Hemiurid digeneans conspecific with Stomachicola muraenesocis Yamaguti, 1934 (the type species of the genus Stomachicola Yamaguti, 1934) were collected from the stomach of the daggertooth pike conger Muraenesox cinereus (Forsskål) off the Persian Gulf of Iran. This study aimed to provide a detailed characterization of Stom. muraenesocis, including measurements, illustrations and scanning electron microscopy (s.e.m.) representations. Comparisons with the original and previous descriptions revealed morphological and metrical variations in several features (i.e. body size and shape, arrangement of reproductive organs, soma to ecsoma length ratio, position of genital opening, number of vitelline tubules and extension of uterine coils) between Stom. muraenesocis from different hosts and localities. This study presents the first molecular sequence data associated with the small (18S) and large (28S) subunit nuclear ribosomal RNA genes (rDNA) for Stom. muraenesocis. Phylogenetic analyses of the 18S dataset placed Stom. muraenesocis as sister lineage to a clade formed of a group of species of Lecithaster Lühe, 1901 (Lecithasteridae Odhner, 1905). In contrast, phylogenetic analyses based on the 28S consistently recovered a sister relationship between Stom. muraenesocis and representatives of the Hemiuridae Looss, 1899. Further comprehensive phylogenetically based classification in light of morphology and taxonomic history of the Hemiuridae and Lecithasteridae is required to infer phylogenetic affinities and historical biogeography of Stomachicola. A comprehensive list of previously reported species of Stomachicola together with their associated hosts, localities and morphometric data is provided.

In order to systematically specify the affected and preserved attentional components in adults with ADHD, we used an assessment tool (Finke et al, 2006) based on Bundesen's ‘theory-of-visual-attention’ (TVA) to compare two groups of adults with ADHD (medicated and unmedicated) and a matched healthy control group. TVA provides four quantitative, mathematically independent parameter estimates: visual perceptual processing speed (elements/s), working memory (WM) storage capacity (number of elements), spatial distribution of attentional weights, and top-down control. All parameters are assessed with highly similar stimuli (letters) and response requirements (verbal report), imposing comparable demands on perceptual and motor skills. Performance is assessed in terms of accuracy at certain exposure durations instead of response latency, avoiding confoundation with motor dysfunction (e.g. hyperactivity). The WM storage capacity was reduced in unmedicated ADHD patients, was significantly higher in medicated patients but was still significantly worse compared to normal controls. The spatial distribution of attentional weights is altered in that unmedicated ADHD patients did not show the normal preference for the left visual hemi-field (‘pseudoneglect'). Perceptual processing speed and top-down control of attention were comparable across groups. In conclusion, the attentional core deficit in ADHD seems to consist of a reduction in WM storage capacity, i.e. in the amount of information that can be maintained in parallel. Since no deficits in speed and top-down control have been found, slow and variable performance in response-based task might rather reflect impairments in the initiation, execution and inhibition of motor responses than impairments on the level of perceptual processing.

Executive functions comprise various cognitive abilities including the inhibition of prepotent responses and voluntary decisions. Several studies showed medial-frontal activations in tasks with the free selection of responses. The inhibition of prepotent response tendencies seems to be associated with medial frontal as well as lateral frontal BOLD responses. The aim of this simultaneous EEG and fMRI study was to discriminate the neural correlates of behavioural control processes in ADHD.

8 adults with ADHD and 8 matched healthy subjects performed a go/nogo task comprising three different conditions: during the go condition, subjects were instructed to press a response button as fast as possible; during the nogo condition, this response was to be inhibited. In the voluntary selection task participants were allowed to freely decide, whether to press the response button or not.

The fMRI protocol used a gradient-echo EPI pulse sequence. Further analyses were done with using the BrainVoyager software package (Goebel, Maastricht). EEG signals were simultaneously recorded (Brain Products, Munich).

Electrophysiologically, the nogo task and voluntary decision task led to a negative decline especially in fronto-central brain regions (N2) in both groups. Regarding the functional MRI data we found inhibition-associated BOLD responses especially medial-frontal in the pre-SMA and activations in the medial part of BA 8 for the voluntary selection. ADHD patients showed a reduced contribution of frontal brain regions during free responses compared to controls.

