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Biomedical subjects

M Kaitz

Publications and source records attributed to M Kaitz.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2007

Somatosensory function in boys with ADHD and tactile defensiveness.

In this study, we tested for deficits in somatosensory function in boys with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and tactile defensiveness (TD). The subjects were 67 boys with ADHD, sub-typed as TD (ADHD+TD+) or non TD (ADHD+TD-), matched with 60 "typical" children in the control group. Sixty nine percent of the boys with ADHD were categorized as TD. The groups were compared on three measures: (a) performance scores on subtests of the Sensory Integration and Praxis Test, (b) measurements of the Somatosensory Evoked Potential (SEP) and (c) ratings of the children's affective responses during tactile stimulation. Both ADHD groups differed from the control group on most study measures. No significant differences were found between the two ADHD subgroups on threshold and perceptual tests scores, except for Finger Identification. However, the TD+ group demonstrated significantly higher central SEP amplitudes than did the TD- group. Together, the results support claims that TD is related to central processing of somatosensory information, but not to anomalous tactile perception, with the exception of Finger Identification.

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity↗
PubMed2000

Performance of early-blind and sighted children on olfactory tasks.

The goal of the study was to test whether children with congenital or early-onset blindness outperform sighted children on olfactory tasks. Measures of olfactory sensitivity, odour recognition, and odour labeling were obtained. The results show that the blind children were more proficient at correctly labeling 25 common odours than were matched sighted children. However, the blind were not more sensitive to a target odour, nor more proficient at choosing a correct odour label from a list of four. Together, the data point to a circumscribed advantage of blind children at self-generating and retrieving odour labels and, as such, to a limited, but still compensatory, cognitive function.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Effectiveness of primiparae and multiparae at soothing their newborn infants.

To examine the effectiveness of new parents at soothing their infants, the authors filmed primiparae (20 mothers, 20 fathers) and, for comparison, multiparae (25 mothers, 25 fathers) during an interaction with their crying 2- to 3-day-old infants. Data were derived from loudness ratings of the infants' distress signals and by measuring the time it took parents to quiet their infants. In addition, specific parental behaviors were coded by microanalysis. From these data, measures of soothing effectiveness and behavioral profiles were derived. Data analyses showed that most primiparae were effective at soothing their infants' cries and that there were no parity effects on measures of soothing effectiveness. However, mothers, regardless of parity, were more effective at quieting their infants than were fathers, and there were significant differences in mothers' and fathers' caregiving behaviors. These data suggest that primiparae are effective at quickly soothing their newborns and that their skill, as measured, does not depend on parenting experience. Moreover, the data point to significant differences in mothers' and fathers' competence at quieting their newborns whether or not they are experienced at parenting.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Somatosensory functioning in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

In order to test the hypothesis that attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is related to deficits in somatosensory processing, 49 ADHD male children and 49 matched controls were tested on a wide range of tactile tasks, and somatosensory evoked potentials (SEP) were also recorded. In addition, parents' and teachers' ratings on the children's typical responses to tactile stimuli were obtained. The results show that the ADHD children were less skilled on suprathreshold, but not on threshold tasks than were the controls. Further, a larger percentage of ADHD children were 'tactile defensive'. Finally, the ADHD children showed larger-than-normal amplitudes of late, but not early components of the SEP. These data suggest that some aspects of somatosensory processing by ADHD children are deficient.

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity↗
PubMed1994

Comparative tactile behavior of mothers and fathers with their newborn infants.

The style with which parents touch their newborn infant was studied. Our method was to film mothers and fathers holding their awake infants and to code detailed features of their tactile behavior using time-sampling analysis to measure frequency of events and continuous event recording to measure duration. The results show that both mothers and fathers made tactile contact with their infant for an equal amount of time and frequency, but that mothers touch/stroke their infants more than they pat/shake them. Fathers did not show any preference for either tactile style. Mothers preferentially targeted the infant's hand and face more than the body, while fathers preferred to touch the infant's hand. These results suggest that mothers' propensity to "caretake" their infants and fathers' tendency to play with their infant are reflected in the fine details of their parental behavior.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Cognitive deficits in women after childbirth.

OBJECTIVE: To test the cognitive function of parturients in the days immediately after delivery. METHODS: One hundred postpartum mothers who delivered normal full-term infants were tested on standardized neuropsychological tests--the Wechsler Logical Memory Test and the Wechsler Visual Reproduction Test. Their test results were compared with those of nonpregnant childless women, third-trimester high-risk pregnant women, and fathers of newborns. RESULTS: Postpartum women scored significantly lower than nonpregnant women on both tests on the first postpartum day. The use of intrapartum analgesia mitigated the cognitive deficit. High-risk pregnant women and fathers scored lower than nonpregnant women only on the Logical Memory Test. CONCLUSION: Objective documentation that postpartum women have transient deficits in cognitive function, particularly in memory function, can guide caretakers in the design of care plans for the postpartum lying-in period.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Recognition of familiar individuals by touch.

