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Mental imagery is what we experience when we imagine seeing a specific object, hearing a particular sound, or feeling a particular touch, and it is perhaps the most fundamental aspect of our imagination. Historically, research on mental imagery has explored the phenomenological and neurological similarities between mental imagery and sensory perception to understand the quasi-perceptual nature of these conjured “images” we experience in the “mind’s eye.” However, this line of research has traditionally focused on the similarities of mental imagery and perception within each sensory modality, and the relationship between mental imagery in one sense and its effects on perception in another sense or on our perception of the world around us as a whole has largely been ignored. This chapter will extend the study of the relationship between mental imagery and perception into a multisensory context, and utilize insights from research in neuroscience and multisensory perception to explore how mental imagery in one sense can affect ongoing perception in another. The chapter will also examine the similarities in how the brain processes and integrates imagined and real crossmodal sensory stimuli. Lastly, the chapter will discuss how the integration of mental imagery and real sensory stimuli can lead to brain plasticity across the senses and change how we perceive the world around us in the future.
Thrombocytopenia is a risk factor for patent ductus arteriosus. Immature and mature platelets exhibit distinct haemostatic properties; however, whether platelet maturity plays a role in postnatal, ductus arteriosus closure is unknown.
Methods:
In this observational study, counts of immature and mature platelets (=total platelet count − immature platelet count) were assessed on days 1, 3, and 7 of life in very low birth weight infants (<1500 g birth weight). We performed echocardiographic screening for haemodynamically significant patent ductus arteriosus on day 7.
Results:
Counts of mature platelets did not differ on day 1 in infants with (n = 24) and without (n = 45) haemodynamically significant patent ductus arteriosus, while infants with significant patent ductus arteriosus exhibited lower counts of mature platelet on postnatal days 3 and 7. Relative counts of immature platelets (fraction, in %) were higher in infants with patent ductus arteriosus on day 7 but not on days 1 and 3. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis unraveled associations between both lower mature platelet counts and higher immature platelet fraction (percentage) values on days 3 and 7, with haemodynamically significant ductus arteriosus. Logistic regression analysis revealed that mature platelet counts, but not immature platelet fraction values, were independent predictors of haemodynamically significant patent ductus arteriosus.
Conclusion:
During the first week of postnatal life, lower counts of mature platelets and higher immature platelet fraction values are associated with haemodynamically significant patent ductus arteriosus. Lower counts of mature platelet were found to be independent predictors of haemodynamically significant patent ductus arteriosus.
Decreased levels of polyunsaturated membrane fatty acids (PUFA) and increased activity of cytosolic phospholipase A2 (PLA2) enzymes (key regulating enzymes of membrane remodelling and PUFA availability) are supporting pillars of the “membrane phospholipids concept of schizophrenia”. Assuming that membrane PUFA profile and PLA2 activity are altered during the at risk phase of disorder and influenced by fatty acid supplementation, we investigated PUFA profiles and PLA2 activity simultaneously in ultra high-risk (UHR) subjects before and after (n-3) fatty acids supplementation.
Method
In 81 UHR patients (aged between 13 and 25 years) PUFA levels were assessed in erythrocyte membranes using gas chromatography, and cytosolic PLA2 activity was measured in blood serum using a fluorometric HPTLC-based assay. Measurements were performed before and after a 6 month interval of placebo-controlled supplementation with n-3 fatty acids.
Results
At baseline significant associations were found between (n-9) and (n-6)-PUFA levels and psychopathology (especially in negative symptoms) assessed by the PANSS according to PACE criteria. (n-3)-PUFA supplementation caused significant changes in (n-3)- and (n-6)-PUFA levels and a significant decrease of PLA2 activity.
Conclusion
Our results support associations between membrane biochemistry and psychopathology (especially negative symptoms) in people at risk to develop psychosis. Supplementation of n-3 PUFA increases PUFA availability at membrane level and modulates membrane repair and remodelling processes. Assuming that PLA2 activity reflects neuronal damage, PUFA supplementation might unfold neuroprotective effects.
The aim of this study was to examine the long-term efficacy and safety of a monotherapy with quetiapine or sodium valproate (VPA) in patients with rapid cycling bipolar disorder.
