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Biomedical subjects

C K Varnhagen

Publications and source records attributed to C K Varnhagen.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Emotionally arousing pictures increase blood glucose levels and enhance recall.

Arousal enhances memory in human participants and this enhancing effect is likely due to the release of peripheral epinephrine. As epinephrine does not readily enter the brain, one way that peripheral epinephrine may enhance memory is by increasing circulating blood glucose levels. The present study investigated the possibility that emotionally arousing color pictures would improve memory and elevate blood glucose levels in human participants. Blood glucose levels were measured before, 15 min, and 30 min after male university students viewed 60 emotionally arousing or relatively neutral pictures. Participants viewed each picture for 6 s and then had 10 s to rate the arousal (emotional intensity) and valence (pleasantness) of each picture. A free-recall memory test was given 30 min after the last picture was viewed. Although the emotionally arousing and neutral picture sets were given comparable valence ratings, participants who viewed the emotionally arousing pictures rated the pictures as being more arousing, recalled more pictures, and had higher blood glucose levels after viewing the pictures than did participants who viewed the neutral pictures. These findings indicate that emotionally arousing pictures increase blood glucose levels and enhance memory, and that this effect is not due to differences in the degree of pleasantness of the stimuli. These findings support the possibility that increases in circulating blood glucose levels in response to emotional arousal may be part of the biological mechanism that allows emotional arousal to enhance memory.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Orthodontists' perceptions of need for jaw surgery.

Treatment recommendations in borderline orthognathic surgery cases were examined for influence of orthodontists' traits and orthodontist's perceptions of patients', surgeons', and psychologists' traits. A mail questionnaire consisted of 23 case vignettes describing borderline surgical candidates with certain physical, psychological, attitudinal, and support system traits, as well as demographic and attitudinal items. The response rate from 512 licensed Canadian orthodontists was 65%. Seventy-four percent of orthodontists preferred camouflage for themselves. Recommendation of camouflage predominated in 12 of 23 vignettes and surgery in only four, although the cost of surgery was considered justified. Psychological referral was recommended highly for certain patients: those hoping to improve negative life events through positive facial change, those having low self-esteem, and those wanting to opl out of surgery in the middle of orthodontic treatment. Certain patient traits appeared to influence orthodontists' treatment recommendations. The availability, expertise, and receptiveness to case discussion of oral surgeons and psychologists did not influence orthodontists' treatment recommendations.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Neurofibromatosis and psychological processes.

A minimal degree of mental handicap is commonly seen in neurofibromatosis (NF). Despite the prevalence, little is known about the nature of the mental handicap. In this study, schoolchildren with NF and unaffected siblings were studied clinically and given a series of psychological tests. The psychological battery consisted of standardized tests of intelligence and cognitive processing, laboratory tests of cognitive processing, and personality and mood questionnaires. Clinical data included a medical and family history, results of physical, audiological, and ophthalmological examinations, EEG, tissue biopsy when necessary, and (in NF individuals) a CT scan. Results demonstrate slightly deficient cognitive processing in the NF individuals, particularly in terms of visual-spatial integration. These deficits are related to age-independent severity with more severely affected individuals exhibiting more severe deficits. The findings are discussed in terms of their diagnostic and prescriptive implications.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Auditory and visual memory span: cognitive processing by TMR individuals with Down syndrome or other etiologies.

Auditory and visual memory span for letters and component memory processes of TMR young adults with Down syndrome or other etiologies was examined. Component processes of the span task included long-term memory access for labels for the stimuli and memory for the order in which the stimuli were presented. Results indicated that although all subjects had relatively poor auditory memory spans, the Down syndrome group was especially poor at long-term memory access for stimulus identification and at short-term storage and processing of auditory information. Lexical storage and retrieval deficiencies were isolated, accounting for the verbal difficulties experienced by the individuals with Down syndrome, leading to their deficiency in processing lexical information.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Transfer of learning strategies: contrast of self-instructional and traditional training formats with EMR children.

Twelve mentally retarded children were taught anticipation and paraphrase strategies imbedded in either a self-instructional format that provided strategy initiation and modification routines or a traditional didactic training format: six children in a control condition received no explicit strategy instructions. Maintenance tests were administered 1 and 3 weeks following three training sessions; generalization tests were given in the afternoon of each training and maintenance session. Although no differences were found for self-instructional vs. traditional training formats, both conditions were superior to the control condition on the maintenance tests. Strategy generalization did not occur during training or short-term maintenance. On the final generalization test, however, significant improvements in recall accuracy were noted for both format conditions. In the self-instructional condition, several children successfully generalized the strategies during the early phases of training to facilitate gist recall.

Child↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Rural high school students' knowledge, attitudes and behaviours related to sexually transmitted diseases.

High school students are at high risk for contracting sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). A sample of 69 rural high school students from the province of Alberta, Canada were surveyed regarding their knowledge, attitudes and behaviours related to STDs to ascertain whether they differ from urban students. Results indicate that rural and urban high school students are similar in terms of knowledge about STDs, attitudes towards their prevention and also in terms of sexual behaviours. As with other studies, behaviours lagged behind knowledge and attitudes with reported condom use low. Sexual decision making was influenced mainly by the peer group. Males and females were mainly influenced by the same factors which include the willingness of their partner, the behaviours of their friends and family, concern about contracting a STD. These data emphasize the need to implement primary prevention programs for high school aged youth in rural as well as urban settings.

Adolescent↗