Staff perceptions of adolescent behaviour problems

Staff in three residential units completed a 25 item behaviour problem questionnaire. From analysis of questionnaires a rank order of behaviours according to rated severity was made for each Unit. Comparisons of ranking were made between the Units and, from factor analysis, perceptions of these items of behaviour by staff in the three Units were studied. We were able to establish three hypotheses regarding the severity of problem behaviours and their perceptions by staff. We suggest that staff support has a major function in influencing them.     

The influence of illness severity and time since life change on the size of the life change-health change relationship

This paper examines the relationship between recent life change experience and subsequent changes in health as a function of the length of time between life change and health change reports. We attempt to present data concerning an ambiguity in the literature about whether this relationship tends to increase, decrease, or remain unchanged as time elapses between life change report and health status follow-up.     

Extra meetings: a tool for decisions and therapy

An Adolescent Unit uses the tool of any member of staff or patient group having the right to call a meeting. The development of this idea, anxieties about it, its usefulness and examples are presented. The meetings are used for communication, support or decisions and are often in themselves the vehicles for change.     

First-rank symptoms, severity of illness, and treatment response in schizophrenia

We reviewed the case summaries of 71 hospitalized patients who received the discharge diagnosis of schizophrenia. A separate “blind” assessment was made of the presence of Schneider's First Rank Symptoms (FRS) of schizophrenia, and ratings of the severity of illness and the immediate response to treatment. No relation was found between the presence or absence of FRS and either severity of illness or treatment response. This finding supports previous studies ascribing diagnostic specificity to FRS independent of other illness variables.     

Vesicular disruption of myelin in autoimmune demyelination

A pattern of autoimmune demyelination in EAE and EAN has been described which was encountered consistently and was sometimes more common than the better known phenomenon of active stripping of myelin by macrophages. This pattern involved the rapid dissolution of myelin into a vesicular network which was later degraded by macrophages. It occurred early in the disease, was not accentuated perivascularly, and was usually associated with the presence of macrophages. The underlying mechanisms are not known but several alternatives have been discussed, viz., activity of locally released antibody, cytotoxic factors, or hydrolytic enzymes.     

Studies on single neurons in dorsal hippocampal formation and septum in unrestrained rats. II. Hippocampal slow waves and theta cell firing during bar pressing and other behaviors

Hippocampal slow waves and firing of theta cells were investigated during voluntary and automatic behaviors of the rat, including bar pressing on continuous reinforcement and fixed-ratio 50. Voluntary behaviors (walking, orienting, postural adjustments, approaching food or water, following the experimenter's hand, jumping, and exploring) were accompanied by theta in the slow waves and fast, rhythmical firing in the theta cells. For a given cell the rates of firing were similar for all voluntary behaviors. Automatic behaviors (eating, drinking, teeth chattering, grooming, vomiting, and yawning) were accompanied by irregular slow-wave activity and slow, irregular firing in the theta cells. For a given cell the rates of firing were similar for all automatic behaviors. Electrode placement within the hippocampus was critical with regard to how much slow-wave theta could be recorded during voluntary behaviors, whereas theta cells throughout the hippocampus were identical in the form of their firing. Bar pressing on both continuous reinforcement and fixed-ratio 50 gave clearly non-theta responses in both units and slow waves. Some well-learned voluntary behaviors can become automatic and are not in the theta mode.     

Experimental lipid storage myopathy. A quantitative ultrastructural and biochemical study.

A lipid storage myopathy was induced in rats treated with daily doses of 2.5 g/kg brominated vegetable oil. As in human lipid storage myopathies, type I fibers were selectively severely affected, the lipid deposits were surrounded by mitochondria and the mitochondrial fraction of the affected fibers was increased. The oxidation of [U-14C]palmitate, [1(-14)C]octanoate and beta-[3(-14)C]hydroxybutyrate was significantly depressed but [1(-14)C]palmitate, as well as labeled pyruvate and succinate were oxidized at normal rates. The activities of long-chain, medium-chain and short-chain carnitine acyltransferases and the muscle carnitine levels were normal. The lipid storage is attributed to impaired beta oxidation of medium-chain and short-chain fatty acyl residues. An approach to the investigation of those human lipid storage myopathies not due to defects in the carnitine system is suggested.     