This open-label trial was conducted at three German centers. A sample of 38 remitted or partly remitted bipolar patients with rapid cycling (quetiapine n = 22; VPA n = 16) were treated with quetiapine or VPA (flexible-dose design) up to 12 months. Analyses were based on the ITT-LOCF principle.
41 % of the patients with quetiapine and 50 % with VPA completed the trial. According to the Clinical Global Impression Scale responder rates tended to be higher for quetiapine than for VPA: i.e. 43 % vs. 25 % (depression), 48 % vs. 36 % (mania), and 43 % vs. 19 % (improvement in both mania and depression). There were no differences found between the treatment groups evaluating the HRSD, MADRS and YMRS. In contrast, Life Chart Method data showed that patients being treated with quetiapine had significantly less depressive days than patients on VPA whilst they did not differ in the number of days with manic symptoms. The incidence of adverse events, especially of orthostatic dysregulation and sedation was higher in the quetiapine group.
Quetiapine may be more effective than VPA regarding depressive symptoms and as effective as VPA in the treatment of manic symptoms in the long-term treatment of rapid cycling bipolar disorder. The side effect profile of quetiapine tends to be less favorable than the one of VPA.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a serious risk factor for co-occurring psychiatric disorders and negative psychosocial consequences in adulthood. Given this background, there is great need for an effective treatment of adult ADHD patients.
Therefore, our research group has conducted a first controlled randomized multicenter study on the evaluation of disorder-tailored DBT-based group program in adult ADHD compared to a psychophar-macological treatment.
Between 2007 and 2010, in a four-arm-design 433 patients were randomized to a manualized dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT) based group program plus methylphenidate or placebo or clinical management plus methylphenidate or placebo with weekly sessions in the first twelve weeks and monthly sessions thereafter. Therapists are graduated psychologists or physicians. Treatment integrity is established by independent supervision. Primary endpoint (ADHD symptoms measured by the Conners Adult ADHD Rating Scale) is rated by interviewers blind to the treatment allocation (Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN54096201). The trial is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research and Education (01GV0606) and is part of the German network for the treatment of ADHD in children and adults (ADHD-NET). In the lecture the first data of our interim analysis are presented (baseline data, results of treatment compliance and adherence).
We report the case of a 68-year-old depressive patient who developed severe thrombocytopenia during hospitalization. EDTA-associated thrombocytopenia and psychodrug-induced thrombocytopenia are illustrated as potential causes of low platelet counts, particularly in regard to psychiatric patients.
This study aimed to investigate the psychological disorders following rape as well as the course of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and to determine clinical factors predictive of chronic PTSD. Seventy-three rape victims were observed in a systematic follow-up study over 1 year following rape using structured interview schedules. The frequency of PTSD was massive. The early disorders predicting PTSD 1 year after rape included somatoform and dissociative disorders, agoraphobia and specific phobias as well as depressive and gender identity disorders and alcohol abuse. Through stepwise logistic regressions, the following were found to be good models of prediction of chronic PTSD 1 year after rape: for the characteristics of the traumas, intrafamily rape, being physically assaulted outside rape, and added physical violence during rape; for the early psychological and behavioural attitudes, low self-esteem, permanent feelings of emptiness and running away; and for early mental disorders, agoraphobia and depressive disorders. Finally, among all these predictive factors, added physical violence during rape, low self-esteem, permanent feelings of emptiness and agoraphobia were shown to constitute a strong model of predictors. People presenting features such as the predictive factors of chronic PTSD found in the study should be asked about a history of rape and symptoms of PTSD.
Ventricular enlargement is one of the most consistent brain changes associated with schizophrenia. However, there are only few cross-sectional studies in genetic at risk individuals, and no studies in individuals meeting ultra high risk (UHR) criteria of developing frank psychosis. This study investigates the timing of ventricular volume changes across the different stages of emerging psychotic disorders.
Methods
We measured ventricular volumes in 473 subjects comparing 135 UHR subjects (of whom 39 subsequently developed a psychotic illness), 162 first-episode psychosis (FEP) subjects, 89 chronic schizophrenia (CS) subjects with 87 normal controls (NC). 29 UHR, 25 FEP, 13 CS, and 24 HV had longitudinal follow up scans.
Results
We found significant ventricular enlargement in FEP and CS, but not in UHR and NC. Longitudinal analysis confirmed ventricular enlargement in non-affective psychosis only. UHR patients had normal ventricular volumes regardless of whether they made transition to frank psychosis or not.
