Leisure activity patterns and their associations with overweight: A prospective study among adolescents

We examined longitudinal associations between individual leisure activities (television viewing, video viewing, computer games, listening to music, board games, musical instrument playing, reading, arts, crafts, socializing, clubs or scouts, sports, outdoor activities) and being overweight using logistic regression and latent class analysis in a cohort of Finnish twins responding to self-report questionnaires at 11–12 (N = 5184), 14, and 17 years. We also studied activity patterns (“Active and sociable”, “Active but less sociable”, “Passive but sociable”, “Passive and solitary”) thought to represent different lifestyles. Among boys, activity patterns did not predict becoming overweight, but sports and playing an instrument reduced the risk and arts and listening to music increased it. Among girls, few individual leisure activities predicted becoming overweight. However, girls in the “Passive and solitary” cluster carried the greatest risk of becoming overweight in late adolescence. Studying leisure activities related to overweight may help focus specific interventions on high risk groups.     

Validity of the Brief Assessment of Impaired Cognition case-finding instrument for identification of dementia subgroups and staging of dementia

Background and purpose

The aims of this study were to examine the psychometric properties of the Brief Assessment of Impaired Cognition (BASIC) case-finding instrument in clinical settings focusing on (i) test–retest reliability, (ii) the discriminative validity of BASIC and its components for identification of Alzheimer disease (AD) dementia and non-AD dementia, and (iii) the association of expert clinical rating of cognitive status with BASIC performance.

Methods

The test–retest reliability analysis was based on a sample of general practice patients (n = 59) retested with a mean interval of 19 days. Discriminative validity analyses and analysis of the association of cognitive status with BASIC performance were based on data from the primary validation study of BASIC in memory clinics.

Results

The test–retest reliability of BASIC was high (r = 0.861). No significant difference in discriminative validity was found for identification of AD dementia (sensitivity = 0.99, specificity = 0.98) and non-AD dementia (sensitivity = 0.90, specificity = 0.98). All components of BASIC contributed to the high discriminative validity of both AD and non-AD dementia. BASIC performance was significantly correlated with expert clinical rating of the cognitive status of patients. A crude staging model for cognitive status using BASIC score intervals had superior classification accuracy (70%) compared to a Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score range-based model (58% accuracy).

Conclusions

BASIC is a reliable and valid case-finding instrument for AD dementia and non-AD dementia in clinical settings. BASIC performance is significantly associated with the degree of cognitive impairment, and BASIC seems to be superior to MMSE for staging of impairment.     

Development and evaluation of the Parkinson Psychosis Questionnaire

Objective Drug-induced psychosis is a frequent side–effect in the treatment of advanced Parkinson’s disease (PD). We sought to develop and evaluate a brief instrument for early recognition of drug–induced psychosis in PD. Methods We developed the “Parkinson Psychosis Questionnaire” (PPQ), which consists of screening questions for typical early signs and psychotic symptoms in PD and which quantifies the frequency and severity of four clinical categories—sleep disturbances, hallucinations/illusions, delusions and orientation. We performed an internal validation of the PPQ in 50 unselected patients with parkinsonism. The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and the “Structurized Clinical Interview” (SCID) for DSM IV were applied to the same patients as external references. Results Of 50 subjects, 49 suffered from idiopathic PD and one from probable MSA–P. Hoehn and Yahr stages in “on” ranged from 1.5 to 4. Sensitivity of the PPQ test for drug–induced psychosis according to SCID was 100 % (95 % CI: 73.5%, 100%); while specificity was 92.1 % (95% CI: 78.6%, 98.3 %). The PPQ severity score was highly correlated with BPRS. We derived a linear prediction formula, which transformed PPQ into BPRS scores. Conclusion The PPQ appears to be a suitable, and easily administered instrument for early diagnosis of druginduced psychosis in routine PD care. Whether the PPQ could also be a valuable tool for monitoring follow–up studies and therapeutic intervention trials remains to be tested.     

