Problems and aspects of cooperation between pedagogs, youth health professionals and pediatric neuropsychiatrists in rehabilitation of behavior and achievement disorders in children with normal intelligence]

In those cases where the subjects involved tend to show pathological psychophysical reactions, it is necessary for a cooperative effort to be made by pedagogs, psychologists, and medical experts (pediatricians and pedoneuropsychiatrists). This may be realized by patient-related corrdinative consultations or psychotherapeutic treatment and subsequent individual pedagogic promotion and encouragement depending upon the degree of manifestation and generalization of the disorders. The use of various methods (modified but predominantly pedagogic and directive approaches and chiefly psychological and nondirective methods of treatment, respectively) involve different responsibilities of experts for the process of rehabilitation (in regard to both time and content). Also, the authors show that this is not in contradiction to general objectives of education and training and that every effort is made to reconcile medical and psychological objects with pedagogic requirements.     

The EEG in subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE)]

This article gives an overview of electroencephalographic results obtained in the case of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis. Severe disturbances of background activity have been observed in all patients. Repetitive complexes usually occur transitorily, so that they cannot always be detected in individual cases. Repetitive complexes must be regarded as being typical of the disease, and consideration must be given in this connection to their particular characteristics (repetition frequency, constancy of form, relations to disorders characterized by myoclonus) and the clinical picture.     

A constant-current shock source for providing direct or alternating current output

A vacuum-tube constant-current shock source. providing ac, smooth dc, and pulsating dc output is described. In addition to output flexibility. the shock source is compact, inexpensive to construct. and has undergone 4 years of testing and laboratory use. Operating instructions, theory of operation, and suggested modifications are included along with performance specifications.     

Form discrimination: features or invariants?

Does form discrimination rely on feature analysis, as the indirect theory of perception supposes, or on affordances (behavioural meanings specified by invariant patterns), as direct theory states. Subjects were to indicate the position of a target in a perspective rendering of a plane, displayed for 100 msec. in a large screen projection. In one of the conditions the target disrupted the plane, in the other it did not. Although targets of the two conditions shared the same features, the disruptive targets were discriminated more often than the nondisruptive targets. This result supports the direct approach to perception which states that a perceiver discriminates behaviourally relevant patterns rather than geometrical properties.     

Biofeedback without a technical team--simple and cost effective

An important psychotherapeutic process is that of autogenous training, whose effectiveness can be improved by the use of biofeedback. Biofeedback procedures have hitherto called for considerable expenditure on apparatus and frequent therapy sessions. Despite this, it has not been possible to extend the relaxation effect to more general situations. This paper describes an inexpensive and practical method of utilising all the advantages afforded by the underlying therapeutic concept, on the basis of experience gained with cutaneous thermography. Further information, notably on the preparation of the laminae, can be had on request from the authors.