Biomedical subjects

S Dyrnes

Publications and source records attributed to S Dyrnes.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1995

[Regaining of function following severe head injury. From primary rehabilitation to 2 years after the injury].

72 patients with sequelae after severe traumatic brain injury were studied during primary rehabilitation and two years post-injury. The patients were grouped into two main categories, one dependent as regards activities of daily living (ADL) and one mainly independent group. Most of the dependent patients, except seven low level patients close to a vegetative state, showed marked functional recovery. Among the independent patients, those who were admitted to primary rehabilitation relatively early (< 60 days post-injury) and those who were allowed a longer stay upon first admission to hospital showed better progress in functional level scores than those who were admitted later and were allowed a shorter stay during primary inpatient rehabilitation.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed1994

Patterns of perceptual asymmetry in processing facial expression.

The paper reports four visual half-field experiments on the recognition of schematic faces whose emotional expression varied. Experiments I and II tested accuracy of recognition in a match-to-sample task. The results confirmed an overall left visual-field superiority in face recognition, but an analysis of a subset of the stimuli indicated that the direction and magnitude of the perceptual asymmetry depend upon the sign of the emotional expression. A replot of the results based on direct scaling of emotional expression (Experiment III) revealed an asymmetry gradient shifting from a left visual-field superiority for faces displaying hostile, aggressive emotions. When the stimuli are rotated 180 degrees the faces lose their emotional expression and no visual half-field asymmetry in recognition was observed in this condition (Experiment IV). It is concluded that emotional signals are processed independently of pattern, object and face recognition, and that the relative contribution of the left and right cerebral hemispheres to processing of emotional signals varies according to the type of emotion displayed.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

Stimulus-specific mechanisms of visual short-term memory.

The retention of spatial information in visual short-term memory was assessed by measuring spatial frequency discrimination thresholds with a two-interval forced-choice task varying the time interval between the two gratings to be compared. The memory of spatial frequency information was perfect across 10-sec interstimulus intervals. Presentation of a "memory masker" grating during the interstimulus interval may interfere with short-term memory. This interference depends on the relative spatial frequency of the test and masker gratings, with maximum interference at spatial frequency differences of 1-1.5 octaves and beyond. This range of interference with short-term memory is comparable to the bandwidth of sensory masking or adaptation. A change of the relative orientation of test and masker gratings does not produce interference with spatial frequency discrimination thresholds. These results suggest stimulus-specific interactions at higher-level representations of visual form.

Discrimination, Psychological↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Self-reported social networks and interpersonal support 2 years after severe traumatic brain injury.

Fifty-four patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) consecutively admitted to a rehabilitation hospital were examined 2 years post-injury. Social interaction and support, subjective complaints, and functional status were assessed. A large variability in social interaction and support patterns was found. Most patients had more interaction and received more support from family members than from friends and neighbours. Thirty-one patients (57.4%) reported that their social networks had markedly declined subsequent to injury. Relatively short duration of coma (< 1 week) and severe sequelae in terms of low functional status and poor emotional adjustment at follow-up, especially in terms of deficits in initiating behaviour, were found to be related to little interaction and support. The importance of both provider and patient initiative in order to establish and preserve a social support network is suggested, and clinical implications briefly discussed.

Activities of Daily Living↗