Evaluation of two automated metrics for analyzing partner preference tests

The partner preference test (PPT) is commonly used to examine sexual and social preferences in rodents. The test offers experimental subjects a choice between two stimulus animals, and time spent with each is used to calculate a preference score. In monogamous prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster), the PPT has been paramount to the study of pair bonding. Although powerful, use of the PPT in voles has depended primarily on human manual scoring. Manual scoring is time-consuming and is susceptible to bias and fatigue, limiting the use of the PPT in high-throughput studies. Here we compared manual scoring (real-time and 16×) and two automated scoring metrics: “social proximity” and “immobile social contact”. We hypothesized that “immobile social contact” would provide data most comparable to manually scored “huddling”, and thus be the most sensitive measure of partner preference in prairie voles. Each automated metric produced data that highly correlated with manual scoring (R > 0.90); however, “immobile social contact” more closely reflected manually scored huddling (R = 0.99; P < 0.001). “Social proximity” and “immobile social contact” were then used to detect group partner preferences in four data sets that varied by cohabitation length and sex. “Immobile social contact” revealed a significant partner preference in each data set; “social proximity” detected partner preferences in only three of the four. Our results demonstrate the utility of automated systems in high-throughput PPTs, and further confirm that automated systems capable of scoring “immobile social contact” yield results indistinguishable from manual scoring.     

Comparison of two types of dissociation in epileptic and nonepileptic seizures

Dissociation is regarded as a possible psychological mechanism in nonepileptic seizures (NES), although existing evidence for this is equivocal. It has been suggested that the contradictory findings in this area reflect the use of measures that conflate qualitatively distinct types of dissociation, and provide inadequate coverage of the aspects of dissociation most closely related to NES. The study described here addressed this shortcoming by measuring the occurrence of two different types of dissociation, “detachment” (measured using the Cambridge Depersonalisation Scale) and “compartmentalization” (measured using the Somatoform Dissociation Questionnaire), in patients with NES (n = 32) and epilepsy controls (n = 37). As predicted, patients with NES scored significantly higher on the measure of compartmentalization only; contrary to prediction, however, this difference was no longer significant when anxiety and depression were controlled for. The conceptual and methodological implications of the study are discussed.     

Assessing severity of epilepsy in children: preliminary evidence of validity and reliability of a single-item scale

The development and initial validity and reliability testing of a single-item, 7-point global rating scale designed for neurologists to assess the overall severity of epilepsy in children, the Global Assessment of Severity of Epilepsy (GASE) Scale, is described. The GASE Scale was quick and easy to use. Median epilepsy severity in the development sample was 3 (moderately severe), with a range from 1 (“not severe at all”) in 36 patients (26.9%) to 7 (“extremely severe”) in 7 patients (5.2%). Preliminary evidence of construct validity was found in support for our a priori predictions of associations between GASE scores and neurologists’ ratings of seven individual clinical aspects of epilepsy and in a cumulative R² for the GASE score of 81% using ratings of the clinical aspects of epilepsy. Weighted κ was 0.85 (95% CI: 0.79, 0.90) for inter-rater reliability and 0.90 (95% CI: 0.82, 0.98) and 0.95 (95% CI: 0.91, 0.98) for test–retest reliability for each of two raters. These promising initial results support continuation of the multistage process of testing the validity and reliability of the GASE Scale within various clinical contexts.     

The role of the subthalamic nucleus in response inhibition: Evidence from deep brain stimulation for Parkinson's disease

We measured reaction times during a stop-signal task while patients with Parkinson's disease were on and off unilateral deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN). While reaction times to a “go” stimulus improved, there was no change in reaction times to the “stop” stimulus (SSRTs). However, changes in SSRTs induced by DBS were highly dependent on baseline SSRTs (measured off stimulation), with the greatest improvements being achieved by those with particularly slow reaction times. We therefore selected only those patients whose baseline SSRTs were within the limits of a control sample (N = 10). In this group, SSRTs became slower when DBS was on. This finding suggests a role for the STN in response inhibition, which can be interrupted by DBS, observable only when more general improvements in Parkinson's function are minimised. We also compared the effects of unilateral left and right sided stimulation. We found a greater increase in SSRTs after DBS of the left STN.     