Conclusion
Our results are suggestive that ventricular enlargement is a consequence of transition and/or progression of illness rather than a risk marker in that it is apparent only after the onset of frank psychosis, with prominence in patients with schizophrenia-like psychoses. The results parallel our previous study in that hippocampal volumes were reduced in CS and normal in patients having non-schizophrenic psychoses as well in UHR individuals.
In a number of studies, it has been shown that subjects with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) show deficits in executive functioning, i.e. in cognitive functions that subserve planning, monitoring and control of goal-directed behaviour (Martinussen et al., 2005; Willcutt et al., 2005), as well as in emotion regulation (Berlin et al., 2004; Desman et al., 2006). However, no study exists so far examining the interaction between cognition and emotion regulation in subjects with ADHD. In our study, we aimed to examine to what extend arousing emotional picture stimuli may account for differential effects in performance quality in subjects with and without ADHD. Thirty-nine males and females with ADHD aged 18 to 40 years and 40 matched healthy controls performed a working memory n-back task (1-back, 2-back). The task was performed with and without neutral and negative background pictures from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) which varied in arousal (low, medium, high). Irrespective of ADHD diagnosis, all subjects were slower and demonstrated lower performance accuracy in the 2-back condition compared with the 1-back condition, and all subjects deteriorated with increasing picture arousal. In comparison to healthy controls, subjects with ADHD displayed a deficit in working memory performance in terms of prolonged reaction times and decreased performance accuracy. Beyond this, we found that whereas healthy controls did not display performance deficits until they were presented with high-arousal background pictures, subjects with ADHD were already impaired when presented with medium-arousal background pictures. The implications of these and further findings will be discussed.
To detect eating disorders and risky eating behaviour in early stages, screening tests are used. In order to examine as many adolescents as possible, these tests should be economic, i. e. as short as possible but at the same time they should fulfil the psychometric quality criteria. We compared the German version of the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26D) and the German version of the SCOFF test (which contains only five Yes-no questions) in a sample of 425 twelve year old girls and 382 boys from Thuringia, Germany. Although the EAT-26D reached higher psychometric properties, the SCOFF has been proved as a useful screening tool with a test-retest reliability of rtt = .73 and a maximum accuracy of 82% (area under the ROC curve). In reference to the EAT-26D (20 point cut-off) the sensitivity of the SCOFF was 78%, specificity 75%, positive predictive value 28%, and the negative predictive value, which is more relevant for screenings, was 96%. The construct validity reached r = .52.
Affective disorders are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, which, at least partly, appears to be independent of psychopharmacological treatments used to manage these disorders. Reduced heart rate variability (SDNN) and a low Omega-3 Index have been shown to be associated with increased risk for death after myocardial infarction. Therefore, we set out to investigate heart rate variability and the Omega-3 Index in euthymic patients with bipolar disorders.
Methods:
We assessed heart rate variability (SDNN) and the Omega-3 Index in 90 euthymic, mostly medicated patients with bipolar disorders (Bipolar-I, Bipolar-II) on stable psychotropic medication, free of significant medical comorbidity and in 62 healthy controls. Heart rate variability was measured from electrocardiography under a standardized 30 minutes resting state condition. Age, sex, BMI, smoking, alcohol consumption and caffeine consumption as potential confounders were also assessed.
Results:
Heart rate variability (SDNN) was significantly lower in patients with bipolar disorders compared to healthy controls (35.4 msec versus 60.7 msec; P < 0.0001), whereas the Omega-3 Index did not differ significantly between the groups (5.2% versus 5.3%). In a linear regression model, only group membership (patients with bipolar disorders versus healthy controls) and age significantly predicted heart rate variability (SDNN).
Conclusion:
Heart rate variability (SDNN) may provide a useful tool to study the impact of interventions aimed at reducing the increased risk of cardiovascular disease in euthymic patients with bipolar disorders. The difference in SDNN between cases and controls cannot be explained by a difference in the Omega-3 Index.
