The effects of single and repeated doses of oral scopolamine,cinnarizine, and placebo upon psychological performance and physiological functioning

The present study was one in a series in the Institute of Naval Medicine's Motion Illness Project. A battery of psychological performance tests (producing 26 indices of mental and hand--eye co-ordination), together with visual near fixation point, resting heart rate and a self-rated feeling state questionnaire, were used to compare the effects of thrice-daily oral doses of scopolamine (0.6 mg), cinnarizine (30 mg) and a lactose placebo in a double-blind crossover trial on 12 healthy male volunteers. Measurements were made 1–2 and 5–6 h after the initial dose, then the next day following the last successive dose (1–2 and 5–6 h after the fourth dose; or 25–26 and 29–30 h after the initial dose). Scopolamine demonstrated clear physiological effects, with reduced heart rate from the first oral dose onwards, and visual near-point values increasingly distant over successive doeses. Cinnarizine did not produce significant physiological changes. Neither drug produced significant effects on subjective mood. Significant ANOVA drug effects or drug × time interaction effects were present with five out of the 26 performance variables: logical reasoning error, memory word-recall errors; continuous four choice reaction time; concept identification time; SERS task commission error. However only two of these (memory error, four choice reaction time) demonstrated patterns of effect which were considered to be attributable to the drugs. Both cinnarizine and scopolamine impaired memory error and four choice reaction time. Only for visual near-point with scopolamine was there evidence that repeated dosing led to increasing physiological/mental performance effects.     

Sensorimotor and cognitive slowing in schizophrenia as measured by the Symbol Digit Substitution Test

OBJECTIVES: A vast amount of studies demonstrates the presence of psychomotor slowing in schizophrenia. The objective of the present study was to investigate whether this overall psychomotor slowing can be divided into distinct processes that differentially affect cognitive functioning in schizophrenia. METHODS: The pen-tip movements of 30 schizophrenic inpatients and 30 matched controls were digitally recorded during performance of the Symbol Digit Substitution Test (SDST) and analysed to differentiate matching time and writing time, representing the cognitive and sensorimotor component of slowing, respectively. In addition, the results were compared to each other and to the scores of traditional neuropsychological tests that assess domains such as memory and attention. RESULTS: Both matching time and writing time were longer in the schizophrenic patients relative to the controls but did not correlate. Only matching time correlated significantly with the conventional neuropsychological test results. CONCLUSIONS: Although schizophrenic patients display both sensorimotor and cognitive slowing, the two processes are unrelated. Furthermore, only the cognitive component was associated with most of the cognitive deficits as measured by traditional neuropsychological tests.     

Kudzu extract treatment does not increase the intoxicating effects of acute alcohol in human volunteers

Background: Isoflavone administration in the form of a purified extract from the herbal medication kudzu root has been shown to reduce, but not eliminate, alcohol consumption in alcohol‐abusing and alcohol‐dependent men. The precise mechanism of this action is unknown, but 1 possible explanation for these results is that the isoflavones in kudzu might actually increase the intensity or duration of alcohol’s effects and thus delay the desire for subsequent drinks. This study was designed to test this hypothesis. Methods: Twelve (12) healthy adult men and women (27.5 ± 1.89 years old) who consumed moderate amounts of alcohol (7.8 ± 0.63 drinks/wk) participated in a double‐blinded, placebo‐controlled crossover study in which they were treated with either kudzu extract (total isoflavone dose of 750 mg/d) or matched placebo for 9 days. On days 8 and 9, participants received an acute challenge of ethyl alcohol (either 0.35 or 0.7 g/kg alcohol). During the challenges, the following measures were collected: subjective effects, psychomotor (body sway), cognitive performance (vigilance/reaction time), physiological measures (heart rate and skin temperature), and plasma ethanol concentration. Results: Alcohol resulted in a dose‐related alteration in subjective measures of intoxication, impairment of stance stability, and vigilance/reaction time. Kudzu extract did not alter participants’ subjective responses to the alcohol challenge or to alcohol’s effects on stance stability or vigilance/reaction time. However, individuals treated with kudzu extract experienced a slightly more rapid rise in plasma ethanol levels, but only after the 0.7 g/kg dose. This transient effect during the first 30 minutes of the ascending plasma alcohol curve lasted only 10–15 minutes; there were no differences in peak plasma alcohol levels or alcohol elimination kinetics. Additionally, kudzu pretreatment enhanced the effects of the 0.7 g/kg dose of alcohol on heart rate and skin temperature. Conclusions: These data suggest that individuals who drink alcohol while being treated with kudzu extract experience no adverse consequences, and furthermore the reported reductions in alcohol intake after kudzu extract treatment are not related to an alteration in alcohol’s subjective or psychomotor effects.     