Retrosplenial cortex connectivity in schizophrenia

In this paper, we build on our previous analysis [Bluhm, R.L., Miller, J., Lanius, R.A., Osuch, E.A., Boksman, K., Neufeld, R.W.J., et al., 2007 Spontaneous low-frequency fluctuations in the BOLD signal in schizophrenic patients: anomalies in the default network. Schizophrenia Bulletin 33, 1004–1012] of resting state connectivity in schizophrenia by examining alterations in connectivity of the retrosplenial cortex. We have previously demonstrated altered connectivity of the posterior cingulate/precuneus, particularly with other regions of the “default network” (which includes the medial prefrontal cortex and bilateral lateral parietal cortex). It was hypothesized that the retrosplenial cortex would show aberrant patterns of connectivity with regions of the default network and regions associated with memory. Patients with schizophrenia (N = 17) and healthy controls (N = 17) underwent a 5.5-min resting functional magnetic resonance imaging scan. Lower correlations were observed in patients with schizophrenia than in healthy controls between the retrosplenial cortex and both the temporal lobe and regions of the default network. In patients with schizophrenia, activity in the retrosplenial cortex correlated negatively with activity in bilateral anterior cingulate gyrus/medial prefrontal cortex (BA 32/10), despite the fact that these regions, as part of the default network, were expected to show positive correlations in activity. Connectivity of the retrosplenial cortex was greater in patients with more positive symptoms with areas previously associated with hallucinations, particularly the left superior temporal gyrus. These results suggest that spontaneous activity in the retrosplenial cortex during rest is altered in patients with schizophrenia. These alterations may help to explain alterations in self-oriented processing in this patient population.     

The partial positive allosteric GABAA receptor modulator EVT 201 is efficacious and safe in the treatment of adult primary insomnia patients

Objective: To evaluate polysomnographic (PSG) and self-reported measures of the efficacy and safety of EVT 201 in patients with primary insomnia.Patients and methods: Following clinical and PSG screening, 75 patients (mean age: 45.1 ± 11.2y; 50f, 25m) meeting DSM-IV criteria for primary insomnia entered this crossover study and were randomly assigned to double-blind treatment sequences of 1.5 mg or 2.5 mg EVT 201, or placebo using a balanced Latin square design. For each study condition study medication was administered on two consecutive nights and PSG and self-reported data were collected. Safety assessments included physical examination, clinical laboratory measures, electrocardiogram, documentation of adverse events, and the digit symbol substitution test (DSST) and self-reported sleepiness/alertness ratings to detect residual sedation. Data were collected at five US sleep laboratories. Efficacy analyses were performed for the 67 patients completing the study. Safety analyses included all 75 randomized patients.Results: On PSG measures compared to placebo, EVT 201 1.5 mg and 2.5 mg increased total sleep time (TST; 33.1, 45.0 min; both p < 0.0001), reduced wake after sleep onset (WASO; −16.7, −25.7 min; both p < 0.0001), reduced latency to persistent sleep (LPS; −17.0, −20.7 min; both p < 0.0001), and reduced the number of awakenings (−1.2, −2.6; both p < 0.0001). Significant reduction of wake time was seen with 1.5 mg during each of the first three quarters of the night (p < 0.0001–0.002), and with 2.5 mg in all four quarters (p < 0.0001–0.0005). Both doses also improved all key self-reported measures of sleep including total sleep time (rTST; 51.9, 51.1 min; both p < 0.0001), wake after sleep onset (rWASO; −29.3, −29.6 min; both p < 0.0001), sleep latency (rSL; −24.0 min, p < 0.004; −25.1 min, p < 0.0002), and number of awakenings (rNAW; −1.1, −1.2; both p < 0.0001). Sleep quality was also improved by both doses. Self-rated sleepiness in the morning did not differ from placebo for either dose; however, there was a small negative effect on the DSST for both doses. Both doses had similar effects on sleep architecture including an increase in Stage 2 sleep and REM latency and a small, but significant decrease in REM (REM −5.7, −8.3 min; p = 0.0175, p = 0.0006). No effect on other sleep architecture parameters, including SWS, was seen. EVT 201 was well tolerated. No serious or unexpected adverse events were reported.Conclusion: This first study of EVT 201 in adult patients with primary insomnia demonstrated improved measures of sleep onset and sleep maintenance, including during the third and fourth quarters of the night. Adverse events were infrequent and all were mild to moderate in severity.     

