Catatonia is a psychomotor dysregulation syndrome of diverse aetiology, increasingly recognised as a prominent feature of N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor antibody encephalitis (NMDARE) in adults. No study to date has systematically assessed the prevalence and symptomatology of catatonia in children with NMDARE. We analysed 57 paediatric patients with NMDARE from the literature using the Bush-Francis Catatonia Rating Scale. Catatonia was common (occurring in 86% of patients), manifesting as complex clusters of positive and negative features within individual patients. It was both underrecognised and undertreated. Immunotherapy was the only effective intervention, highlighting the importance of prompt recognition and treatment of the underlying cause of catatonia.

Radiolabeled (14C) 2-[4-(3-chloro-5-trifluoromethyl-2-pyridinyloxy)phenoxy] propionic acid (Compound C); its methyl-,n-butyl-, and ethoxyethyl-esters; and fluazifop-butyl {(±)-butyl 2-[4-[(5-(trifluoromethyl)-2-pyridinyl)oxy] phenoxy] propionate} were applied to the primary shoots of young rhizomatous quackgrass [Agropyron repens (L.) Beauv. # AGRRE]. Plants were sampled from 0.5 to 24 days after treatment (DAT) and analyzed for radiochemical. All treatments caused phytotoxic symptoms in primary shoots, rhizomes, and tillers and significantly reduced growth of primary shoots and rhizomes. Treatment with compound C or its methyl and butyl esters eliminated regrowth from all rhizomes excised from treated plants. The ethoxyethyl-ester and fluazifop-butyl controlled regrowth from rhizomes from 50% of the plants and substantially reduced shoot regrowth from the remainder. Rhizomes that did produce shoots contained significantly less radiochemical than those from which no regrowth occurred. At 24 DAT, a maximum of only 1% of each radiochemical applied was translocated to the first tiller and rhizomes and had been sufficient to cause marked phytotoxic symptoms. Soon after application (1 DAT), the major metabolites in the treated leaves and remainder of the plant for all compounds were the free acid and substantial amounts of polar conjugates that were hydrolyzable to the free acids. Radiochromatography of extracts from rhizomes and first tillers from all treatments gave similar chemical profiles, with the free acids and their conjugates as the predominant components present. These results provide evidence that esters of the pyridinyloxyphenoxypropionic acids are rapidly hydrolyzed after absorption by quackgrass; the free acids are then translocated and are the active form of these herbicides.

Anti-N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor encephalitis is a form of encephalitis occurring primarily in women and associated with antibodies against NR1 or NR2 subunits of the NMDA receptor. As a potentially treatable differential for symptoms and signs seen in neurology and psychiatric clinics, clinicians practising across the lifespan should be aware of this form of encephalitis. Common clinical features include auditory and visual hallucinations, delusions, behavioural change (frequently with agitation), impaired consciousness, motor disturbance (ranging from dyskinesia to catatonia), seizures, and autonomic dysfunction. We present a review of the literature on the disorder, including its clinical presentation, differential diagnosis, epidemiology, treatment and prognosis.

Four mother–child dyads were videotaped in a longitudinal study of the relationship between linguistic input to children and early lexical development. Diary records were also kept by the mothers and, together with the videorecordings, were used to identify the contexts in which the children produced their first words. These were compared with the contexts in which the mothers used these same words. It was found that there was a strong relationship between the children's initial use of words and the most frequently occurring use of these words by the mothers. It was also found that although the majority of the children's first words were context-bound, a significant number were referential. The implications of these findings for current theoretical proposals concerning early lexical development are discussed.

The effect of mild head injury on event-related potential (ERP) correlates of Stroop task performance was explored with the aim of further elucidating the basis of processing impairments after mild head injury. Computer- and card-based Stroop tasks were employed to assess attention function. A sequence of incongruent color words were presented followed by a sequence of congruent color words (printed in congruent colors). Control performance was equivalent on computer- and card-based versions of the incongruent task and faster on the congruent card task than the preceding congruent computer task. The mild head injury group were as fast as controls on the computer-based task but made more errors. However, they were relatively slower on both the congruent and incongruent parts of the card-based task and made more errors in the incongruent task. ERP correlates of computer-based Stroop task performance suggested a greater allocation of attention resources in the incongruent condition in both groups in the form of relatively greater negativity in the latency range 350 to 450 ms with a distribution consistent with the activation of the anterior cingulate gyrus. In addition the mild head injured group showed relatively greater enhancement than the control group in this latency range in both congruent and incongruent conditions. There was, however no evidence of reduced amplitude P1, N1, N2, or P3b deflections. Trails, digit symbol, digit span and auditory verbal learning tests (AVLT) were also administered. Mild head injured participants were impaired only on the AVLT. The finding of greater ERP negativity in the mild head injured group is consistent with greater allocation of attention resources to achieve equivalent performance in the computer-based Stroop task. (JINS, 2002, 8, 828–837.)

A significant discrepancy between intelligence and daily adaptive functioning, or adaptive disability (AD), has been previously found to be a associated with significant psychological morbidity in preschool children with disruptive behavior (DB). The utility of AD as a predictor of later developmental risks was examined in a 3-year longitudinal study of normal ( N= 43) and DB preschool children. The DB children were grouped into those with AD (DB+AD; N = 28) and those without AD (DB-only; N = 98). All children were followed with annual evaluations to the end of second grade. Both DB groups demonstrated substantial and pervasive psychological and educational morbidity at 3-year follow-up. In comparison to DB-only children, DB+AD children had more symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and conduct disorder (CD), more severe and pervasive behavior problems at home, more parent-rated externalizing and internalizing, and lower academic competence and more behavioral problems at school. Parents of DB+AD children also reported greater parenting stress than did parents in the other groups. A significant contribution of AD to adverse outcomes in the DB group remained on some measures even after controlling for initial severity of DB. AD also contributed significantly to CD symptoms at follow-up after controlling for initial DB severity and initial CD symptoms. The results corroborate and extend earlier findings of the utility of AD as a risk indicator above severity of DB alone. They also imply that AD in the context of normal intellectual development may arise from both the deficient self-regulation associated with ADHD and from disrupted parenting, with exposure to kindergarten moderating these adverse effects.

Annual screenings of preschool children at kindergarten registration identified 158 children having high levels of aggressive, hyperactive, impulsive, and inattentive behavior. These “disruptive” children were randomly assigned to four treatment conditions lasting the kindergarten school year: no treatment, parent training only, full-day treatment classroom only, and the combination of parent training with the classroom treatment. Results showed that parent training produced no significant treatment effects, probably owing largely to poor attendance. The classroom treatment produced improvement in multiple domains: parent ratings of adaptive behavior, teacher ratings of attention, aggression, self-control, and social skills, as well as direct observations of externalizing behavior in the classroom. Neither treatment improved academic achievement skills or parent ratings of home behavior problems, nor were effects evident on any lab measures of attention, impulse control, or mother–child interactions. It is concluded that when parent training is offered at school registration to parents of disruptive children identified through a brief school registration screening, it may not be a useful approach to treating the home and community behavioral problems of such children. The kindergarten classroom intervention was far more effective in reducing the perceived behavioral problems and impaired social skills of these children. Even so, most treatment effects were specific to the school environment and did not affect achievement skills. These findings must be viewed as tentative until follow-up evaluations can be done to determine the long-term outcomes of these interventions.