Specific brain proteins during severe ethanol intoxication and withdrawal in the rat

In a study of the effects of severe chronic ethanol intoxication and withdrawal, immunoelectrophoretic measurements were made of the specific nervous system proteins D1, D2, D3, synaptin, 14-3-2, and glutamine synthetase in the brain. During chronic ethanol intoxication, none of these proteins deviated significantly from normal values, so the structural background for neuronal function was not measurably disturbed by any toxic effect of ethanol. However, during the ethanol withdrawal reaction, the specific concentrations of neuronal proteins D1, D2, 14-3-2, and synaptin were increased, and they subsequently normalized. D3 in brain and D2 in cerebrospinal fluid were decreased and subsequently normalized. When the neuronal localization and the possible function of these proteins are considered, the results may be interpreted as indicating an increased synthesis of neuronal synapses during the ethanol withdrawal reaction accompanied by a transient halt in synaptic decomposition. No changes occurred in the glial marker glutamine synthetase, and thus the measured changes in specific brain protein concentrations apparently reflect the structural dynamics of establishing the substrate for the functional neuronal hyperactivity constituting the ethanol withdrawal reaction.     

Ionic conductance and experimentally induced myotonia

Experiments were conducted to study the effect of altering external potassium on in vitro induction of myotonia in rat diaphragm using 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetate (2,4-D). An increase in external potassium inhibited, while a decrease enhanced, the myotonic response. However, in preparations which have undergone prior denervation, there was no myotonic response to 2,4-D, even when the external potassium was lowered. The experiments also support the existence of neural factors influencing the resting ionic conductance of the muscle membrane.     

The perception of poverty and wealth among teenagers

This study is concerned with the perception of poverty and wealth among high-school teenagers. Over 300 teenagers completed a questionnaire which probed their perceptions of the attributions and consequences of poverty and wealth, and requested them to estimate the income for both a specified "poor" and "rich" man. The results indicate that all groups in this sample emphasized the significance of the family and downplayed the significance of luck when dealing with poverty and wealth. Further, the groups emphasized the economic consequences of poverty and wealth and they did not rate their psychological consequences as being of much importance. The results are discussed in terms of the small literature relevant to this topic.     

A new immunological approach to the detection and the quantitation of the Met5-enkephalin precursors in rat brain

We describe a new approach to the detection and quantitation of the enkephalin precursor. The approach is based on the production of antibody against a sequential determinant which is obtained specifically and quantitatively from the enkephalin precursor by tryptic hydrolysis. We chose the hexapeptide Tyr-Gly-Gly-Phe-Met-Arg and developed antibody against the C-terminus of this peptide. The hexapeptide is released from the precursor by mere tryptic cleavage. The antibody permits us to detect the Met-enkephalin precursor at the picomole level. Using this approach, we have quantitated the precursor forms in rat striatum and hypothalamus. The precursor/Met-enkephalin ratio was close to 3/4. This result was in very good agreement with the ratio determined previously in the bovine adrenal medulla.     

Analysis of acetylcholinesterase synthesis and transport in the rat hippocampus: recovery of acetylcholinesterase activity in the septum and hippocampus after administration of diisopropylfluorophosphate

The site and rate of synthesis, as well as the transport dynamics, of newly synthesized acetylcholinesterase (AChE) has been studied in the septum and hippocampus of the rat. Histochemical and biochemical techniques were employed to study time-dependent changes in AChE activity of the medial septal nucleus and hippocampus following systemic administration of the anticholinesterase diisopropyl-fluorophosphate. In both septum and hippocampus, an initially rapid phase of recovery was followed by a slower recovery with similar rate constants for the two regions. Analysis of AChE synthesis in the septo-hippocampal system revealed that recovery of activity in the septum(t_1/2for recovery= 140h) preceded that in the hippocampus(t_1/2for recovery= 400h). The data suggested that the bulk of septal AChE in the hippocampus is transported via the slow component of axoplasmic flow (about 2 mm/day). A fast component may exist, but the experimental arrangement did not permit the clear demonstration of any rapid axoplasmic flow.     

