The Long-term Effects of Behavioural Residential Special Education on Children with Severely Challenging Behaviours: Changes in Behaviour and Skills

Information was collected through the retrospective analysis of records and interview on the characteristics, abilities, challenging behaviours shown and services received by 55 children who attended a behavioural residential special education facility since 1982. Results indicated that, overall, (1) during the mean 2.5 year stay at the facility the children showed significant gains in self-care and communication skills and significant reductions on all indicators of challenging behaviour; (2) that these gains were maintained over the mean 6.5 year follow-up period; but (3) that few additional gains were made during this period. After controlling for initial level of challenging behaviour, greater reductions in challenging behaviour during attendance at the school were observed for children who: prior to entry were living at home; who did not have epilepsy; or who attended the school at a younger age. After leaving school greater improvements were observed by: boys; children who did not have epilepsy; children who were less able; and children who had been followed up for a longer period of time.     

The body-worn alarm in the treatment of childhood enuresis

Two studies examined the effectiveness of the body-worn alarm in out-patient treatment of childhood nocturnal enuresis. The first involved 40 children, previously untreated by conditioning methods, treated with either the body-worn alarm or the traditional pad and bell alarm. The second study compared the body-worn alarm with modified dry-bed training with 48 children previously resistant to treatment. Results of both studies indicated the body-worn alarm was as effective as other methods in terms of the proportion of children successfully treated and was superior with respect to rapidity of response and consumer appeal. Such findings indicate that the body-worn alarm could become the treatment of choice for nocturnal enuresis.     

Multimodal neuroimaging evidence of alterations in cortical structure and function in HIV‐infected older adults

Combination antiretroviral therapy transformed human immunodefiency virus (HIV)‐infection from a terminal illness to a manageable condition, but these patients remain at a significantly elevated risk of developing cognitive impairments and the mechanisms are not understood. Some previous neuroimaging studies have found hyperactivation in frontoparietal networks of HIV‐infected patients, whereas others reported aberrations restricted to sensory cortices. In this study, we utilize high‐resolution structural and neurophysiological imaging to determine whether alterations in brain structure, function, or both contribute to HIV‐related cognitive impairments. HIV‐infected adults and individually matched controls completed 3‐Tesla structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) and a mechanoreception task during magnetoencephalography (MEG). MEG data were examined using advanced beamforming methods, and sMRI data were analyzed using the latest voxel‐based morphometry methods with DARTEL. We found significantly reduced theta responses in the postcentral gyrus and increased alpha activity in the prefrontal cortices of HIV‐infected patients compared with controls. Patients also had reduced gray matter volume in the postcentral gyrus, parahippocampal gyrus, and other regions. Importantly, reduced gray matter volume in the left postcentral gyrus was spatially coincident with abnormal MEG responses in HIV‐infected patients. Finally, left prefrontal and postcentral gyrus activity was correlated with neuropsychological performance and, when used in conjunction, these two MEG findings had a sensitivity and specificity of over 87.5% for HIV‐associated cognitive impairment. This study is the first to demonstrate abnormally increased activity in association cortices with simultaneously decreased activity in sensory areas. These MEG findings had excellent sensitivity and specificity for HIV‐associated cognitive impairment, and may hold promise as a potential disease marker. Hum Brain Mapp 36:897–910, 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.