psychotherapy sessions and with patients' reasons for prematurely terminating such treatment are first analyzed. Causes of unwillingness to accept such treatment despite suffering are then presented. The author concludes that standards of everyday psychology require improvement, that psychotherapy should be accepted as an integral part of basic medical care, and that measures should be taken to make the symptoms indicating the need for such treatment more widely known and to give more realistic expectations of what it can achieve.     

Prostaglandins and endogenous psychoses

The authors refer to the biochemical investigation of the occurrence and metabolism of essential fatty acids in the CNS and to significant differences in results between those obtained in animal experiments and those involving human beings, taking into account hypotheses that have not yet met with general acceptance. Discussed is the possible connection between eicosanic acid and schizophrenia, notably Horrobin's hypothesis of PGE1 deficiency in schizophrenic patients. The probability of a pathogenetic connection between changes in the metabolism of fatty acids and the occurrence of endogenous psychoses is assumed.     

A psychometric evaluation of a residential treatment facility: an illustration of an interpretable research design without a control group

This paper reports on the interim results of an evaluation study which followed a group of disordered-delinquent adolescents discharged from a long-term residential treatment program. Findings from the first cohort of adolescents tested at admission and discharge with the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale (TSCS) indicate statistically significant improvement in all the areas of self-concept, significant decreases in all areas of psychopathology, and no systematic response set at either testing. The research design is unique in that, without a control group, competing interpretations of treatment effectiveness have been ruled out. Using design features, clinical observation, and common sense, four competing explanations of the favorable results have been eliminated. Both the instrument and research design are of interest to those undertaking evaluation research in underfunded settings where control groups are difficult to obtain due to financial or logistical problems.     

Stumpf's cognitive--evaluative theory of emotion.

As a historical contribution to the current cognition-emotion debate in psychology, this article seeks (a) to bring to the readers' attention the largely ignored tradition of cognitive emotion theory within introspective psychology by reviewing what is probably the most clearly formulated cognitive emotion theory of this period, that proposed by Carl Stumpf, and (b) to point out the relevance of Stumpf's contributions to the psychology of emotions for the contemporary cognition-emotion discussion. It is suggested that Stumpf's version of a cognitive-evaluative theory of emotion deserves the serious attention of contemporary investigators and that several of his objections to noncognitive theories of emotion retain their force against modern versions of these theories.     

Impact of biologically closed electric circuits (BCEC) on structure and function.

The basis of our physical world is electrical. The unified Electromagnetic field can appear to us as particles, i.e., matter, at certain densities of wavelengths. A close interrelation therefore exists between matter and electric energy. This knowledge is extensively utilized in technology. Various tools and instruments are electrically powered, utilizing the exceedingly important principle of closed electric circuits. Corresponding closed electric circuits and functions also exist in biology but are more sophisticated and complex. Unfortunately, these aspects are almost unrecognized. The principle of Biologically Closed Electric Circuits (BCEC) and some of their structural and functional effects are described. The Vascular-Interstitial Closed Circuit (VICC) is one specific BCEC system. It functions as a circulatory system in addition to the mechanical circulation. Its efficiency partly depends on its capacity to provide bidirectional transport of ions. The VICC is an in vivo electrophoretic-dielectrophoretic system that is powered by metabolic energy or injury currents. A VICC activation leads to transports of metabolites, new structuring and healing of an injured tissue. Examples are also presented of the process of healing. An abnormal, e.g., prolonged activation of VICC may also induce pathology. Neoplastic formation of cells and tissue can also be healed by the use of artificially applied electrophoresis or an artificially applied electric field as will be described. Our world once developed from electrical energy. This is probably the reason why the BCEC systems make primary differences between nonbiological and biological matter.     

High Level of Footshock during Inhibitory Avoidance Training Prevents Amnesia Induced by Intranigral Injection of GABA Antagonists

Disruption of synaptic activity of a number of cerebral structures (e.g., neostriatum, amygdala, and thalamus) produces marked deficits in retention of instrumentally conditioned behaviors. When animals are given a relatively high number of training trials or high intensities of footshock during learning, however, such disruption is considerably less effective. Since there is a close anatomical and functional relationship between the neostriatum and the substantia nigra, it was of interest to determine whether enhanced training with a high level of footshock would prevent the reported amnesic state induced by injections of GABA antagonists into the latter structure. Rats were trained in a one-trial inhibitory task, using 0.2 or 0.4 mA, and then injected with microgram quantities of picrotoxin or bicuculline into the substantia nigra and posterior region of the zona incerta; retention was measured 24 h later. Only those groups that had been injected into the nigra and trained with 0.2 mA showed amnesia. These results support the hypotheses that (a) the normal activity of a set of structures is essential for the development of memory consolidation and (b) after an enhanced learning experience these structures may participate in memory consolidation, but are not necessary for the occurrence of this process.     

Protection and loss: working with learning-disabled adults and their families

This paper describes a method of working with learning-disabled adults and their families when they encounter entrenched difficulties. Two significant themes are identified: the patterning of life-cycle transitions and the recurrence of grief. Therapy consists of joining the family members to evolve and develop hypotheses about what is preventing them moving to the next family life-cycle stage.     

A balance theory explanation of challenges confronting cross-sex friendships

This study was part of an ongoing investigation into four of the potential challenges confronting women and men in cross-sex fiendships (O’Meara, 1989). Unlike previous research, which explored the perspective of only one member of each cross-sex fnendship, this study examined the perspectives of both individuals in cross-sex fienhhips. The levels of actual and perceived agreement and understanding were investigated through utilization of a variation of Heiderian Balance Theory and Laing’s Interpersonal Perception Method. Seventy three pairs of cross-sex fiends completed a survey examining direct perspectives, metaperspectives, and meta-metaperspectives, on the four challenges. Over 92% of the participants were heterosexual, 68% were Caucasian, 10% were Afican American, 10% were Hispanic, 3% were Asian, 4% were Native American, and 5% indicated “other.” Results indicate that cross-sex fiends generally agree that O’Meara’s four challenges present only minimal problems in their individual relationships, and that balance theory provides a viable explanation of how perceived agreement and understanding concerning challenges are arrived at within cross-sex fnendships. Additionally, results illustrating disagreements and misunderstandings within cross-sex friendships highlight the importance of looking at the perspectives of both individuals within a dyad.     

Psychophysical features of the transition from pure heat perception to heat pain perception.

The psychophysical features of the transition from the pure heat to the heat pain range were studied in 25 healthy subjects (mean age 28.8 years). Thirty short heat stimuli from -1.6 degrees C to +1.6 degrees C relative to the pain threshold were applied to the thenar of the left hand with an apparatus containing a Peltier thermode (nine different temperatures at 0.4 degrees C intervals). The subjects rated the sensation intensity on a visual analogue scale. The resulting stimulus/sensation intensity relations could be explained equally well (same goodness of fit) by a model with a power function (PF) and by a model with two linear regression lines (TLR), one for stimulus intensities below and one for those above the pain threshold and intersecting at the pain threshold. The slopes of the TLR model were significantly larger above the pain threshold than below it. The PF model produced exponents between 1.8 and 1.9. We conclude that to describe the transition area, it is sufficient to use simple linear models for both the pure heat and the heat pain ranges.