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Biomedical subjects

E M Ornitz

Publications and source records attributed to E M Ornitz.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

The maturation of vestibular nystagmus in infancy and childhood.

The displacements, durations, and velocities of the slow and fast components of both the primary and secondary nystagmus induced by constant angular acceleration were measured in 46 normal children 1 month to 11 years old. There were significant changes in nystagmus parameters in respect to maturation. The young infant had larger amplitude, higher velocity beats than the older child during both the primary and the secondary nystagmus. Parameters describing both the primary and the secondary nystagmus reached their peak values and terminated earlier in the infant than in the older child. Although the slow component velocity during secondary nystagmus was much slower than during the primary nystagmus at all ages, the secondary nystagmus/primary nystagmus ratio was significantly greater in early infancy. Thus, in infancy, as compared with later childhood, the vigor of the secondary nystagmus was disproportionately greater than the primary nystagmus. These results were discussed in relation to the maturation both of vestibular responsiveness and of vestibular adaptation.

Age Factors

The early development of autistic children.

A sample of 74 young autistic children was selected and defined by direct observation of specific behaviors and clinical assessment of the presence or absence of associated pathological conditions. Retrospective developmental data on these children and 38 age-matched normal children were gathered by means of a written inventory completed by the parents when the children were relatively young (mean age less than 4 years). The autistic children were reported to have had significant delays in the development of motor abilities, speech, communication, comprehension, and, to a lesser extent, perception during their 1st and 2nd years.

Age Factors

Rapid eye movement (REM) activity in normal and autistic children during REM sleep.

Thirty normal children (aged 3--68 months) and 16 autistic children (aged 36--62 months) were recorded during nonmedicated sleep and data pertaining to rapid eye movements (REM) were measured during the first three REM periods of the night. When time of night from which data were gathered was held constant, normal children showed a significant relationship between age and the organization of eye movements into discrete bursts. When autistic children were compared to age-matched normal controls, they showed an immaturity in this phenomena, their results being similar to those found in children less than 18 months of age. Such an immaturity could result from dysfunction at a number of diverse levels and sites in the central nervous system.

Age Factors

The syndrome of autism: a critical review.

The authors review the clinical features and behavioral characteristics of autism; differential diagnosis of the syndrome; clinical, neurophysiological, and biochemical research; and its medical management and treatment. They conclude that autism is a behaviorally defined, specific syndrome that is manifested at birth or shortly thereafter. Its symptoms are expressive of an underlying neuropathophysiological process that affects developmental rate; modulation of perception; language, cognitive, and intellectual development; and the ability to relate. The long-term prognosis is guarded; almost all patients manifest severe symptomatology throughout their lives. Further basic research into the neuropathophysiological process underlying the syndrome is necessary in order to reach the ultimate goal of developing etiologically specific treatment programs.

Age Factors

Evolution of sleep spindles in childhood.

Twenty-six normal children (age range range 4-68 months) were studied during Stage 2 sleep which occurred within 20 min preceding or following the first three REM periods of the night. Sleep spindles were measured in Fp1T3. The number, length, and percent of sleep spindle activity were found to be maximal at 46 months of age. Beyond 6 months spindle activity decreased to reach minimal values by 27 months, remained fairly constant to 54 months, then rose again to higher values in the oldest subjects. The mean spindle-wave frequency was 1314 c/sec in subjects younger than 40 months, but was 12-13 c/sec in older subjects. Spindle onsets in Fp1T3 and Fp2T4 were more often concurrent in older as compared to younger subjects. Auditory stimulation (binaural clicks, 60 dB above hearing threshold) affected neither the incidence nor the length of spindles during sleep. Because sizable changes in sleep spindle activity are found between 3 months and 5 years of age, and because such changes are relatively consistent between subjects, it is concluded that sleep spindles recorded between frontal and temporal areas may serve as a useful index of neural maturation in the human subject.

Acoustic Stimulation