Postoperative memory prediction in left temporal lobe epilepsy: The Wada test is of no added value to preoperative neuropsychological assessment and MRI

The contribution of the Wada test (intracarotid amytal procedure, IAP) to predicting postoperative memory outcome in left temporal lobe epilepsy (LTLE) is becoming increasingly controversial when preoperative neuropsychological evaluation and MRI findings are available. We retrospectively analyzed 59 patients with LTLE who underwent en bloc temporal lobe resection. All patients had valid bilateral IAP test results, complete pre- and postoperative neuropsychological evaluation, and MRI grading on a 5-point scale integrating T 2 signal increase and degree of atrophy. Thirty percent of patients showed postoperative memory decline. Multiple regression analysis revealed that significant predictors of decline [F(2.56) = 22.71, P < 0.001, r² = 0.448] included preoperative memory learning score [t = −5.89, P < 0.001] and MRI classification [t = 3.10, P < 0.003], but not IAP scores. The IAP is of no added value in the prediction of postoperative memory outcome in LTLE in the presence of comprehensive neuropsychological and MRI data.     

Neonatal lipopolysaccharide and adult stress exposure predisposes rats to anxiety-like behaviour and blunted corticosterone responses: Implications for the double-hit hypothesis

The double-hit hypothesis posits that an early life genetic or environmental insult sets up a neural predisposition to psychopathology, which may emerge in the presence of a subsequent insult, or ‘second hit’ in later life. The current study assessed the effect of neonatal lipopolysaccharide (LPS) exposure on anxiety-like behaviours in the adult Wistar rat. Rats were administered either LPS (Salmonella enterica, serotype enteritidis, 0.05 mg/kg, ip) or saline (equivolume) on days 3 and 5 of life (birth = day 1). In adulthood (85 days), subjects were allocated to either “stress” or “no stress” treatment groups. For the “stress” group, subjects were exposed to a three-day stress protocol consisting of a 30 min period of restraint and isolation. The “no stress” group was left unperturbed but were handled during this period to control for handling effects between adult “stress” and “no stress” conditions. All animals then underwent behavioural testing using standardised tests of anxiety-like behaviour, including either the Hide Box/Open Field, Elevated Plus Maze (EPM) or Acoustic Startle Response (ASR). Time and event measures for restraint and isolation, the Hide Box/Open Field and EPM were recorded using automated tracking software. Startle amplitude and habituation across time was measured in the ASR test. Prior to and following behavioural test sessions, peripheral blood was collected to assess serum corticosterone and ACTH levels. Data analysis indicated that LPS-treated animals exposed to stress in adulthood exhibited increased anxiety-like behaviour across all behavioural tests compared to controls. Sexually dimorphic effects were observed with males exhibiting increased anxiety-related behaviours compared to females (p < .05). Neonatal LPS exposure induced a significant increase in corticosterone compared to controls (p < .05), whereas corticosterone responses to stress in adulthood were associated with a significantly blunted HPA axis response (p < .05). No differences in ACTH were observed. These results lend support to the double-hit hypothesis of anxiety-related behaviour, demonstrating that neonatal immune activation produces an enhanced propensity toward anxiety-related behaviour following stress in adulthood, and that this susceptibility is associated with alterations to HPA axis ontogeny.     