Les AVP sont le principal pourvoyeur d’ESPT (Kupchik et al., 2007), dont la prévalence fluctue de 6 à 45 % entre les études (Heron-Delaney et al., 2013). En l’absence de repérage clinique, l’ESPT peut se chroniciser (Kessler et al., 1995). Les outils actuels permettent son diagnostic (Jackson et al., 2011), mais pas de dépister précocement les sujets à risque de développer un ESPT post-AVP en aigu (8 semaines) comme en chronique (6 mois) ou en tardif (1 an). Nous présentons une étude longitudinale réalisée sur 274 patients répartis sur 6 centres de traumatologie ayant pour objectif principal de valider un outil infirmier de dépistage précoce d’ESPT après un AVP (DEPITAC). Dix questions ont été soumises à tout patient hospitalisé dans les 15 jours après un AVP, ainsi qu’une PDI et un MINI DSM-IV. La PCL-S (cut-off à 44) a permis le diagnostic à 8 semaines, 6 mois et 1 an. L’analyse statistique a été réalisée avec le logiciel SAS Institute 9.4. Le score total DEPITAC était significativement associé au diagnostic d’ESPT à 1 an (OR : 1,43 ; IC95 % : 1,14–1,79) avec un pouvoir discriminant de 0,64 (IC95 % : 0,56–0,72). DEPITAC était corrélé à l’échelle PDI (p < 0,0001) avec un faible coefficient de corrélation (r = 0,32) montrant une faible redondance. Seules 3 questions après analyses bivariées s’avèrent significatives : « présence d’autres blessés ou décédés lors de l’AVP », « présence d’une dissociation post-AVP » et « s’être vu mourir lors de l’AVP » avec un pouvoir discriminant de 0,65 (IC95 % : 0,57–0,73). Aucun effet centre n’a été mis en évidence (p = 0,90). Nos résultats semblent montrer qu’à l’aide de seulement 3 questions de dépistage, les équipes infirmières pourraient repérer les patients à risque de développer un ESPT aigu ou tardif, leur permettant ainsi d’alerter précocement les équipes psychiatriques de liaison ou de pschotraumatologie.
Conservation of animal genetic resources requires regular monitoring and interventions to maintain population size and manage genetic variability. This study uses genealogical information to evaluate the impact of conservation measures in Europe, using (i) data from the Domestic Animal Diversity Information System (DAD-IS) and (ii) a posteriori assessment of the impact of various conservation measures on the genetic variability of 17 at-risk breeds with a wide range of interventions. Analysis of data from DAD-IS showed that 68% of national breed populations reported to receive financial support showed increasing demographic trends, v. 51% for those that did not. The majority of the 17 at-risk breeds have increased their numbers of registered animals over the last 20 years, but the changes in genetic variability per breed have not always matched the trend in population size. These differences in trends observed in the different metrics might be explained by the tensions between interventions to maintain genetic variability, and development initiatives which lead to intensification of selection.
Pulmonary hypertension is a complex and progressive condition that is either idiopathic or heritable, or associated with one or multiple health conditions, with or without congenital or acquired cardiovascular disease. Recent developments have tremendously increased the armamentarium of diagnostic and therapeutic approaches in children and young adults with pulmonary hypertension that is still associated with a high morbidity and mortality. These modalities include non-invasive imaging, pharmacotherapy, interventional and surgical procedures, and supportive measures. The optimal, tailored diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for pulmonary hypertension in the young are rapidly evolving but still face enormous challenges: Healthcare providers need to take the patient’s age, development, disease state, and family concerns into account when initiating advanced diagnostics and treatment. Therefore, there is a need for guidance on core and advanced medical training in paediatric pulmonary hypertension. The Association for European Paediatric and Congenital Cardiology working group “pulmonary hypertension, heart failure and transplantation” has produced this document as an expert consensus statement; however, all recommendations must be considered and applied in the context of the local and national infrastructure and legal regulations.
OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: The objective of this project is to determine whether HRV, collected peri-operatively, is predictive of cognitive decline among older adults who undergo elective surgery/anesthesia. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: This project is a part of the ongoing INTUIT/PRIME study, which is collecting pre- and post-operative cognitive testing, fMRI imaging, CSF samples, and EEG recordings from 200 older adults (age ≥ 60) undergoing elective non-cardiac/non-neurologic surgery scheduled to last > 2 hours at Duke University Medical Center and Duke Regional Hospital. This project utilizes data from the first 60 INTUIT participants who contributed continuous heart rate data before and during surgery. Participants undergo cognitive testing prior to surgery (baseline) and at 6 weeks after surgery. Our primary dependent variable is the change in the composite score from baseline to 6-weeks. Delirium is assessed in the hospital with the twice daily 3D-CAM tool, so we will report the proportion of individuals with 6-week cognitive decline who exhibited delirium in the days following surgery. Participants’ echocardiogram (ECG) recordings are extracted pre- and intraoperatively from B650/B850 patient monitors with VSCapture software. HRV is defined as the variability between successive R-spikes or inter-beat-intervals on ECG. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: We anticipate that lower intraoperative HRV is associated with worse cognitive decline at 6 weeks after surgery. As secondary objectives, we will determine whether pre-operative HRV or change in HRV (from pre-operative to intra-operative measures) are predictive of cognitive decline after surgery. We expect that in-hospital delirium will be detected in a higher proportion of those with 6-week cognitive decline, compared to those with stable or improved cognition at 6 weeks. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: HRV may address the present need for pre- and intra-operative cognitive risk stratification in the elderly. Physiological indices like HRV have the potential to dramatically change our understanding of CI in older adults undergoing surgery, as they offer an accessible, cost-effective, and non-invasive means whereby clinicians, particularly those unfamiliar with the nuances of geriatric and CI/dementia-related care, can monitor patients and refer those at high-risk of CI after surgery for early intervention.
The study aimed at assessing stunting, wasting and breast-feeding as correlates of body composition in Cambodian children. As part of a nutrition trial (ISRCTN19918531), fat mass (FM) and fat-free mass (FFM) were measured using 2H dilution at 6 and 15 months of age. Of 419 infants enrolled, 98 % were breastfed, 15 % stunted and 4 % wasted at 6 months. At 15 months, 78 % were breastfed, 24 % stunted and 11 % wasted. Those not breastfed had lower FMI at 6 months but not at 15 months. Stunted children had lower FM at 6 months and lower FFM at 6 and 15 months compared with children with length-for-age z ≥0. Stunting was not associated with height-adjusted indexes fat mass index (FMI) or fat-free mass index (FFMI). Wasted children had lower FM, FFM, FMI and FFMI at 6 and 15 months compared with children with weight-for-length z (WLZ) ≥0. Generally, FFM and FFMI deficits increased with age, whereas FM and FMI deficits decreased, reflecting interactions between age and WLZ. For example, the FFM deficits were –0·99 (95 % CI –1·26, –0·72) kg at 6 months and –1·44 (95 % CI –1·69; –1·19) kg at 15 months (interaction, P<0·05), while the FMI deficits were –2·12 (95 % CI –2·53, –1·72) kg/m2 at 6 months and –1·32 (95 % CI –1·77, –0·87) kg/m2 at 15 months (interaction, P<0·05). This indicates that undernourished children preserve body fat at the detriment of fat-free tissue, which may have long-term consequences for health and working capacity.
We present very detailed images of the photosphere of an AGB star obtained with the PIONIER instrument, installed at the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI). The images show a well defined stellar disc populated by a few convective patterns. Thanks to the high precision of the observations we are able to derive the contrast and granulation horizontal scale of the convective pattern for the first time in a direct way. Such quantities are then compared with scaling relations between granule size, effective temperature, and surface gravity that are predicted by simulations of stellar surface convection.
Over the past decade, NASA, under a succession of rotary-wing programs, has been moving towards coupling multiple discipline analyses to evaluate rotorcraft conceptual designs. Handling qualities is one of the component analyses to be included in such a future Multidisciplinary Analysis and Optimization framework for conceptual design of Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) aircraft. Similarly, the future vision for the capability of the Concept Design and Assessment Technology Area of the U.S Army Aviation Development Directorate also includes a handling qualities component. SIMPLI-FLYD is a tool jointly developed by NASA and the U.S. Army to perform modelling and analysis for the assessment of the handling qualities of rotorcraft conceptual designs. Illustrative scenarios of a tiltrotor in forward flight and a single-main rotor helicopter at hover are analysed using a combined process of SIMPLI-FLYD integrated with the conceptual design sizing tool NDARC. The effects of variations of input parameters such as horizontal tail and tail rotor geometry were evaluated in the form of margins to fixed- and rotary-wing handling qualities metrics and the computed vehicle empty weight. The handling qualities Design Margins are shown to vary across the flight envelope due to both changing flight dynamics and control characteristics and changing handling qualities specification requirements. The current SIMPLI-FLYD capability, lessons learned from its use and future developments are discussed.