I have examined whether adults can recognize their boyfriends/husbands or girlfriends/wives by stroking either their partner's hand or face. On both trials, subjects were asked to chose their mate from amongst two unfamiliar age- and gender-matched adult foils. During testing, the subject's eyes and nose were covered and auditory cues were masked by ambient noise. The results show that a significant proportion of the total sample succeeded on one or both of the touch-recognition tasks. However, while both women and men were successful at the face-touch-recognition task, only the women were successful at the hand-recognition task. I conclude that tactile cues afforded by stroking skin are sufficiently salient to allow for individual recognition. As for the gender-related difference, women may have an advantage at hand recognition because men's hands are more discriminable than women's hands.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Infants' face-recognition by primiparous and multiparous women.

We have compared the ability of 49 primiparous and 75 multiparous women to recognize photographs of their newborn infants. In line with previous research on infant cries, we found that multiparous women who had been with their infant 0.5 to 5.0 hr. were significantly more successful in recognizing their infants' photographs than primiparous women with comparable exposure to their newborns. For women who had not been with their infants more than 5 hr., parity was not related to recognition. We propose that the transient performance deficit of the primiparous women indicates a short-lived impairment of perceptual/cognitive skills associated with their more stressful childbearing experience.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Mothers' and fathers' recognition of their newborns' photographs during the postpartum period.

In the present study, we have compared the ability of mothers and fathers to recognize their newborns' photographs during the early postpartum period. We suspected that fathers would prove to be less proficient than mothers, as a result of differences in the quality of their contact with their newborns. Our hypothesis was not confirmed. Rather, mothers and fathers were, for the most part, equally proficient at recognizing their infants. Since focused attention is a requisite for accurate photograph recognition, these data suggest that fathers view their newborns with perspicacity comparable to that of mothers.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Mothers' recognition of their newborns by olfactory cues.

We report that 90% of women tested in the present study identified their newborns by olfactory cues after only 10 min-1 hr exposure to their infants. All of the women tested recognized their babies' odor after exposure periods greater than 1 hr. The robust results are due in part to the implementation of an initial screening phase in which individuals with obvious olfactory deficits were excluded from the sample. These results suggest that odor cues from newborns are even more salient to their mothers than have been thought heretofore.

Cues↗
PubMed1985

Electrophysiological correlates of visual masking.

The phenomenon of paracontrast documented by means of psychophysical techniques has not been readily demonstrable using electrophysiological responses as an index of masking. We have analyzed averaged cortical potentials during presentation of visual stimuli that produce psychophysical masking. Differences in the masking profiles obtained from the two experimental conditions are apparent. However, both electrophysiological and psychophysical data do indicate an interaction between responses to an annulus and a disc which varies with the time interval between the stimuli. Both sets of data also reflect differences in masking between right and left eyes. We conclude that the cortical potentials evoked by temporally disparate stimuli do interact, but that the masking profile is not identical to the profile obtained by psychophysical methods.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Abnormal electrophysiological responses to successive stimuli in patients with cortical damage or multiple sclerosis.

We studied the cortical potentials of normal subjects and patients with unilateral hemisphere damage to two simultaneous or successive stimuli. Both groups showed variations in the interaction between the signals evoked by the stimuli as a function of interstimulus interval. However, the anomalous stimulus-response function obtained from the patient group suggests pathological signal interaction. Data obtained from patients with multiple sclerosis were similar to those of the cortical-injury group suggesting that localized cerebral damage is not requisite for the disturbed profiles. We hypothesize that the results indicate abnormal temporal processing by these patients and propose that the defect may underlie visual illusions reported by patients with cerebral pathology.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Visual evoked potentials in experimental allergic encephalomyelitis.

We have compared the clinical signs, brain pathology and visually evoked responses (VEP) of guinea pigs with experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE). Animals immunized with myelin basic protein had a milder disease, both from the clinical and histological points of views, compared to those immunized with crude white matter extract. However, VEP findings were quite similar in both groups. The VEP of the majority of animals from both groups showed changes before or at the same time that neurological signs appeared. Electrophysiological responses were usually characterized by abnormal wave shapes and prolonged latencies. Recovery of the VEP usually preceded the recovery from clinical signs. In contrast, the severity and incidence of brain tissue pathology was not correlated to either clinical signs or VEP changes. Possible explanations of the electrophysiological, clinical and histopathological changes and their time-course are discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Visual defects in the uninjured eye of patients with unilateral eye injury.

We have examined the electroretinographic responses, the psychophysically determined course of dark adaptation and/or the scotopic and photopic (static) perimetric profile of the uninjured eyes of 11 patients with unilateral intraocular foreign bodies. Most of the patients showed subnormal ERG amplitudes over a range of light intensities, and subnormal light sensitivity in isolated retinal areas. The data suggest that eyes not directly injured by a unilateral traumatic ocular episode may show visual defects.

Adolescent↗