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A F Mirsky

Publications and source records attributed to A F Mirsky.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

On familial factors in the attentional deficit in schizophrenia: a review and report of two new subject samples.

We review the literature on attentional impairment in schizophrenics and their first-degree relatives and present new information from ongoing family studies of the disorder in Ireland and Israel. Subjects were administered a neuropsychological test battery (the NIMH Attention Battery) intended to measure four different elements of attention: encode, focus/execute, sustain, and shift. Results from both samples indicated that schizophrenic subjects performed most poorly on the tests, the control subjects performed best, and the scores of the relatives fell somewhere between the other two groups. Separation among subject groups was most significant for those tests comprising the focus/execute and sustain elements. Some of the results indicate, as well, that tests of auditory sustained attention may be the most discriminating of all. Overall comparison of the Irish and Israeli cohorts revealed striking differences. While within cohort differences remained, subjects from the Irish sample performed more poorly on many of the tests than Israeli subjects. This between-cohort difference was not found in the sustain element, as measured by the Continuous Performance Test. The socio-cultural implications of these findings are discussed with respect to future neuropsychological studies of schizophrenia.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Interpersonal behavior of children at risk for schizophrenia.

Investigations of the childhood antecedents of adult schizophrenia may clarify our understanding of the etiology of the disease, provide guidelines for meaningful classification of subtypes of schizophrenic illness, point to strategies for identifying those individuals in need for early intervention, and suggest appropriate techniques for early intervention. Among the more salient characteristics of schizophrenic illness are disturbances in interpersonal relations, especially withdrawal from normal social interaction.

Child↗
PubMed1991

Analysis of the elements of attention: a neuropsychological approach.

A model for conceptualizing the components or elements of attention is presented. The model substitutes for the diffuse and global concept of "attention" a group of four processes and links them to a putative system of cerebral structures. Data in support of the model are presented; they are derived from neuropsychological test scores obtained from two samples, the first consisting of 203 adult neuropsychiatric patients and normal control subjects, and the second, an epidemiologically-based sample of 435 elementary school children. Principal components analyses of test scores from these two populations yielded similar results: a set of independent elements of attention that are assayed by different tests. This work presents a heuristic for clinical research in which the measurement of attention is essential.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

The structure of schizotypy: a pilot multitrait twin study.

This report of a pilot study examines 29 pairs of twins from a population-based registry on whom four domains of schizotypy have been measured: personal interview using the Structured Interview for Schizotypy, self-report questionnaire formed from eight published self-report scales, attentional battery of eight individual tests, and root mean square error on smooth pursuit eye tracking. Analyzing the twins as individuals revealed two independent dimensions of clinically rated schizotypy (positive symptom schizotypy and negative symptom schizotypy) and two independent dimensions of self-rated schizotypy (positive trait schizotypy and trait anhedonia). Positive symptom schizotypy was highly correlated with positive trait schizotypy, but not with attentional dysfunction or eye-tracking error. By contrast, negative symptom schizotypy was significantly related to trait anhedonia, attentional dysfunction, and eye-tracking error. Correlations in monozygotic and dizygotic twins suggested that genetic factors were important in all four domains of schizotypy. Except for eye-tracking error, the results are more consistent with a dimensional than a "disease" model of schizotypy. Replication of these results with a larger group of subjects is needed.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Cognition in eating disorders.

Cognitive functions were investigated in four groups of women: 30 underweight anorexics, 38 normal-weight bulimics, 20 long-term weight-restored anorexics, and 39 normal controls. A MANOVA was used to examine performance on five neuropsychological domains derived from prior principal components analyses of a comprehensive neuropsychological battery. Underweight anorexics performed more poorly than normal controls in four of five neuropsychological domains (focusing/execution, verbal, memory, and visuospatial), while normal-weight bulimics showed poorer performances only in focusing/execution. The absolute differences in scores between eating disorder groups and normal controls were for the most part small, suggesting subtle rather than frank cognitive difficulties. Poorer neuropsychological test performance was associated with anxiety but not depression as measured by the Tryon, Stein, and Chu Tension scale and scale 2 of the MMPI respectively. The findings support previous reports of attentional difficulties in eating disorders but do not support the hypothesis of differential right-hemisphere dysfunction in eating disorders.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Neuropsychological effects of early HIV-1 infection: assessment and methodology.