Forelimb locomotor assessment scale (FLAS): Novel assessment of forelimb dysfunction after cervical spinal cord injury

We describe here a novel forelimb locomotor assessment scale (FLAS) that assesses forelimb use during locomotion in rats injured at the cervical level. A quantitative scale was developed that measures movements of shoulder, elbow, and wrist joints, forepaw position and digit placement, forelimb–hindlimb coordination, compensatory behaviors adopted while walking, and balance. Female Sprague-Dawley rats received graded cervical contusions ranging from 200 to 230 (“mild,” n = 11) and 250–290 kdyn (“moderate,” n = 13) between C5 and C8. Rats were videotaped post-injury as they walked along an alley to determine deficits and recovery of forelimb function. Recovery of shoulder and elbow joint movement occurred rapidly (within 1–7 days post-injury), whereas recovery of wrist joint movement was slower and more variable. Most rats in all groups displayed persistent deficits in forepaw and digit movement, but developed compensatory behaviors to allow functional forward locomotion within 1–2 weeks post-injury. Recovery of forelimb function as measured by the FLAS reached a plateau by 3 weeks post-injury in all groups. Rats with mild contusions displayed greater locomotor recovery than rats with moderate contusions, but exhibited persistent deficits compared to sham controls. Reliability was tested by having seven raters (three internal, four external) from different laboratories, independently and blindly score videos of all rats. The multivariate correlation between all raters, all animals, and all time points ranged from r² = 0.88–0.96 (p < 0.0001), indicating a high inter-rater reliability. Thus, the FLAS is a simple, inexpensive, sensitive, and reliable measure of forelimb function during locomotion following cervical SCI.     

Types of memory or attention? Impairments after lesions of the hippocampus and limbic ventral tegmentum

An animal with an unimpaired “reference” memory can distinguish between alternatives that belong to a rewarded set and those that are unrewarded. An animal with an unimpaired “working” memory can distinguish between alternatives where it has been rewarded (e.g., food has been eaten and not replaced) and those where it will be rewarded. Olton et al. [19] proposed that rats with fimbria-fornix or hippocampal damage showed a lasting deficit specific to “working” memory. This hypothesis has been tested for animals with damage to the hippocampus, limbic ventral tegmentum, neocortex and for intact and operated controls on a task where food pellets must be found in four of 16 holes in a “hole-board” arena. Only the first two groups were impaired in acquiring this task. The impairment was marked for both types of “memory.” It is proposed that the deficit may, in part, be accounted for by deficits in the selective mechanisms related to attention.     

Axotomy or compression is required for axonal sprouting following end-to-side neurorrhaphy

End-to-side (ETS) nerve repair remains an area of intense scrutiny for peripheral nerve surgeon-scientists. In this technique, the transected end of an injured nerve, representing the “recipient” is sutured to the side of an uninjured “donor” nerve. Some works suggest that the recipient limb is repopulated with regenerating collateral axonal sprouts from the donor nerve that go on to form functional synapses. Significant, unresolved questions include whether the donor nerve needs to be injured to facilitate regeneration, and whether a single donor neuron is capable of projecting additional axons capable of differentially innervating disparate targets. We serially imaged living transgenic mice (n = 66) expressing spectral variants of GFP in various neuronal subsets after undergoing previously described atraumatic, compressive, or epineurotomy forms of ETS repair (n = 22 per group). To evaluate the source, and target innervation of these regenerating axons, nerve morphometry and retrograde labeling were further supplemented by confocal microscopy as well as Western blot analysis. Either compression or epineurotomy with inevitable axotomy were required to facilitate axonal regeneration into the recipient limb. Progressively more injurious models were associated with improved recipient nerve reinnervation (epineurotomy: 184 ± 57.6 myelinated axons; compression: 78.9 ± 13.8; atraumatic: 0), increased Schwann cell proliferation (epineurotomy: 72.2% increase; compression: 39% increase) and cAMP response-element binding protein expression at the expense of a net deficit in donor axon counts distal to the repair. These differences were manifest by 150 days, at which point quantitative evidence for pruning was obtained. We conclude that ETS repair relies upon injury to the donor nerve.     

