Torticollis spasmodicus and addiction

From a random sample of 49 patients suffering from torticollis spasmodicus and dependence on alcohol or medicaments, 6 have been selected and are discussed with i view to findings possible mutual influences between the disorders. In particular, premorbid accentuation of personality presented itself as a potential risk factor leading to both tortocollis and alcoholism. In various cases, the patient makes use of alcohol for self-treatment of extrapyramidal-motor symptoms. But such phenomenological developments are preceded by varied constellations of conditions, that have to be taken into account in the treatment.     

The perception of temporal deviations in isochronic patterns

In a study of perceptual synchronization with an isochronic sequence, subjects were given the following task: They heard an isochronic sequence of tones in which the last interval was either correct or too long. Their task was to detect irregularity. The independent variables were the number of tones heard and the time interval between them. The dependent variable was the difference limen (DL) for the detectability of the irregularity. Two experiments were performed in this study, differing in the way in which the trials were blocked: In Experiment 1, stimuli with the same period were presented in blocks, whereas in Experiment 2, the period of the stimulus was randomized. The results show that in Experiment 1 the number of tones in the stimulus did not affect the detectability of the anisochrony. In Experiment 2, the number of the DL was a decreasing function of the number of tones heard. Moreover, the decrease of the DL was larger than one would expect from a simple model of information integration, which assumes that subjects improve their performance by averaging their percepts of the first intervals in the sequence. The difference between this task and experiments on the discrimination of temporal intervals is discussed.     

The effect of early childhood experiences on neurotic disorders in the adult

"Empiricists" and "clinicians", in especial those in the field of psychoanalysis, have reached divergent views on the significance of early childhood experiences for neurotic affections in the adult. The present paper discusses the need to resolve such "apparent" differences. To be effective, models of psychological development should, besides taking into account biological hereditary influences and the psychosocial conditions of childhood, also consider the ongoing perpetualisation of neurotic behavior through social feedback.     

Psychopathologic symptoms in torticollis spasmodicus

The paper presents the results of detailed diagnosis of 51 patients with torticollis spasmodicus. A discussion of the results would seem to indicate the possibility of there being one group with prior neuroses, one group compulsive in nature, and one group whose diminished performance arises from the condition of the brain. Reliable diagnosis is only possible when both mental and physical parameters have been taken into consideration.     

The detectability of local and global displacements in regular rhythmic patterns

Summary The aim of this study is to find out by which mechanism human subjects discriminate a regular sequence of beats from an irregular one. Therefore a detection experiment was conducted in which subjects had to detect one of three different types of displacement within a regular rhythmic pattern. The results are against a theory which assumes that in such a task successive intervals are compared. They are more in favor of a theory that postulates an internal time keeper which is synchronized with the presented pattern.     

Timing precision in continuation and synchronization tapping

 Wing and Kristofferson (1973) have shown that temporal precision in self-paced tapping is limited by variability in a central timekeeper and by variability arising in the peripheral motor system. Here we test an extension of the Wing–Kristofferson model to synchronization with periodic external events that was proposed by Vorberg and Wing (1994). In addition to the timekeeper and motor components, a linear phase correction mechanism is assumed which is triggered by the last or the last two synchronization errors. The model is tested in an experiment that contrasts synchronized and self-paced trapping, with response periods ranging from 200–640 ms. The variances of timekeeper and motor delays and the error correction parameters were estimated from the auto-covariance functions of the inter-response intervals in continuation and the asynchronies in synchronization. Plausible estimates for all parameters were obtained when equal motor variance was assumed for synchronization and continuation. Timekeeper variance increased with metronome period, but more steeply during continuation than during synchronization, suggesting that internal timekeeping processes are stabilized by periodic external signals. First-order error correction became more important as the metronome period increased, whereas the contribution of second-order error correction decreased. It is concluded that the extended two-level model accounts well for both synchronization and continuation performance. Received: 16 November 1998 / Accepted: 21 April 1999     

Measuring Implicit Gender-Role Orientation: The Gender Initial Preference Task

Individuals prefer their name letters over nonname letters, which is known as the name-letter effect (NLE). This research aimed to examine a possible NLE for gender-role orientation (GRO) by rating letters for their gender-typicality in an initial preference task (Gender-IPT). Indeed, a clear NLE appeared: Men rated their initials as more male-typical, whereas women rated them as more female-typical. The Gender-IPT showed good convergent validity with other direct and indirect (Gender Implicit Association Test) measures of GRO as well as predictive validity with sensation seeking and gender-typical everyday life behaviors. The Gender-IPT seems to be a useful and practical indirect measure to assess GRO in a short, convenient, and computer-independent way, complementing other indirect measures of GRO.     

Emotional intelligence, personality, and task-induced stress

Emotional intelligence (EI) may predict stress responses and coping strategies in a variety of applied settings. This study compares EI and the personality factors of the Five Factor Model (FFM) as predictors of task-induced stress responses. Participants (N = 200) were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 task conditions, 3 of which were designed to be stressful. Results confirmed that low EI was related to worry states and avoidance coping, even with the FFM statistically controlled. However, EI was not specifically related to task-induced changes in stress state. Results also confirmed that Neuroticism related to distress, worry, and emotion-focused coping, and Conscientiousness predicted use of task-focused coping. The applied utility of EI and personality measures is discussed.