Correlations between glucose metabolic rates in brain regions of healthy male adults at rest and during language stimulation

This study examines the effect of different behavioral conditions on patterns of correlation between regional cerebral metabolic rates for glucose. Cerebral glucose metabolism was determined with positron emission tomography and (11C)-deoxyglucose in 29 normal subjects between the ages of 23 and 55. Seventeen subjects were studied in an unstimulated (resting) condition and 12 subjects during a phoneme monitoring language stimulation. Partial correlation coefficients, controlling for whole brain glucose metabolism, were calculated for pairs of metabolic rates in 14 cortical and 2 subcortical regions. Both stimulated and unstimulated subjects showed statistically significant correlations between left and right hemisphere homologs. The stimulated subjects also showed significant within-hemisphere correlations between left but not right hemisphere regions. These included left perisylvian regions classically associated with language functions (left inferior frontal, left superior temporal and left transverse temporal cortical regions) as well as other regions. Significant correlations between left regions and a right superior temporal region were also found. In general, these findings show a pattern of cross-hemisphere symmetry at rest and of hemisphere asymmetry during stimulation. Moreover, the asymmetry observed during stimulation appears to be superimposed upon a pattern of cross-hemisphere symmetry similar to that observed in the unstimulated state.     

The influence of auditory stimulation on a visual oblique effect

It has previously been reported by Smets that there is an increase in the magnitude of the monocular oblique effect when a 70 dB(A), 1 kHz acoustic stimulus is presented contralaterally, but not ipsilaterally, to the viewing eye. This finding was interpreted as one which provided difficulties both for data-driven models of information processing and for the cortical simple cell explanation of the oblique effect. There are several logical and methodological difficulties in Smets's paper, and in the two experiments reported here the effect found by Smets was not replicated. The failure to observe the effect was robust under conditions that maximised the possibility of neural interaction. It is concluded that acoustic stimulation does not affect the magnitude of the oblique effect.     

Teacher ratings of children's problem and competence behaviors: Normative and parametric characteristics

Teacher-rated adjustment differences among young elementary school children from (a) a recent sample and a 1974 cohort, and (b) urban/suburban, male/female, and grade-level subgroups were examined. A problem behavior checklist (Classroom Adjustment Rating Scale) and a school competence measure (Health Resources Inventory) for 974 children from 5 urban and 5 suburban schools were completed by 101 first- to fourth-grade teachers. Children from the more current cohort were rated as significantly more maladjusted than those from the earlier sample on 8 of 10 adjustment variables. In the recent sample, girls and suburban children evidenced a greater number of school competencies and fewer problem behaviors than boys and urban children, respectively. The implications of these findings for the future use of the teacher rating scales are discussed.     

Process parallels in related groups

The theoretical basis for the repetition of themes in related groups is addressed by describing similar processes in four systems: inpatient psychiatric ward, inpatient psychotherapy group, supervisory group, and group psychotherapy division. The principles of general system theory help explain process parallels in allied groups and illuminate group process.     

The use of structured multi-domain job analysis for the construction of assessment center methods and procedures

This article addresses the defensibility of the assessment center based on a content oriented validation strategy. One reason for the confusion in this area is the fact that there are no agreed upon methods for constructing the assessment procedures. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to describe how structured multi-domain job analysis information can be used to develop an assessment center which is well grounded with regard to content validity.     

Paragrammatic speech without a comprehension deficit? A case report

In this article we present a case report of a patient, who had a peculiar pattern of language use following a stroke. The two most prominent features were language switches during spontaneous speech in the first months postonset, when the patient mixed English, German, and French words and utterances into his mother tongue (Dutch); clearly disturbed speech output, showing signs of word-finding problems and paragrammatism but hardly any paraphasias, while at the same time no evidence of a language disturbance could be obtained with standard clinical aphasia tests.     

Acquisition of word-processing skills by younger, middle-age, and older adults

A total of 45 subjects in three age groups (younger, middle-age, older) were trained to word process on microcomputers using a commercial training program and an experimenter-designed test and evaluation protocol. Although all of the subjects mastered the essentials of word processing, the older group took significantly longer to complete the training and evaluation procedures and performed more poorly on a review examination that tested their knowledge of the word-processing commands and techniques. The results are discussed in relation to requirements for trainer assistance, motivational factors, and the need to design training protocols that meet the needs of older adults.