Aphasia type and aging in Hindi-speaking stroke patients

In this study, the clinical profile of Hindi-speaking stroke patients with aphasia from northern India has been investigated. We examined the interactional effect between age and gender with aphasia type in 97 Hindi-speaking right-handed individuals, the majority of them with a confirmed diagnosis of a cerebrovascular accident. The subjects included in the study ranged from 3 weeks to two years post-onset with a diagnosis of a common classical aphasia (Broca's, Wernicke's, anomic, global, conduction, and transcortical) types involving both males and females. Also examined was the interaction between literacy and aphasia type since the subjects had varied exposures to education (total illiteracy to professional/university education). While the data reported here about Hindi-speaking aphasics are relatively in agreement with the age-aphasia type patterns discussed in western countries, nonetheless some differences were also observed. The mean age of Indian patients with aphasia was significantly lower. Also, in addition to some gender and literacy related differences, an outstanding difference was that many clinical symptoms that are known to co-occur with aphasia were not readily reported by subjects with stroke.     

The neuroendocrinology of posttraumatic stress disorder: new directions

Studies of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in persons with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have produced variable findings. This review focuses on the factors likely to have affected the outcome of these studies, including population characteristics and experimental design. Also discussed is a possible role for the adrenal neurosteroid dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) as a mediator of HPA axis adaptation to extreme stress and the psychiatric symptoms associated with PTSD. The antiglucocorticoid properties of DHEA may contribute to an upregulation of HPA axis responses as well as mitigate possible deleterious effects of high cortisol levels on the brain in some PTSD subpopulations. The neuromodulatory effects of DHEA and its metabolite DHEAS at gamma-aminobutyric acid and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors in the brain may contribute to psychiatric symptoms associated with PTSD. The possible importance of other neurohormone systems in modulating HPA axis and symptom responses to traumatic stress is also discussed. Understanding the complex interactions of these stress-responsive neurosteroid and peptide systems may help explain the variability in patterns of HPA axis adaptation, brain changes, and psychiatric symptoms observed in PTSD and lead to better targeting of preventive and therapeutic interventions.     

Perceived Rewards of Nursing Among Christian Nursing Students in Bangalore,India

Nurses in India face significant challenges and often migrate to practice nursing abroad. Few studies have focused on the rewards of nursing in India. The aim of this study was to illuminate perceived rewards of nursing among Christian student nurses in Bangalore, India. Photovoice, a participatory action methodology was used, and 14 Christian student nurses participated in the study. Thematic interpretation of photographs, journals, critical group dialog sessions, and observational field notes resulted in the identification of two main themes. These themes included intrinsic rewards and lifelong benefits of nursing in India.     

Intervention for infants with brain injury: results of a randomized controlled study

A randomized clinical trail (RCT) employed a 12-month individualized cognitive/sensorimotor stimulation program to look at the efficacy of the intervention on 62 infants with suspected brain injury. The control group infants received the State-funded follow-up program provided by the Los Angeles (LA) Regional Centers while the intervention group received intensive stimulation using the Curriculum and Monitoring System (CAMS) taught by public health nurses (PHNs). The developmental assessments and outcome measures were performed at 6, 12 and 18 months corrected age and included the Bayley motor and mental development, the Home, mother-infant interaction (Nursing Child Assessment Feeding Scale (NCAFS) and Nursing Child Assessment Teaching Scale (NCATS)), parental stress and social support. At 18 months, 43 infants remained in the study. The results indicate that the intervention had minimal positive effects on the Bayley mental and motor development scores of infants in the intervention group. Likewise, the intervention did not contribute to less stress or better mother-infant interaction at 12 or 18 months although there were significant differences in the NCAFS scores favoring the intervention group at 6 months. There was a significant trend, however, for the control group to have a significant decrease over time on the Bayley mental scores. Although the sample was not large and attrition was at 31%, this study provides further support to the minimal effects of stimulation and home intervention for infants with brain injury and who may have more significant factors contributing to their developmental outcome.     

Managerial modes of influence and counterproductivity in organizations: a longitudinal business-unit-level investigation

The authors studied the effect of 3 modes of managerial influence (managerial oversight, ethical leadership, and abusive supervision) on counterproductivity, which was conceptualized as a unit-level outcome that reflects the existence of a variety of intentional and unintentional harmful employee behaviors in the unit. Counterproductivity was represented by an objective measure of food loss in a longitudinal study of 265 restaurants. After prior food loss and alternative explanations (e.g., turnover, training, neighborhood income) were controlled for, results indicated that managerial oversight and abusive supervision significantly influenced counterproductivity in the following periods, whereas ethical leadership did not. Counterproductivity was also found to be negatively related to both restaurant profitability and customer satisfaction in the same period and to mediate indirect relationships between managerial influences and distal unit outcomes.     

Mentors Enhance Resilience in At-Risk Children and Adolescents

Mentors can play an important role in promoting resilience among at-risk children and adolescents. Nonparental adults who serve as mentors can provide reliable support, communicate moral values, teach information and skills, inspire, motivate, enhance interpersonal relatedness, and foster self-esteem. A number of researchers have reported that at-risk children who have mentors, especially nonparental kin, exhibit fewer problem behaviors, more positive attitudes towards school, greater school efficacy, less marijuana use, less nonviolent delinquency, and lower levels of anxiety and depression. The most successful mentors are those who invest time and energy and have frequent and prolonged contact with the children they guide. The relationship between mentoring and resilience in at-risk children and adolescents may best be understood from psychological, social, and neurobiological perspectives. As described and recommended by Allen and Hauser, the in-depth analysis of narratives provided by at-risk children and adolescents, particularly over the course of their development into young adulthood, will undoubtedly help researchers to isolate specific features of mentoring that are critical for fostering resilience.     

Intelligence, sex and psychomotor performance

This experiment investigated the effect of intelligence and sex on two simple psychomotor performance tests—Backward Figure Writing (BFW) and Backward Alphabet Writing (BAW) in 180 high-school students (90 boys and 90 girls). Three levels of intelligence, high, medium and low were taken. Ss being first matched on Extraversion and Neuroticism. Each S worked for 5 min in pre-test period, rested for 1 min and again worked for 2 min in post-rest period. Results indicated that in pre- and post-rest BFW, increase in speed of response was a direct function of increase in intelligence. Similar results were obtained in pre-rest BAW. In post-rest BAW, however, highest performance scores were obtained by the group, average in intelligence, followed by high and low intelligence groups. Sex did not emerge as a significant determiner of performance in BFW. In BAW, means favoured boys in both pre- and post-rest conditions and the F-ratio for sex emerged significant in post-rest BAW only. None of the interactions emerged as significant. The comparison of effects in two independent variables indicated the task-specific nature of various psychomotor tasks.     

Neural activation pattern in self-deceivers

While deception is a conscious cognitive effort and self-deception is an unconscious cognitive effort. Such effort possibly shapes the working memory and generates a neural activation pattern in self-deception. Little attempt was made to identify activation pattern in self-deception. The present study investigated the phenomenon of self-deception by increasing the working memory functions using a boxcar design. functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) revealed more activation in bilateral inferior parietal lobule (BA 40), superior parietal lobule (BA 7), middle frontal gyrus (BA 9), medial frontal gyrus (BA 6), thalamus and cerebellum. Activated areas in frontal and parietal cortex suggest significant role of working memory during self-deception.