The results may indicate that selection processes are related with dysfunctions predominantly in frontal brain regions in ADHD patients.

In recent years the amount of adults claiming to have a neuropsychological disorder increased dramatically, raising the suspicion that some of them may malinger symptoms for secondary gain, such as receiving compensation or drugs. Hence, valid diagnostic tools in the assessment of neuropsychiatric conditions are of great interest. In our experiment, we investigated whether adults feigning symptoms of Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can be successfully detected by an assessment based on the ‘theory of visual attention’, namely TVA

[Bundesen, C. (1990). A theory of visual attention. Psychological Review 97, 523-547]. Therefore, we provided healthy adults with information about ADHD (available on the internet) and instructed them to feign symptoms on self-report scales, as well as on the whole report of TVA, which provides an quantitative, parametric measure of the affected and preserved attentional functions of ADHD adults. Our results show that malingerers were indeed able to feign symptoms on the conventional questionnaires, but not capable of imitating the specific response pattern on the whole report of TVA that ADHD patients show. We found a sensitivity of 80 % and a specificity of 93 % for the whole report of TVA. Beyond the detection of adults malingering ADHD, TVA may also help to identify adults feigning symptoms of other neuropsychological disorders.

Emotion theorists have long time posited the critical role for affect in the modulation of behavior and cognition. When considering the adaptive function of emotion and cognition and their interaction both can be posited to function as control systems to regulate behavior. Emotional and cognitive dysfunction is fundamental to schizophrenia, and yet the precise nature and scope of the associated deficits and their interactions are not well understood.

One primary aim of our project was to assess the integrity of the emotional-cognitive system from the perspective of social cognition in patients with schizophrenia. Specifically, evaluative, behavioral, cognitive and neural responses were measured during viewing of pictures with varied emotional content to examine core emotion-socio-cognitive functions during in schizophrenia.

In the present fMRI study 3 experiments on affective attachment, affective perspective taking and affective regulation were conducted in patients with schizophrenia. In accordance to our hypotheses ocytocin level and behavioral socio-emotional functions in schizophrenia were reduced. When analysing conjunctive brain activation of all 3 experimental paradigms a fronto-temporal-occipital network was found to be dysfunctional in patients including brain areas that are critical for episodic autobiographical memory, mirroring other's emotions, self-reflection, affective risky decision-making and painful information processing. The findings are presented in relation to oxytocin levels in patients with schizophrenia (ICD-10: F20; PANSS<78) and healthy subjects (each group: males, n= 20, IQ<85). Our findings can explain the difficulties in self-other distinction and the psychpathological self-relevance of social and affective stimuli in schizophrenia.

We have established a multisite, international database of 3500 individuals diagnosed with Tourette syndrome (TS). The male:female ratio is 4.3:1 for the total sample, with wide variation among sites; the male excess occurs at every site. Anger control problems, sleep difficulties, coprolalia, and self-injurious behavior only reach impressive levels in individuals with comorbidity. Anger control problems are strongly correlated with comorbidity, regardless of site, region, or whether assessed by neurologists or psychiatrists. The mean age at onset of tics is 6.4 years. At all ages, about 12% of individuals with TS have no reported comorbidity. The most common reported comorbidity is attention-deficit–hyperactivity disorder. Males are more likely to have comorbid disorders than females. The earlier the age at onset, the greater the likelihood of a positive family history of tics. An understanding of the factors producing these and other variations might assist in better subtyping of TS. Because behavioral problems are associated with comorbidity, their presence should dictate a high index of suspicion of the latter, whose treatment may be at least as important as tic reduction. The established database can be used as the entry point for further research when large samples are studied and generalizability of results is important.

Lerner, a dermatologist who isolated melatonin (MLT) in 1959, was the first to report on its hypnotic properties, and was also the first to self-administer this hormone. Later, in 1971, Anton-Tay and coworkers injected MLT into volunteers who quickly fell asleep. In adults, MLT treatment appears to have beneficial effects in those who have sleep disorders due to delayed sleep onset, shift work, and jet lag. MLT can enhance adaptation to forced phase shift in simulated shift-work and jet-lag conditions. However, better controlled, long-term studies are still required. MLT may also benefit certain types of adult insomnia.