Toward an understanding of the neurobiology of “just right” perceptions: Nest building in the female rabbit as a possible model for compulsive behavior and the perception of task completion

Little is known of the neural mechanisms underlying the subjective experience of task completion and the subsequent inhibition of behavior. The preparturient female rabbit displays a stereotyped “straw carrying” behavior, in which she repeatedly collects straw and carries it into a nest box (located within the home cage), resulting in a finished maternal straw nest within 3 h. Thereafter, straw carrying is inhibited for many hours, even if the original nest is removed. We tested whether the performance of straw carrying behavior or the perception of a completed nest were necessary prerequisites for the engagement of this inhibitory mechanism. On day 28 of pregnancy, we placed straw inside the home cage (at t = 0 h) and recorded the female's behavior for 3 h, at which time the nest was removed from the nest box. Multiparous females began to collect straw almost immediately, whereas inexperienced females were delayed in this respect. In females that had perceived a completed nest inside the nest box during t = 0–3 h, straw carrying was subsequently inhibited across t = 3–24 h. In contrast, when we prevented straw from accumulating inside the nest box during the 3 h observation period (by continuously removing it through a hidden door of the nest box), straw carrying persisted across t = 3–6 h. These results indicate that the perception of a completed nest is necessary to engage a mechanism that inhibits further straw carrying. However, perceiving a completed nest was not sufficient to inhibit straw carrying behavior, since females whose nest box already contained a completed nest (built by the experimenter at the beginning of the experiment) nevertheless displayed a “bout” of straw carrying lasting approximately 60 min, indicating that the performance of nest building behavior itself might also contribute to its subsequent inhibition.     

Relationship between presurgical memory performance on the Wechsler Memory Scale-III and memory change following temporal resection for treatment of intractable epilepsy

Previous research demonstrated a relationship between preoperative memory measured by the Wechsler Memory Scale—Revised (WMS-R) and postsurgical memory change in patients who underwent left (LATL), but not right (RATL) anterior temporal lobectomy. The current study replicated previous efforts using the Wechsler Memory Scale–Third Edition (WMS-III) in a larger sample. The WMS-III was administered to 161 patients with medically intractable epilepsy prior to and 6 months following LATL or RATL. Correlations between presurgical memory on WMS-III indices and memory change following surgery were calculated for each group. Significant negative relationships were found between pre- and postsurgical memory scores in patients who underwent LATL on all WMS-III measures (r = −0.31 to −0.43). Significant negative correlations were observed in patients who underwent RATL only on visual memory measures (r = −0.24 to −0.44). Findings support previous conclusions using the WMS-R showing that patients who undergo LATL with higher presurgical memory ability are at greater risk for memory decline following temporal resection than patients with lower presurgical memory scores.     

Non-word repetition in young school-age children with language impairment and/or neuropsychiatric disorder

We wanted to test the hypothesis that neuropsychiatric disorder (NPD) with language impairment (LI) is a more severe variant of NPD than NPD without LI, and that this variant can be easily picked up by a non-word repetition (NWR) task. We therefore tested 56 (mean 7.6, range 6.1–9.5 years) children divided into three subgroups: one with LI only (n = 8), one with NPD only (n = 16) and one with a combination of LI and NPD (n = 32). We used a Swedish NWR test, a real word repetition test, the Verbal Comprehension and Freedom from Distractibility factor of the WISC-III. All three subgroups had difficulties with NWR and real word repetition compared to the norm, but the within-subgroup variations were considerable. The subgroup with NPD only performed best on both NWR and real word repetitions, but remarkably poorly given that they had never been noted for having language problems. NPD with LI consistently had the lowest scores. Of the three subgroups, only NPD with LI scored lower than the normal range on Verbal Comprehension and Freedom from Distractibility. Significant correlations were found between NWR on the one hand, and Freedom from Distractibility and Verbal Comprehension, on the other, indicating that poor results on a NWR test is probably not a “clean” measure of speech and language impairment, but also taps into other neuropsychological constructs, including executive dysfunction. In conclusion, the study confirmed the hypothesis that NPD with LI constitutes a more severe variant of NPD, and that this variant can easily be picked up by a quick and easy NWR screening test.     

