Biomedical subjects

S Pollmann

Publications and source records attributed to S Pollmann.

25 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed1996

A pop-out induced extinction-like phenomenon in neurologically intact subjects.

A series of tachistoscopic search experiments was performed to investigate variations of distractor effects dependent on the relative position and salience of target and distractor. It was found that highly salient (pop out) items distracted search for less salient (conjunction) targets and vice versa. However, only the effect of pop-out distractors was lateralized when paired with a contralateral target, RVF-distractors leading to a stronger latency increase. With unimanual response, this effect was stronger in the right hand. When the distractors were presented in the same visual halffield (VF) as the targets, effects were of comparable size in both VF.

Adult↗

PubMed1993

Symptom progression in Alzheimer's disease: relation to onset age and familial aggregation. Results of a longitudinal study.

We investigated the hypotheses that symptom progression in Alzheimer's disease is related to onset age and familial aggregation. In a psychiatric outpatient clinic we examined a cohort of 265 consecutively admitted patients 90 of which were diagnosed mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease according to the ICD-10 research criteria. Within twelve months follow-up 73 cases of these 90 patients were investigated twice. We found that early onset cases compared to late onset cases as well as patients with a familial aggregation compared to patients without such an aggregation were no different with respect to the rate of symptom progression in Alzheimer's disease. Furthermore, the hypothesis that early onset cases with a familial aggregation more rapidly deteriorate cognitively compared to late onset cases without such an aggregation could not be confirmed. Our results suggest that the large interindividual variation of symptom progression in Alzheimer's disease cannot be explained by onset age and familial aggregation.

Aged↗

PubMed1992

Alzheimer's disease: identical phenotype of familial and non-familial cases.

Ninety outpatients with Alzheimer's disease according to ICD-10 diagnostic draft criteria were studied to test the hypothesis that cases with a familial aggregation are different from cases without such an aggregation with respect to cognitive impairment. In all cases the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease was confirmed by prospective observation within 12 months of initial evaluation. Patients were divided into two groups: one consisting of 23 patients with a familial aggregation, the other consisting of 67 patients without secondary cases among first-degree relatives. By means of t-tests differences in impairment of cognitive functions between the groups were calculated. The results did not yield statistically significant differences between the groups for any of the neuropsychologically investigated cognitive deficits. Thus the hypothesis that the presence of a familial aggregation may lead to a distinct phenotype in Alzheimer's disease was not confirmed.

Aged↗

PubMed1992

[Psychopathologic disorders at the onset of Alzheimer's disease].

The investigation of patients with Alzheimer's disease was based on the following questions: which symptoms occur at onset, which cognitive, non cognitive and neurological symptoms already appear in early stages of the disease and how frequent are they? Memory impairment was the most frequent symptom at onset. However apathy and deficits in word finding did also occur at the beginning of the disease' clinical manifestation. It is generally suggested that symptoms in mild Alzheimer's disease are confined to impairment of memory, orientation, and language. In contrast to that our results suggest that psychopathological symptoms in mild Alzheimer's disease may cover a wide range of cognitive and non cognitive deficits.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed1992

[Symptom severity and symptom progression in Alzheimer's disease-- comparison between two cases with early and late onset].

Since the first description of Alzheimer's disease rapid symptom progression and relatively severe cognitive symptoms have been frequently associated with early onset age, while slow symptom progression and relatively mild cognitive symptoms were often related to late onset age. In a longitudinal study of 90 patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease we investigated these hypotheses. We found that neither severity of cognitive symptoms nor symptom progression in Alzheimer's disease were associated with onset age. In addition, a comparison of extreme groups (group 1: less than 60 years of age; group 2: greater than 75 years of age), taken from the study sample, showed similar results with respect to the independent variables. The results of this study suggest that the interindividual variability of cognitive impairment as well as the large variation of symptom progression in Alzheimer's disease cannot be explained by onset age.

Age Factors↗

PubMed1991

[Manifestations of Alzheimer's disease in daily living].

From the perspective offered by diagnostic criteria, cognitive rating scales and psychometric tests, Alzheimer's disease appears to be primarily a continuous decline of memory and intelligence. Changes in other areas of behaviour often go unrecognized at examination or are considered insignificant. A completely different view is offered by the reports of care-givers. Here, impairment of everyday activities, abnormal emotional and social behaviours are the most important features. To examine the everyday manifestation of Alzheimer's disease at greater detail, a questionnaire for care-givers was developed. Observations of patients' behaviours as recorded on this instrument demonstrate the presence of significant changes of affect and drive even in mild stages of the disorder. They show only weak associations with cognitive symptoms and cannot be explained as psychological reactions. The non-cognitive aspects of Alzheimer's disease deserve particular diagnostic and therapeutic interest.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Is impaired recall in dementia of the Alzheimer type a consequence of a contextual retrieval deficit?

Eighty-eight patients with mild to moderate dementia of the Alzheimer type were tested in a word list and a spatial pattern recall task. With increasing degree of dementia severity we found a decline in the initial recall scores while learning curves over five consecutive trials remained normal in the mildly demented patients. Furthermore, there was a loss of the primacy effect in the word list task in our moderately demented patients. These findings are consistent with the pattern that have been reported after medial temporal lobe dysfunction. The data are discussed in the framework of cognitive dual process theories of memory as indicators of a contextual retrieval deficit.

Aged↗