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Biomedical subjects

R K Morgan

Publications and source records attributed to R K Morgan.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

Statpac 2 glaucoma change probability.

We compared the traditional intuitive criterion (fixed at 5 dB) with the variable Statpac 2 criterion of the Humphrey Field Analyzer for identifying visual deterioration at individual points within a visual field. The separation of depressed from stable points in 123 follow-up fields of 17 patients, when all points within a field were considered, was reasonably equivalent between the two methods (kappa = 0.55 +/- 0.027 [+/- SE]). Centrally located points within the field demonstrated a stronger agreement (kappa = 0.68 +/- 0.028), because the fixed criterion more often labeled the edge points as having progressed than did the Statpac 2 algorithm. The glaucoma change probability printout is more simply obtained than the manual comparison required for intuitive interpretation with a fixed criterion, and it is potentially more accurate because of its reliance on a database that permits a variable criterion to be applied.

Aged

Psychological symptoms in primary fibromyalgia syndrome: relationship to pain, life stress, and sleep disturbance.

Twenty-five subjects with primary fibromyalgia syndrome and 22 subjects with rheumatoid arthritis were compared on measures of psychological distress, pain, health status, life stress, sleep disturbance, and coping strategies. Higher levels of psychological distress were found in the primary fibromyalgia syndrome group, but the degree of life stress was shown to be a significant covariate.

Adaptation, Psychological

A comparative evaluation of heart rate reactivity during MATH and a standard mental arithmetic task.

Heart rate was monitored while 20 young males completed MATH, a computer-operated mental arithmetic task specifically designed for use in experiments involving subjects of heterogeneous numerical ability, and a standard mental arithmetic task used in this laboratory on several occasions. Both tasks elicited sizeable increases in heart rate, and comparison of subjects' reactivity scores revealed significant inter-task consistency of reaction.

Adult

Graded mental arithmetic as an active psychological challenge.

A computer-operated mental arithmetic task is outlined which presents questions at a level of difficulty continuously determined by subjects' accuracy of response on the previous question. The programme incorporates 5 levels of difficulty, and all questions concern the addition or subtraction of two numbers which vary in digit-span according to the current level of difficulty. Response requirements are manual rather than verbal so that, in addition to monitoring heart rate, subjects' exhaled air may be collected throughout the task in order to determine oxygen consumption.

Computers