Interobserver reliability of ICSD–R minimal diagnostic criteria for the parasomnias

Objective To estimate the interobserver reliability (IR) of the minimal diagnostic criteria for the parasomnias provided in the International Classification of Sleep Disorders Revised (ICSD–R).Methods Fifty consecutive subjects underwent a structured interview by three doctors based on the ICSD–R minimal criteria for the diagnosis of 13 parasomnias at any time in life. IR was calculated by Kappa statistics and interpreted according to conventional categories.Results In the group of Arousal Disorders, IR was “substantial” (kappa 0.74) for confusional arousals, “slight” (kappa 0.36) for sleepwalking, “fair” (kappa –0.02) for sleep terrors. In the group of Wake–Sleep Transition Disorders, IR was “substantial” to “almost perfect”, but “moderate” for sleep starts (kappa 0.41). In the group of Parasomnias usually associated with REM Sleep, IR was “substantial” (kappa 0.69) for sleep paralysis, “moderate” (kappa 0.46) for RBD, “fair” (kappa 0.25) for nightmares. In the group of Other Parasomnias, IR was “substantial” to ”almost perfect” (kappa between 0.73 and 0.93).Conclusions When the clinical diagnosis of parasomnias is based on the ICSD–R: 1) the majority of Arousal Disorders and REM sleep parasomnias showed only a “fair” to “moderate” IR; 2) all of the other parasomnias showed a ”substantial” to “almost perfect” IR. Nosological entities with unsatisfactory IR share complex motor phenomenology associated with a mental state difficult for the patient to define. The source of disagreement probably lies in the difficulty in interpreting patients’ reports. For these parasomnias IR must be verified and possibly improved with training.     

Sleep-dependent memory consolidation of a new task is inhibited in psychiatric patients

Schizophrenic and depressive patients show impeded sleep-dependent procedural memory consolidation. But this has been shown mainly for tasks testing the adaptation of old skills. This study tested the overnight memory consolidation of a new task and the transfer of this new skill to a similar task. Using an adapted version of the sequential finger tapping task, keyboard-naïve Ethiopian depressive (n = 8) and schizophrenic (n = 15) patients and healthy controls (n = 11 and n = 17) were tested twice, 24 h apart. In addition the subjects underwent training in a second sequence after the retest of the first sequence. Both schizophrenic and depressive patients did not show a significant overnight change in performance (1% and 4% improvement respectively) in the task and differed significantly from the healthy control groups who did show significant improvement (16% and 22%). Further in contrast to the healthy controls both patients groups showed no significant transfer of the newly acquired skill to the second sequence. This study shows that depressive and schizophrenic patients are not only deficient in the overnight memory consolidation of a new task, but also fail to show a transfer of this new skill to similar tasks.     

Adolescents’ explanations for romantic dissolutions: A developmental perspective

Our objective was to examine the prevalence and developmental significance of romantic break-ups in adolescence, a relatively unexplored area of study. We examined their occurrence in a sample of 910 adolescents, first noting the frequency of these events across age, gender, and romantic experience, and then analyzing the dissolution explanations provided by a subsample (N = 211) who experienced a break-up within the past 6 months. Break-ups were reported by 23% of youth, especially those with extensive romantic experience. Most were described as self-initiated, especially by girls. Using a categorical-content approach, we determined that the majority of dissolution explanations reflected “fit failures” in meeting developmentally salient romantic needs, especially those related to interdependence. Patterns were consistent across gender and age, however, those with romantic experience focused most on unmet intimacy needs. We discuss the developmental significance of break-ups, noting continuity between the needs expressed in intact and dissolving relationships.