The human mirror system: a motor resonance theory of mind-reading

Electrophysiological data confirm the existence of neurons that respond to both motor and sensory events in the macaque brain. These mirror neurons respond to execution and observation of goal-orientated actions. It has been suggested that they comprise a neural basis for encoding an internal representation of action. In this paper the evidence for a parallel system in humans is reviewed and the implications for human theory of mind processing are discussed. Different components of theory of mind are discussed; the evidence for mirror activity within subtypes is addressed. While there is substantial evidence for a human mirror system, there are weaknesses in the attempts to localize such a system in the brain. Preliminary evidence indicates that mirror neurons may be involved in theory of mind; however, these data by their very nature are reliant on the presence, and precise characterization, of the human mirror system.     

Neonatal oral tumors: congenital epulis and epignathus

Oroparyngeal tumors in neonates protruding from the mouth are extremely rare. They have the potential to cause respiratory distress, or even death of the child during the perinatal period owing to airway obstruction and may need a multidisciplinary team approach at the time of birth. Congenital epulis and epignathus are the 2 rare lesions usually presenting like this and clinical manifestations depend on their position and size. They have an excellent prognosis, if treated properly. This paper will discuss our experience with these 2 lesions and review the literature.     

The human tail: rare lesion with occult spinal dysraphism--a case report

Human tail or tail-like caudal cutaneous appendage is a rare fingerlike, midline protrusion at the lumbosacrococcygeal region, often associated with occult spinal dysraphism. A 2-month-old male child presented here had a lumbosacral tail-like appendage with underlying spinal dysraphism without any appreciable neurological deficit. In contradiction to a previous report, true vestigial tails are not benign because they may be associated with underlying dysraphic state. About 50% of the cases were associated with either meningocele or spina bifida occulta. Management of such lesions must include complete neurological history and examination as well as magnetic resonance or computed tomographic imaging. After diagnosis, microsurgery should be performed if there is any intraspinal component to avoid any damage and neurological deficit.     

Supernumerary testis: a case report and review of literature

Supernumerary testis or polyorchidism is a rare anatomical and congenital anomaly, and approximately 100 cases have been reported in the literature so far. It is often associated with processus vaginalis anomalies and with increased risk of malignancy and infertility. We report a case and its management, having left-sided duplex testis and found incidentally during inguinal hernia repair, and review the literature.     

Ectopic craniopharyngioma of the fourth ventricle: case report

BACKGROUND: Ectopic craniopharyngioma is an uncommon entity. We report the first case of ectopic craniopharyngioma confined purely within the fourth ventricle, exophytic from pons. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 12-year-old girl presented with 2 months history of headache and recent evidence of raised intracranial pressure and left abducent palsy. Magnetic resonance imaging suggested intra-fourth ventricular mass with hydrocephalus. The patient underwent midline posterior fossa craniotomy and tumor excision, with prompt relief of gaze palsy. Histologic examination proved the lesion to be craniopharyngioma. We found no evidence to correlate this tumor to the suprasellar region. CONCLUSION: Craniopharyngioma may not always be in primary communication with suprasellar tumor.     

Increased levels of ethane, a non-invasive, quantitative, direct marker of n-3 lipid peroxidation, in the breath of patients with schizophrenia

This study directly assessed whether there was a change in the level of exhaled ethane, which provides a non-invasive, quantitative, direct measure of n-3 lipid peroxidation, in the breath of patients with schizophrenia. Samples of alveolar air were obtained from 20 subjects with schizophrenia and 23 age- and sex-matched healthy control subjects. The air samples were analyzed for ethane using mass spectrometry. The mean level of ethane in the schizophrenia sample [5.15 (S.E. 0.56) ppb] was significantly higher than that of the healthy controls [2.63 (S.E. 0.31) ppb; p<0.0005]. A further sub-analysis showed that nicotine dependence was unlikely to be the cause of this difference. These results suggest that the measurement of exhaled ethane levels may offer a non-invasive direct biomarker of increased n-3 lipid peroxidation in schizophrenia.     

Cognitive functions in bipolar affective disorder and schizophrenia: comparison

Aims: Earlier comparisons of cognitive impairment among patients with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia have found a largely similar profile of deficits, but results have varied between studies. This prompted the current attempt at another such comparison. Methods: Executive functions, memory, IQ, attention–concentration and perceptuomotor function were assessed in 48 bipolar disorder patients with operationally defined euthymia, and compared with 32 schizophrenia patients in remission, and 23 normal controls. Comparisons were re‐attempted after controlling for years of schooling and residual affective symptoms. Results: Uncontrolled comparisons indicated that, compared to controls, both bipolar disorder and schizophrenia patients were significantly impaired on different tests of executive function, memory, IQ and perceptuomotor functions. Controlling for years of schooling and residual affective symptoms, however, served to remove most of the differences between patients and controls, apart from some aspects of executive function in schizophrenia and memory impairment in both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Patients with schizophrenia consistently performed worse than patients with bipolar disorder, but none of the differences between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder were significant. Conclusions: Patients with bipolar disorder exhibit cognitive difficulties that are very similar to schizophrenia in terms of their profile, although patients with schizophrenia may have more severe and widespread impairments. The resemblance in cognitive profiles has important implications for the etiology and treatment of both disorders.