A comparison of the effects of morphine sulphate and nitrous oxide analgesia on chronic pain states in man

The effect of nitrous oxide and morphine sulphate on chronic pain states in man are compared. The similarity of effect indicate that nitrous oxide acts on the morphine receptor. In all cases where analgesia was produced naloxone reversal occurred. These results provide additional evidence for a dual system hypothesis of pain perception and that nitrous oxide analgesia is mediated by the endogenous opiate system. In the light of these findings, the possibility of using nitrous oxide to replace morphine sulphate as a screening test for deep brain stimulation analgesia is discussed.     

A two-pathway informon theory of conditioning and adaptive pattern recognition.

A neural network theory is proposed which offers an explanation of many of the facts of classical and operant conditioning and adaptive pattern recognition. Interconnected networks of units have been studied and simulated which embody only two rules; firstly, units have inputs from pathways of variable and of fixed conductivity; secondly, the conductivity of a variable pathway is made proportional to the negative of the mutual information function between the signals at its input and output. The signal in a fixed pathway indicates whether the total input to the variable pathways is a member or not of some class. After a learning phase in which the unit, called an informon, receives such labelled inputs, it is able to predict the class of future unlabelled inputs. Such units are stable and their steady state can be calculated.     

A method for estimating edema in experimental traumatic spinal cord injury

In this experiment a method was developed to estimate spinal cord edema following experimental trauma. After the intravenous administration of Evans Blue solution and 100 μc of iodinated I-131 serum albumin, the spinal cords of rhesus monkeys were traumatized with a 600 g cm injury. Edema at the injury site was evaluated at 6 hr after injury and compared to a section of uninjured spinal cord from each animal. The I-131 serum albumin acted as an excellent marker to estimate the extravasation of serum proteins into the neural extracellular spaces. In the future this method will be used to test the effect of various drugs on post-traumatic edema formation.     

An evaluation of some carrier detection techniques in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Some recently described abnormalities in the serum and red cell membranes in Duchenne dystrophy have been examined as methods of carrier detection in a single-blind controlled study. Twelve carriers (4 definite, 3 probable and 5 possible carriers previously found to have raised creatine kinase levels) and 12 normal female controls of the same age, were examined on 3 separate occasions at approximately two-weekly intervals. Analysis of age-dependent red cell shape changes, serum haemopexin levels, red cell K+ efflux rate, sensitivity of red cell ghost membrane ATPase to ouabain, membrane protein phosphorylation studies and lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme profiles on agarose gel electrohoresis all failed to distinquish carriers from controls. The carriers suffered muscle cramps more frequently than the controls and all but one carrier and two control subjects were correctly identified by manual muscle strength testing, certain proximal muscles in paricular being consistently weaker in carriers than in the control group subjects. Scalar electrocardiography revealed higher values for the R/S ratio in Leads V1 and V2 and the sum (R-S) in V2.     

The myotropic and plasma-calcium modulating effects of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP)

Human and rat calcitonin gene-related peptides cause a dose-related contraction of guinea pig ileum, which is antagonised by an anti-histamine, mepyramine, and an anticholinergic compound, hyoscine. Both peptides also cause a positive inotropic and a positive chronotropic effect in the rat isolated auricle and these responses are antagonised by propranolol, a B adrenoceptor blocker. Further, the peptides lower plasma calcium levels in both rats and rabbits in a dose-related manner resembling calcitonin; in the rabbit, but not in the rat, the initial calcium lowering effect is succeeded by hypercalcaemia at higher doses, while in the chick, only the parathyroid hormone-like calcium-raising effect is seen.