Studies of neuropsychological performance early in the course of human immunodeficiency virus-type 1, infection are reviewed. The studies differed on reporting the presence and severity of neuropsychological changes, and comparisons among studies are hampered by variations in the study populations, sample sizes, assessment methods, approaches to data analysis, and definitions of thresholds for abnormality. Recommendations that would facilitate comparisons among future studies include using markers for disease state, applying longitudinal designs, using common instruments for assessing neuropsychological status, selecting appropriate controls, controlling for co-factors, reporting raw scores as well as presumed indices of impairment, and relating impairment on neuropsychological tests to affected individuals' daily activities, if possible.

AIDS Dementia Complex↗
PubMed1988

Research on schizophrenia in the NIMH Laboratory of Psychology and Psychopathology, 1954-1987.

Since its creation in 1954 (as the Laboratory of Psychology) through the present time, the Laboratory of Psychology and Psychopathology has devoted a major effort to the study of schizophrenia. Shakow's studies on impaired reaction time performance led to the development of the concept of segmental set; Rosenthal's work on genetic factors in the etiology of schizophrenia, as well as on the interaction of stress and diathesis, helped to illuminate the nature of transmission of schizophrenia. These investigations set standards of excellence for careful analysis of psychopathological behavior. Our present program of research on schizophrenia emphasizes autonomic, psychophysiological and event-related brain potential investigations of schizophrenic patients and long-term followup of a high-risk population in Israel. In this group, poor attention in children at genetic risk has proved to be a predictor of later development of a schizophrenia spectrum disorder. Our work also emphasizes a theoretical analysis of the neuropsychological elements that make up attention in relation to psychopathological states.

Humans↗
PubMed1988

The Genain quadruplets.

The Genain quadruplets are a unique set of monozygous women who are concordant for schizophrenia but discordant for the severity of their disorder. They were studied by David Rosenthal and colleagues at the National Institute of Mental Health in the late 1950's when they were in their twenties and again in 1981 when they were 51. They are faring about as well now as they ever have in their adult lives. The results of psychological tests, some of which were repeated more than 20 years apart, are discussed, as are the effects of medication on attention and memory. The differential response of the Genains to neuroleptic drugs, as well as certain other findings in the 1981 study, leads to a different conclusion about the discordant severity of their disorder from that reached in 1963 by Rosenthal and Quinn. These observations emphasize the value of long-term followup studies in genetically related individuals, with repeated assessments of the same functions.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

An Hebrew language version of the Stroop test.

We present normative data from a Hebrew language version of the Stroop color-word test. In this sample of college-educated Israeli young adults, 18 women and 28 men with a mean age of 28.4 yr. completed a Hebrew language Stroop test. When compared with 1978 English language norms of Golden, Hebrew speakers were slower on color-word reading and color naming, similar on naming the color of incongruently colored names of colors, and showed less interference. Slowed color-word reading and color-naming may reflect the two-syllable length of the Hebrew names for one-syllable length English language colors; reduced interference may reflect the exclusion of vowels in much Hebrew printing and subjects' ability to provide competing, nonconflicting words while naming the color of words in which the hue and the lexical content do not match.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Attention-related unit activity in the frontal association cortex during a go/no-go visual discrimination task.

Unit activity related to a go/no-go visual discrimination task was studied in four rhesus monkeys. We recorded 272 task-related cells from frontal cortex in a region extending from the midprincipal sulcus to the central sulcus, and medially to the cingulate sulcus. Units located in anterior regions (dorsolateral prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortex) were typically related to both go and no-go trials (designated type II units) and showed similar ("symmetrical") activity in both kinds of trials; some of them also showed prestimulus ("anticipatory") activity. Such units were present but less common in posterior regions (postarcuate and precentral and posterior cingulate cortex). Units in these posterior regions were active predominantly in go trials (designated type I units). Also found posteriorly were "asymmetrical" type II cells whose activity was greater in go trials and occurred later in the trial, around the behavioral response. The anterior symmetrical and anticipatory type II units in the frontal association cortex were similar to such units described earlier in the brain stem reticular formation and may have similar functions in supporting focused and preparatory attention. On the other hand, asymmetrical type II units in the posterior frontal regions may have a role in the initiation of visually guided motor behavior.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1987

Effects of gamma-hydroxybutyrate on the performance of monkeys in a Go/No-go visual discrimination task.