精神运动性癫痫儿童社会适应能力及行为问题的研究

精神运动性癫痫 (ＰｓｙｃｈｏｍｏｔｏｒＥｐｉｌｅｐｓｙ)是儿童癫痫的一种常见类型 ,临床上较难控制 ,国内外已有的研究多侧重于药物治疗以控制发作 ,对其心理及社会功能却研究甚少 ,为此 ,我们对 1997年 1月～1999年 12月在我院癫痫研究所诊治的 6 3例精神运动性癫痫儿童的社会适应能力及行为问题进行研究 ,现报告分析如下。1　资料与方法1.1　资料6 3例患儿均为我院癫痫研究所癫痫专科门诊病人 ,均依据 1989年国际癫痫会议中有关癫痫分类[1] 而确诊。其中男 36例 ,女 2 7例 ;年龄 8～ 12岁 ,平均 10 .6岁 ;起病年龄 5～ 10岁 ,平均 6 .…     

The effects of novelty-seeking phenotypes and sex differences on acquisition of cocaine self-administration in selectively bred High-Responder and Low-Responder rats

Individual differences in exploratory behavior can predictably influence psychostimulant self-administration behavior. Male rats that exhibit a high degree of locomotor activity in a novel environment (High Responders, HR) will self-administer cocaine more readily than males exhibiting low levels of novelty-induced locomotion (Low Responders, LR). The present experiment investigates the combined influences of the sex of an individual and individual phenotypes in novelty-induced locomotion to predispose animals to acquire cocaine self-administration behavior, in male and female rats selectively bred for the HR-LR phenotypes. We first established that HR females, like their male counterparts, exhibit a dramatically greater locomotor response to novelty and less anxiety-like behavior than do LR females. While locomotor behavior was subtly influenced by estrous stage, with both HR and LR females showing increased activity during metestrus and diestrus compared to proestrus and estrus, the effect did not obscure HR-LR differences. When male and female HR-LR animals were trained to self-administer cocaine (2 h/day, 5 days/wk x 3 wk, 0.2 mg cocaine/kg/infusion), HR males and females acquired cocaine self-administration significantly faster than their LR counterparts. Furthermore, HR females self-administered significantly more cocaine than all other groups. In conclusion, female rats, like males, exhibit HR-LR phenotypes that predict rapidity of acquiring cocaine self-administration. Moreover, HR females self-administer more cocaine than HR males and both LR groups.     

早期综合康复治疗对高危儿智能及精神运动发育的影响观察

目的：探讨早期综合康复治疗对围生期脑损伤高危儿智能及精神运动发育的影响。方法选取我院2012年1月—2015年12月收治的148例高危儿,随机分为对照组（74例）和试验组（74例）,比较2组患儿的治疗效果。结果试验组患儿治疗总有效率为95.95%,对照组为83.78%,差异具有统计学意义（P<0.05）;治疗2,6,12个月后,观察组 PDI、MDI 评分高于对照组,差异具有统计学意义（P<0.05）。结论围生期脑损伤高危儿进行早期综合康复治疗,有助于患儿神经系统损伤恢复,提高患儿精神运动、智力发育及生存质量。