It has been suggested that monkeys, administered gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), manifest a state resembling petit mal status. This implies that an animal would produce erroneous responses immediately prior to, and discontinue behaviors requiring any cognitive effort concurrently with, an episode of GHB-induced generalized 3 cps wave-spike bursts in the EEG. This prediction was not confirmed in the present study. Rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) were trained to perform in a visual discrimination Go/No-go test. Thereafter bipolar transcortical electrodes were implanted in the hemisphere contralateral to the preferred hand. All monkeys discontinued to lever-press for water reward when administered GHB (125 or 250 mg/kg, esophageal intubation) and exhibited signs of reduced postural control and somnolence punctuated by episodes of hypermotility about 40-50 min after GHB. However, the monkey's difficulties in completing the program were not associated with the development of generalized hypersynchronous EEG activity. While occasional wave-spike bursts did occur, they were poorly regulated, often 'focal' (i.e. developed only in isolated areas), and had a frequency of 1.5-2 cps. In this state, animals could be easily roused by sensory stimuli. All of them reacted with a characteristic aversive-aggressive display when confronted by a direct gaze. These effects are interpreted to be more consistent with characterization of GHB activity as that of a potent hypnotic rather than a convulsant agent.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Review of the NIMH Israeli Kibbutz-City Study and the Jerusalem Infant Development Study.

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Israeli Kibbutz-City Study has followed the development of offspring of schizophrenic parents from middle childhood through early adulthood. During childhood, a subgroup of offspring of schizophrenic patients showed clear neurobehavioral deficits often accompanied by poor social competence. Early followup data suggest that this subgroup of high-risk children is at greatest risk for adult schizophrenia spectrum illness. The Jerusalem Infant Development Study has followed a similar population of children at risk for schizophrenia from before birth through middle childhood. A subgroup of dysfunctioning in the high-risk children showed sensorimotor dysfunctioning in the first year of life, which was followed by perceptual, motor, and attentional dysfunctioning in childhood--identical to that found in the NIMH cohort. Results from both studies support the hypothesis that schizophrenic illness involves constitutional factors whose expression can be observed as early as infancy. Results also illustrate the importance of using data-analytic approaches that (1) look for subgroups within high-risk groups rather than only group differences between high- and low-risk groups, and (2) examine profiles of behavior rather than only single variables.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Behavioral and psychophysiological markers of disordered attention.

Behavioral and psychophysiological assays provide the most sensitive indication of whether a presumed neurotoxin has a deleterious effect on the nervous system. The effects of lead on the nervous system are strongly suggestive that this agent can produce disturbances in attention; moreover, there are clinical reports of such effects. The action of lead is also manifest in behaviors described as "hyperactive," or reflecting "minimal brain damage." The core symptom in both disorders is probably impairment in attention. The recent Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-III) of the American Psychiatric Association uses the term Attention Deficit Disorder to replace such terms as hyperactivity and minimal brain damage. Prior studies of the behavioral toxicity of lead may have used inadequate or incomplete assays of attention; this could in part account for the variability in outcomes. Recent research on attention suggests that it is a complex behavior consisting of a number of elements or components, each of which may be in part dependent upon a different region of the central nervous system. Behavioral assays should examine the components of attentive behavior using tests which are sensitive to the different elements. It is recommended that psychophysiological assays (using cognitive event-related potentials), although more difficult and costly to implement, be used as well. These assays may provide a more dynamic view of altered information processing in the brain and help to localize and characterize the behavioral impairment.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

The Israeli High-Risk Study: reply to Kaffman.

Kaffman's critique (1986) of the Israeli High-Risk Study centers on a number of issues: research design, information reported, appropriateness of sample, and Kaffman's own direct experience with psychiatric populations in kibbutzim and elsewhere in Israel. I contend that Kaffman has not fully understood the goals, methods, design, or results of the investigation. The information reported was as complete as possible if it is borne in mind that many of the issues and problems he has raised were not considered in research done on psychiatric disorders 25 years ago. Nevertheless, I contend that the Israeli study meets currently accepted standards of psychiatric research, that the results are valid, and that they raise questions about possible pathogenic influences on vulnerable persons raised on kibbutzim.

Adolescent↗